KEFI Minerals restructures loan facility in bid for flexibility

Gold exploration and development company KEFI Minerals announced a restructuring of its working capital convertible loan facility, and the entering into of a new working capital loan facility in a bid to achieve greater flexibility through the removal of the existing security charges over assets, and the extending of the loan maturity dates on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said £0.9m had been drawn to date from the existing £4m loan facility, of which £0.45m had been repaid, leaving £3.1m available to be drawn down.

It said the remaining £3.1m had been replaced in part by a new £1.5m facility, which had been provided by a long-standing shareholder who held less than 3% of the company.

The new loan facility could be drawn at the company's discretion at a rate of £0.5m per month in £0.25m tranches and, if drawn, would be repayable in cash within two years.

Once any amount drawn under the new loan facility was repaid, the company would be able to draw from the remaining £1.6m of the loan facility, if required.

KEFI said the loan facility no longer had any security attached, and was now provided on an unsecured basis.

It said the new loan facility had been provided on an unsecured basis.

That co-ordinated action had released all of KEFI's security encumbrances, other than minor cash security deposits, to allow “maximum flexibility” for structuring the financing of its Tulu Kapi Gold Project, which potentially could include a larger initial project equity investment by Ethiopian private sector investor, ANS Mining Share Company, the board added.

It said the cost of the changes in security and related arrangements included £0.21m to be paid by the issuance of 8,500,000 new KEFI ordinary shares at 2p per share, together with a cash consideration of £37,500.

“I am pleased that we have restructured our working capital facilities in order to provide the company with the maximum flexibility as we move towards full development of our flagship Tulu Kapi Gold Project,” said KEFI chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams.

“I would like to thank the providers and other stakeholders for their complementary support and I look forward to providing regular updates as we make the anticipated significant progress with the project in the coming months.

“It is a fortuitous coincidence that Tulu Kapi development looks to kick off at the same time as exploration comes to life in Saudi Arabia on a large copper-gold target.”