Horizonte Minerals plc announced credit approvals from five international financial institutions of up to US$346.2 million to fund the construction and development of its Araguaia ferro-nickel project in Brazil.
TRANCHES
The institutions are BNP Paribas Securities Corp; ING Capital LLC; Natixis, New York branch; Société Générale; and Swedish Export Credit Corporation.
The syndicate is in addition to the approval earlier this month by two export credit agencies for the tranche A payment of $146.2m for ten and a half years.
Tranche B is of $200m for eight and a half years.
COMPONENTS
Horizonte chief executive Jeremy Martin said that the financial close of the senior debt facility was expected in the coming months.
“This milestone represents the conclusion of an intensive due diligence process which included site visits by the senior lenders and independent experts, and extensive technical, marketing, environmental, social and legal evaluations of the project.
“Credit approval from the full syndicate is the catalyst for finalising the other components of the overall financing requirement for Araguaia.”
He added that the process with the offtake partner and strategic investor was well advanced.