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SilverCrest enters into credit agreement for Las Chispas construction funding

SilverCrest enters into credit agreement for Las Chispas construction funding
Mining News Pro - Canadian precious metals exploration company SilverCrest Metals` Canadian subsidiary has entered into a credit agreement with an affiliate of mining financier RK Mine Finance to provide a secured project financing facility to the value of $120-million to fund the construction of its Las Chispas silver and gold project in Mexico.
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The agreement comes in anticipation of making a final construction decision based on a feasibility study for the Las Chispas project.

Concurrently, one of SilverCrest’s Mexican subsidiaries has entered into a fixed price engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Ausenco Engineering Canada, and one of its affiliates, for the construction of the Las Chispas process plant.

While the feasibility study is still pending finalisation by Ausenco (with announcement of results targeted for late January), SilverCrest is confident entering into the credit agreement and the EPC contract based on the substantial feasibility information currently available.

The feasibility study undertaken by Ausenco is progressing well at about 60% completion.

Procurement of long-lead items started in the fourth quarter of 2020. Advancing these programmes in parallel has enabled Ausenco to develop comprehensive capital and operating cost estimates for Las Chispas, while progressing detailed engineering beyond what is customary at a feasibility study level.

However, in the absence of a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, SilverCrest reports that there is increased uncertainty and historically a higher economic and technical risk of failure associated with the development of a commercially mineable deposit until such time as the feasibility study has been completed.

The EPC contract with Ausenco locks in a fixed price of $76.5-million for construction of a 1 250 t/y process plant at Las Chispas.

Ausenco will start construction in February, as the SilverCrest-managed earthworks programme for the process plant nears completion. Commissioning of the process plant is targeted for the second quarter of 2022 and production ramp-up is planned to start in the third quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic also enabled SilverCrest to initiate an early works programme tailored to further reduce project execution risks. This programme included the earthworks package, the water pumping system and the first phase of the construction camp.

The advancement of the early works programme, coupled with the fixed price nature of the EPC contract, reduces many common construction- and market-related risks, the company states.

Beyond the tasks included in the EPC contract, the remaining initial capital costs anticipated for Las Chispas construction will include development costs of the underground mine; owner’s site costs; and on-site infrastructure including Phase 2 of the confined construction camp, a bridge and the filtered (dry-stack) tailings system facility.

It will also include a new 33 kV, 49-km-long powerline to replace the proposed diesel power generation.


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