Platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) has signed a finance facility agreement with banking and wealth management group Investec Bank, which will be used for working capital purposes and funding the restart of the Zandfontein underground section of its flagship Crocodile River mine (CRM), located near Brits in the North West.
The finance facility features a renewable 12-month revolving commodity finance facility secured by production from the tailings storage facility at CRM.
Indicative rate on financing is a three-month Johannesburg interbank average rate plus 150 basis points. The interest rate is subject to the credit quality of the PGM offtaker on a yearly basis.
There will be an immediate payout to the company on the PGMs concentrate delivery date.
The maximum size of the credit facility is R150-million, with guaranteed prices through a fixed-price swap hedge overlay on platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold.
“We look forward to working with Investec as we restart the Zandfontein underground section and develop our eastern limb projects. This facility is a result of the hard work of our respective teams over the past several months,” Eastplats CEO Wanjin Yang said on September 22.
