Centerra Gold’s Turkish subsidiary Öksüt Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (OMAS) has entered into a project financing term loan facility for its Öksüt project in Turkey. The facility is secured by the Öksüt assets and is non-recourse to Centerra. The 5.75-year term facility of up to $150 million is fully underwritten by UniCredit Bank AG. The interest rate is LIBOR plus 2.65% to 2.95% (dependent on project completion status) with no mandatory gold hedging requirements.
OMAS will use the facility to finance a substantial portion of the construction, development, and operation of the Öksüt gold mine and its related infrastructure in the Kayseri region of central Turkey.
“We are pleased to have been able to arrange this attractive non-recourse project financing to fund a substantial portion of the development and construction of the Öksüt project,” said Scott Perry, CEO of Centerra Gold. “This is a testament to the robustness and strength of the Öksüt project. This facility will provide us with continued financial flexibility and help maintain our balance sheet strength to enable us to deliver on our growth pipeline.”
Assuming a gold price of $1,250/oz, the Öksüt feasibility study and life-of-mine (LOM) plan project an average annual gold production of 155,000 oz in the first four years and LOM gold production of 895,000 oz with all-in sustaining cost of $490/oz.
