Toronto-listed Alphamin Resources has signed a US$80million credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders to help fund the development of its Bisie tin mine in DR Congo and hopes to raise the remaining required amount through private placements by the end of 2017.
The lending syndicate includes Sprott Private Resource Lending, Barak Fund SPC Limited and Tremont Master Holdings. In addition to the $80 million credit agreement, the Industrial Development Corporation and Tremont have committed to investing $13.7m at the project level and $24.7m into the proposed Alphamin private placement respectively. Alphamin has also recently announced plans to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Alt-X as part of efforts to raise at least the additional $31.4 m required to reach $172.1 million peak funding for the project.
Early-stage mine construction has already commenced, with an access road and mine portal box-cut both completed, while construction of the underground mine decline has progressed 50m underground so far.
ITRI View: The Bisie project is controlled through an Alphamin-operated subsidiary in the DRC. Alphamin holds 80%; the IDC 15% and the DRC government 5%. The Bisie mine, which is targeting steady-state production by the end of 2019, could supply up to 10,000 tpa of tin-in-concentrate to the global market over a 12.5-year mine life. The project’s main barrier to development has always been the perceived investment risk in DR Congo, where the project is located. However, the Bisie project is globally competitive and significant both in terms of its exceptionally high tin grades, low-operating costs and projected output.
