Mineração Vale Verde and Appian Capital Advisory LLP announced today that MVV has secured a US$140m debt financing to finalise the development of the Serrote copper-gold project located in Alagoas, Brazil. The financing will fund all remaining development costs, with the project now fully funded through to production.
The company has executed definitive documentation with ING Capital LLC, Natixis, New York Branch, and Societe Generale for a US$140m project finance debt facility, the largest greenfield mining project finance transaction to have been announced since the beginning of 2020 and the onset of COVID-19.
Serrote remains on track for first production in the second half of 2021. Construction is progressing on time and in line with budget, with over 94% of overall project execution complete. Mechanical completion has been achieved in a number of areas with pre-commissioning activities and operational readiness programs also well advanced in order to ensure a smooth, and efficient ramp up, and enabling operations to start safely.
The project is expected to produce approximately 20 ktpa of copper equivalent over an initial 14-year mine life from a low-strip, open pit mine supplying a 4.1 Mtpa processing plant. Serrote’s initial life of mine will exploit a mineral reserve of 52.65 Mt grading 0.6% Cu and 0.1 g/t, defined using US$3.00/lb Cu, with substantial value upside available through a potential expansion into the larger 108.85 Mt Measured and Indicated Resource at Serrote as well as through the potential at some of the nearby satellite deposits.
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