AfriTin Mining Ltd (AIM:ATM) told investors it closed a £4.5mln (90mln Namibian dollars) lending facility for its Phase 1 processing plant at the Uis tin mine in Namibia.
The facility is being supplied by Standard Bank Namibia, as announced previously, and it now expects an immediate full drawn down.
It marks the beginning of a long-term financing partnership with Standard Bank, AfriTin said.
"We are pleased to announce the financial close and drawdown of the term loan facility with Standard Bank in Namibia,” said chief executive Anthony Viljoen.
“This marks the start of a long-term financing partnership to continue the rapid development of the Uis Tin mine to its full potential and growing our tech-metal revenue profile."
The lending facility to be repaid in five years, it is designated as senior secured debt and carries interest calculated as 3-month JIBAR (the Johannesburg interbank average rate) which is presently 3.85% plus 4.5% - making the current rate 8.35%.
The Uis Phase 1 pilot processing plant is projected to increase the mine’s tin concentrate production by 67%, from 720 tonnes per annum to 1,200 tonnes per annum.
AfriTin noted that the planned expansion is modular. In Phase 1, some 70% of the capital will be used to expand dry crushing and screening circuits, whilst the remainder will address potential throughput constraints in the concentrator which will need to handle higher feed rates.