NQ Minerals
Plc
US$55
Million Hellyer
Mine Debt
Facility Closed
with ING
Bank
London, United
Kingdom -- 1 December
2020 --
InvestorsHub NewsWire -- NQ Minerals Plc (AQSE:NQMI, OTCQB:NQMLF, OTCQB:NQMIY) ("NQ" or the "Company") announces
that its
subsidiary Hellyer Gold Mines Pty Ltd ("Hellyer")
and
ING Bank N.V.
("ING") have signed a US$55 million loan facility
("ING
Facility"). The Company's intention
with respect to this facility was previously announced by the
Company on 10 August 2020.
The funds
from the ING
Facility are being used to immediately
retire
all
project
debt maturing in
2020. This
project debt was secured over the assets of,
and shares in, Hellyer, the Company's tailings reprocessing
project in
Tasmania, Australia.
At the same time,
Hellyer has
signed life-of-mine marketing agreements with Traxys Europe
S.A. ("Traxys") for
the
purchase
of all the metal concentrates to be produced
from its tailings reprocessing
activities.
The
ING
Facility has a 6-year duration
with
scheduled monthly amortization
repayments
of
principal commencing in August 2021 and continuing until
the
final
maturity date. A cash sweep
mechanism, included in the
facility, may require
early repayment
of principal from all or part of
the
surplus
cash available
from the
Hellyer project
activities.
The ING
Facility is secured on
a senior basis
over the
assets of Hellyer, which consist of the tailings
reserves and the processing plant at
the Hellyer site, as well as the shares in Hellyer, which is 100% owned
by NQ. The facility agreement includes reporting,
cash management, hedging, prepayment
and
covenant arrangements and
obligations
that
are
tailored
for a debt
facility of this nature. The Company's
existing
intercreditor arrangements
have been amended to accommodate the consequent changes to NQ's
lender group, as well as to its
pre-existing
security agreements
and streaming
arrangements.
The
ING
Facility bears an initial interest rate of Libor
plus 6.5%
p.a. which falls to Libor plus
6%
p.a. once hedges
have been executed and this is expected to generate
interest
savings for Hellyer of about US$3.4m per
annum with
immediate effect.
NQ
Mineral's
Chairman,
David
Lenigas,
said;
"The
signing of
this US$55 million facility with ING is a major milestone
in NQ's corporate
evolution and bodes well for the
future
of our
mining
operations
at Hellyer and elsewhere in Australia. The completion of this
refinancing transaction allows us to both reduce funding costs and
align funding maturities in line with mining operations.
"I would like to thank
the many
people,
within ING, our project funders and NQ, as well as all the respective
legal teams, who have worked tirelessly
on
closing
this
important
facility. In particular, I would like
to also thank the Traxys team who, in addition to their initial
project funding of Hellyer and marketing the Hellyer concentrates,
introduced the Company to ING and have assisted at each
step in the refinance process.
"The ability to complete the
agreement against a backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic is a testament to
the effort and excellent collaboration between each of the parties
throughout the
process."
-END-
Competent
Person's Statement
The
information in this report that relates to the Hellyer project is
based on information compiled by Mr. Roger Jackson, an Executive
Director of the Company, who is a 25+ year Member of the
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
(MAusIMM)
and a Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr.
Jackson has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style
of mineralisation
and
type of deposits
under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to
qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the
"Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr. Jackson consents to the inclusion
of the data contained in relevant resource reports used for this
announcement as well as the matters, form and context in
which the
relevant data appears.
About NQ
Minerals
NQ
Minerals
Plc
is
listed
on
London's
Aquis
Stock
Exchange
(AQSE)
under
the
ticker
NQMI
and
has
its 1:100 ADR
traded on the US OTC QB under ticker NQMIY and its ordinary shares
are dual traded on the US OTC QB under the ticker NQMLF.
