Contango ORE Closes Its Secured Credit Facility With ING and Macquarie to Fund the Construction of the Manh Choh Gold Project
18 Maggio 2023 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
Contango ORE, Inc. (“CORE,” “Contango” or the “Company”) (NYSE
American: CTGO) is pleased to announce that it and its subsidiaries
have entered into a Credit and Guaranty Agreement with ING Capital
LLC (“ING”) and Macquarie Bank Limited (“Macquarie”) for a senior
secured loan facility of up to US$70 million, of which $65 million
is committed and subject to certain conditions, to fund its portion
of the pre-production construction and working capital/operating
expenditures for the Manh Choh gold project in Alaska (“Manh
Choh”), which is owned and operated by the Company’s 30% owned Peak
Gold, LLC (“PGJV”). PGJV has received the federal permits needed
for road construction and early work construction, which has been
underway since August 2022 and continued throughout the winter
months. PGJV also received the State of Alaska approval for the
Mine Operating and Closure Plan on May 15, 2023 and mine site
construction work will be underway shortly. First gold production
from the project is expected in the second half of 2024.
Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, the Company’s President and Chief
Executive Officer, said, “We are very pleased to have finalized the
up to $70 million credit facility with two of the mining industry’s
leading financial institutions. Building upon the relationship with
these two institutions will be a key part of growing the Company
going forward. I am also very excited to announce that the Waste
Management Plan, Plan of Operations, and Reclamation and Closure
Plan has been approved by the State of Alaska Departments of
Environmental Conservation and Natural Resources. On behalf of
Contango’s Board and shareholders, we thank all those involved for
their efforts. With these approvals, PGJV is now able to start mine
site facility construction. Kiewit was hired as the mining
constructor and is responsible for preparing the Manh Choh site for
all mining-related activities, which will start immediately. Other
major contracts have been signed with Black Gold Transport, a local
Alaska contractor based in North Pole, Alaska to transport the
run-of-mine ore to the Fort Knox Facility and a Tolling Agreement
has been signed with Fort Knox Mine to process the PGJV ores.
"Now that the major contracts are signed, and financing and
permitting are concluded, all the elements are in place to bring
our 30% interest in Manh Choh into production. With a gold price
hovering around $2,000, the high-grade nature of the Manh Choh
deposit will ensure solid cash flows for the Company and its
shareholders. We look forward to keeping our investors up to date
with construction and mining progress as we approach that momentous
occasion in 2024 when we have our first gold pour.
"With all the news flow expected throughout the month of May, we
will be hosting a corporate update to go over all our recent news
at the end of the month. Please use this link to register to our
live event: https://my.6ix.com/STEXS5np.”
Highlights of the Secured Loan Facility
- Up to $70 million of availability, of which $65 million is
committed in the form of a term loan facility and $5 million is
uncommitted in the form of a discretionary liquidity buffer
facility.
- $10 million has been drawn on the term loan facility at the
initial closing, with additional draws subject to certain final
conditions being met.
- Outstanding amounts under the facility will bear interest based
on the 3-month adjusted term Secured Overnight Financing Rate
(“SOFR”) plus (i) 6.00% per annum prior to the completion date for
the Manh Choh gold project and (ii) 5.00% thereafter, which will be
payable quarterly.
- The facility will mature on December 31, 2026 and will be
repaid via quarterly repayments over the life of the loan.
- The facility has an upfront fee of 2.85% and a production
linked arrangement fee of $5.00 times the projected total
production of gold ounces in the base case financial model
delivered on the closing date, payable quarterly based on
attributable production, with any balance due upon the maturity or
termination of the facility.
- The facility is secured by all the assets and properties of the
Company and its subsidiaries, including the Company’s 30% interest
in PGJV but excluding the equity interests of Alaska Gold Torrent,
LLC in respect of the Lucky Shot Mine.
- As a condition precedent to the second borrowing, the Company
is required to hedge approximately 125koz of its attributable gold
production from Manh Choh. The hedges will be provided by ING,
Macquarie or their affiliates.
Roc Global, LLC, a mining, metals and clean energy focused
investment advisory firm based in New York, acted as the exclusive
financial advisor to Contango for this financing. Holland &
Knight LLP acted as legal counsel to the Company and its
subsidiaries for this financing, with Perkins Coie providing Alaska
law advice.
ABOUT CORE
CORE is a company that engages in the exploration in Alaska for
gold and associated minerals through a 30% interest in PGJV, which
leases approximately 675,000 acres for exploration and development,
and through a 100% owned subsidiary, Contango Minerals Alaska, LLC,
which leases approximately 200,000 acres for exploration. The
Company also owns the rights to the Lucky Shot, Coleman and War
Baby mines, and approximately 16,600 acres of surrounding mining
claims located in the Willow Mining District about 75 miles north
of Anchorage, Alaska. Additional information can be found on our
web page at www.contangoore.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding
CORE that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for
“forward-looking statements” provided by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, based on CORE’s current expectations
and includes statements regarding future results of operations,
quality and nature of the asset base, the assumptions upon which
estimates are based and other expectations, beliefs, plans,
objectives, assumptions, strategies or statements about future
events or performance (often, but not always, using words such as
“expects”, “projects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates”,
“potential”, “possible”, “probable”, or “intends”, or stating that
certain actions, events or results “may”, “will”, “should”, or
“could” be taken, occur or be achieved). Forward-looking statements
are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause
actual results to differ materially from those, reflected in the
statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risks
of the exploration and the mining industry (for example,
operational risks in exploring for, developing mineral reserves;
risks and uncertainties involving geology; the speculative nature
of the mining industry; the uncertainty of estimates and
projections relating to future production, costs and expenses; the
volatility of natural resources prices, including prices of gold
and associated minerals; the existence and extent of commercially
exploitable minerals in properties acquired by CORE or PGJV;
ability to realize the anticipated benefits of PGJV; potential
delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or
development projects or capital expenditures; the interpretation of
exploration results and the estimation of mineral resources; the
loss of key employees or consultants; health, safety and
environmental risks and risks related to weather and other natural
disasters); uncertainties as to the availability and cost of
financing; CORE’s inability to retain or maintain its relative
ownership interest in PGJV; inability to realize expected value
from acquisitions; inability of our management team to execute its
plans to meet its goals; the extent of disruptions caused by the an
outbreak of disease, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and the
possibility that government policies may change, political
developments may occur or governmental approvals may be delayed or
withheld, including as a result of presidential and congressional
elections in the U.S. or the inability to obtain mining permits.
Additional information on these and other factors which could
affect CORE’s exploration program or financial results are included
in CORE’s other reports on file with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned that any
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and actual results or developments may differ materially from the
projections in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at
the time the statements are made. CORE does not assume any
obligation to update forward-looking statements should
circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230517005887/en/
Contango ORE, Inc. Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse (713) 877-1311
www.contangoore.com
Grafico Azioni Contango Ore (AMEX:CTGO)
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Da Ago 2024 a Set 2024
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Da Set 2023 a Set 2024