20 Apr 2016 07:00
20 April 2016
Additional short-term funding arrangement
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") announces that it has agreed terms with its largest shareholder, Elliott Management ("Elliott"), which is the beneficial owner of 27.7% of the Company's shares, for a further US$0.8 million in loan funding.
The new funding represents an increase to the existing loan agreement with Manchester Securities Corp., an affiliate of Elliott, initially signed in January 2015 for US$1.5 million, and subsequently amended in January 2016 to a revised limit of US$2.25 million at 14% interest. This latest agreement will further increase the limit of this loan to US$3.05 million. The terms of this loan will remain unchanged, which will be unsecured and repayable on demand.
The funding is expected to meet the Company's corporate requirements for approximately four months, and is intended to allow the Company to continue its business review, particularly with respect to securing finance for the Tri-K project in Guinea.
This latest funding, once drawn down, will increase the total debt owed by the Company to Manchester Securities Corp to approximately US$24.8 million.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Avocet Mining PLC | Bell PottingerFinancial PR Consultants | J.P. Morgan CazenoveCorporate Broker |
David Cather, CEOJim Wynn, FD | Daniel Thöle | Michael Wentworth-Stanley |
+44 20 3709 2570 | +44 20 2772 2500 | +44 20 7742 4000
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or the "Company") is an unhedged gold mining and exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in West Africa.
In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 74,755 ounces of gold in 2015. Other assets in Burkina Faso include five exploration permits surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine.
In Guinea, Avocet owns 100% of the Tri-K Project in the north east of the country. Drilling to date has outlined a Mineral Resource of 3.0 million ounces, and in October 2013 the Company announced a maiden Ore Reserve on the oxide portion of the orebody, which is suitable for heap leaching, of 0.5 million ounces. As an alternative, the potential exists to exploit the entire 3.0 million ounce Tri-K orebody via the CIL processing method. The Company announced on 2 April 2015 that an exploitation permit had been awarded for Tri-K.