Ivanhoe’s Ivanplats arranging $420m project financing

Ivanhoe says Ivanplats has signed a nonbinding term sheet with Orion Mine Finance for a $300-million streaming facility and has appointed Societe Generale and Nedbank as mandated lead arrangers for a senior project debt facility of up to $120-million.

“We are confident that this project-level funding will be the catalyst needed to launch Platreef to become a leading, long-life supplier of palladium, platinum, rhodium, nickel, copper and gold,” says Ivanhoe co-chairperson Robert Friedland.

“The production of key ‘green metals’ needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is at a critical inflection point as businesses are pressed to secure long-term supplies,” he continues.

The initial capital cost for the phased development plan envisaged under the Platreef 2020 preliminary economic assessment (PEA), starting at a mining rate of 700 000 t/y, is estimated at $390-million.

Ivanhoe reports that detailed engineering is under way on the mine design, 770 000 t/y concentrator and associated infrastructure for the phased development plan, which is scheduled to be incorporated into an updated feasibility study before the end of 2021.

Platreef’s budget for 2021 is $59-million, which includes $10-million to start the construction of the headframe for Shaft 2. The first draw from the streaming funds, which is expected to occur shortly after establishment of the facility, is expected to fully cover Platreef’s 2021 budget.

The senior project debt facility will only be used after the streaming facility is fully drawn down.