Victoria Gold made a $10 million early unscheduled repayment of interest and principal towards its $100 million senior secured credit facility.
The facility was fully drawn as of the end of March and the company made its first, $7.1 million principal repayment at the end of May.
“We are advantaged to be in the final stages of ramping up the Eagle gold mine to full production of over 200,000 oz. of gold annually at a time of record-breaking gold prices,” John McConnell, the company’s CEO, said in a release.
“The substantial free cash flow provided by the wide profit margins we are achieving has put us in a position to accelerate debt repayment.”
The credit facility does not involve fees or penalties for early repayments; it features quarterly payments with the last repayment scheduled for November 2023.
In addition to the senior credit facility, Victoria also has $75 million outstanding within a subordinated credit facility and a $50 million equipment lease.
Victoria Gold’s wholly owned Eagle heap leach mine achieved commercial production on July 1 and is expected to generate 85,000 oz. to 100,000 oz. of gold in the last two quarters of this year at all-in sustaining costs of $950 to $1,100 per oz. The Eagle mine lies within the 555-sq.-km Dublin Gulch property, which hosts the Eagle and Olive gold deposits.
Based on a technical report released last December, the Eagle mine is expected to produce an average of over 210,000 oz. of gold a year at all-in sustaining costs of $774 per oz. over a mine life in excess of 10 years.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)