NQ Minerals
operations are in Australia. NQ commenced base metal and precious
metal production in 2018 at its 100% owned flagship Hellyer Gold
Mine in Tasmania. Hellyer
has a published JORC compliant Mineral Resource
estimated at 9.25 Mt which is host to Gold at 2.57 g/t Au for
764,300 oz Au,
Silver
at
92
g/t
Ag
for
27,360,300
oz
Ag,
Lead
at
2.99%
Pb
for 276,600
tonnes
and
Zinc
at
2.57%
Zn
for
217,400 tonnes. In addition to these resources, the Hellyer assets
include a large mill facility and full
supporting infrastructure, including a direct rail line to
port. The
Company is also planning to re- open the historic high-grade
Beaconsfield
Gold
Mine
in
Tasmania,
which
has
a
JORC
(2012)
compliant
Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.454 Mt at 10.3 g/t Au for 483,000 ounces of gold. Regular updates on the progress of the
Hellyer Gold Mine and Beaconsfield can be found on
www.nqminerals.com.
About
ING
ING
is
a
global
financial
institution
with
a
strong
European
base,
offering
retail
and
wholesale
banking
services to customers in over 40 countries. Sustainability forms an
integral part of ING's strategy, evidenced by ING's leading
position in sector benchmarks by Sustainalytics
and MSCI
and our 'A-list' rating by CDP. ING Group shares are included in
major sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
index products of leading providers STOXX, Morningstar and
FTSE Russell.
ING
Bank
has
more
than
56,000
employees.
As
at
31
March
2020,
ING
had
39
million
retail
customers, with
13.4 million considered primary customers.
ING
Group
shares
are
listed
on
the
exchanges
of
Amsterdam
(INGA
NA,
INGA.AS),
Brussels
and
on
the New York
Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N). More detailed information can
be found on
www.ing.com.
For more
information, please contact:
NQ Minerals
plc
David
Lenigas, Chairman lenigas@nqminerals.com
Colin Sutherland,
Chief Financial Officer colin.sutherland@nqminerals.com
Tel: +1 416 452
2166 (North America)
Media
Enquiries
IFC Advisory
Limited
Graham Herring /
Tim Metcalfe graham.herring@investor-focus.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 203
934 6630 (United Kingdom)
Corporate
Adviser
First Sentinel
Corporate Finance Limited Brian Stockbridge / Gabrielle
Cordeiro
Tel: +44 (0) 207
183 7407 (United Kingdom)
Corporate
Broker
VSA Capital
Limited
Andrew Monk/
Maciek Szymanski
+ 44 (0) 203 005
5000 (United Kingdom)
The
Following section relates to NQ Minerals Plc's news releases
distributed in the United States:
Cautionary
Note to US Investors
The
United
States
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
("SEC")
permits
US
Mining
companies,
in
their filings
with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a
company can economically and legally extract or produce. Any
estimates of mineral resources shown in this press release or on NQ
Minerals PLC's website have been prepared in accordance with
definition standards of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration
Results,
Mineral
Resources
and
Ore
Reserves
produced by the
Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, which may differ from
definition standards of the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") Industry
Guide 7. We may use certain terms which the SEC guidelines
strictly
prohibit
US
registered
companies
from
including
in
their
filings
with the
SEC.
Cautionary
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are
not limited to, any statements based on current expectations,
estimates, forecasts, and projections, including those related to
our growth strategy, mineral estimates and any other statements
that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based
on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could negatively affect our business,
operating
results,
financial
condition
and
stock
price.
Factors
that
could
cause
actual
results to differ
materially from those currently anticipated are: risks related to
our growth strategy; risks relating to exploration, development
and/or extraction; our ability to obtain, perform under, and
maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; our
ability to attract, integrate, and retain key personnel;
global
demand
for
mineral
resources;
our
need
for
substantial
additional
funds; government
regulation; as well as other risks. We expressly disclaim any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in our expectations
or
any
changes
in
events,
conditions,
or
circumstances
on
which any such
statement is based, except as required by law.
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