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Highlights
Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) is pleased to announce that the US$85 million Project Finance Facility provided to Perseus’s 90%-owned subsidiary, Central Ashanti Gold Limited (“CAGL”), by Macquarie Bank Limited and Credit Suisse AG has been drawn down.
To date, approximately US$152 million of the estimated US$174 million capital cost of Perseus’s Central Ashanti Gold Project in Ghana has been funded by equity capital raised by Perseus. The balance of construction costs will be financed using funds drawn under the debt facility.
As at 22 June 2011, Perseus had cash on hand of approximately AU$104 million and total debt of US$85 million.
Perseus Managing Director, Mark Calderwood’s Comments:
“The drawdown of the project debt facility by CAGL will be used to complete CAGP construction, provide working capital, and repay inter-company loans to Perseus.”
“The additional funds will enable us to continue financing our highly successful exploration programmes in West Africa as well as fund project establishment costs and acquire long lead items for our second gold project at Tengrela in Côte d’Ivoire.”
“The Company has 230,000 ounces of gold sold forward that is deliverable over a 36-month period starting in March 2012 at an average price of US$1,250 per ounce. The hedging was undertaken in 2010 as a prerequisite to arranging the finance facility and no additional hedging is required as a result of the US$85 million drawdown. The hedging represents about 25% of expected production from CAGP to the end of 2014.”
Read the full news release here. Image of Central Ashanti Gold Project (Ayanfuri) by Perseus Mining.
