Mineração Vale Verde secures $140m for Serrote project in Brazil

Mineração Vale Verde secured a $140-million debt financing to finalize the development of the Serrote copper-gold project located in Alagoas, eastern Brazil. 

The financing, provided by ING Capital LLC, Natixis, New York Branch, and Societe Generale, will fund all development costs, with the project now fully funded through to production, MVV and partner Appian Capital Advisory said in a media statement. 

“[This is] the largest greenfield mining project finance transaction to have been announced since the beginning of 2020 and the onset of covid-19,” the press brief reads.

“The extensive technical, legal, environmental and social due diligence undertaken by the MLAs is a strong endorsement of the robust fundamentals of the Serrote project, the quality of the MVV management team and the strength of Appian as a sponsor.” 

According to the firms, Serrote remains on track for first production in the second half of 2021. As of early February, construction is progressing on time and in line with budget, with over 94% of overall project execution complete. 

“Mechanical completion has been achieved in a number of areas with pre-commissioning activities and operational readiness programs also well advanced in order to ensure a smooth, and efficient ramp up, and enabling operations to start safely,” the release reads.  

Also in 2020, Mineração Vale Verde finished the construction of the phase I tailings storage facility, the majority of key processing plant infrastructure and of a new 21-kilometre, 230kV powerline.

Serrote is an open-pit mine for ore beneficiation, aiming at producing 4.1Mton of copper concentrate per year for an estimated mine life of 20 years.