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Aureus' US$21.5mln cash injection puts it back on track

Published: 07:36 30 Nov 2015 GMT

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New Liberty has produced 12 consignments of gold doré bars.

Aureus Mining (LON:AUE, TSE:AUE) has secured US$21.5mln in debt and equity funding that will allow the acceleration of mining at its New Liberty operation in Liberia.

The package is comprised of a US$10mln additional liquidity facility provided by Rand Merchant Bank and Nedbank to be repaid in two years.

The remainder is coming from a brokered equity financing where investors will receive stock at 5p a share.

Progress to date has been hampered by the Ebola outbreak and a shortage of explosives required in the mining process.

So the cash will be used to acquire new plant and equipment that will help the put Aureus back on track. Regarding the explosives, 100 tonnes has been received and 330 tonnes – around a month’s supply – is currently on its way from Ghana.

The new funds will also be deployed to “reduce creditor balances to normal operating level”, said chief executive David Reading.

“Whilst we have experienced some unexpected incidents during the commissioning phase which resulted in a longer ramp up to commercial production than we had hoped, the New Liberty Gold Mine has now operated successfully at an average of 92% of design capacity for the past 27 days and we look forward to declaring commercial production in the New Year," he added.

The company has shipped 12 consignments of gold doré bars for a total of 13,500 ounces, and expects to produce the same amount between now and the end of the year.

Aureus is continuing to target output of 125,000 ounces of the precious metal next year.

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