www.hambledon-mining.com
Hambledon Mining plc is a gold mining and development group, which is operating the Sekisovskoye gold mine close to Ust Kamenogorsk in East Kazakhstan.
The Company has been mining from an open pit and operating an 850,000 tonnes per annum treatment plant since 2008. Underground mining at Sekisovskoye began in late 2011 on time and on budget. From a combined production from the underground and open pit mine of approximately 30,000 ounces in 2012 a figure of approximately 100,000 ounces is targeted from the underground mine alone in 2017. It hopes to complete the purchase of Akmola Gold LLP in March 2012, bringing in to the group two gold deposits with a total resource of 440,000 ounces gold.
Hambledon Mining reveals plans for US$9 mln share placing
Hambledon Mining (LON:HMB) plans to raise US$9.06 million through a share placing.
This comes after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to provide US$18 million in a mixture of debt and equity last month.
The money will be used to complete the acquisition of the Akmola Gold LLP, which owns two gold deposits near the group’s Sekisovskoye mine.
It will also be used to pay fines relating to the leak at one of the Sekisovskoye mine’s tailings dams as well as repairs to the dam. Additionally Hambledon intends to repay its debt to Alfa Bank, which lent the company money during a period of reduced gold production in the winter months.
“Hambledon can now look forward to the future with a strong balance sheet and a broader shareholder list, including the EBRD and several highly respected investment management group,” said chief executive Tim Daffern.
“With the support of the proposed EBRD debt facility and the new equity raised in the placing, Hambledon is well positioned to become a well funded multiple deposit Kazakhstan focussed gold play.”
Hambledon is looking to issue 177 million new shares, representing nearly 20 per cent of the enlarged group. The new shares will be priced at 3.25p each, a 18.75 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price.
It said that the placing has been oversubscribed.
“Both the institutional placing and the proposed EBRD funding are highly valued by the directors of the company. We look forward to updating all shareholders with further strong news flow in 2012,” Daffern added.
Hambledon agreed the US$5 million deal to acquire Akmola in September. The acquisition adds the Tellur and Stepok deposits to the group’s portfolio.
These two projects are currently believed to contain 440,000 ounces of gold resources. And they are located close enough to Sekisovskoye for Hambledon to process the ore at the existing plant.
Today Daffern told investors that the expansion of the Sekisovskoye mine is central to Hambledon’s production growth in the future.
“It is intended that the Sekisovskoye process plant will act as a hub for processing gold from the Tellur project which will leverage the group’s cash generation and gold production,” he added.
“We look forward to updating Shareholders shortly in relation to final EBRD board approval for the debt and equity investment and completion of the Akmola acquisition."
