Goldplat plc / Ticker: GDP / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration 17 March 2017 Goldplat plc ("Goldplat" or "the Company")
Agreement of US$2m Loan Facility
Goldplat, the AIM quoted African gold producer, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Gold Mineral Resources Ltd ("GMR"), has agreed a US$2 million uncommitted, on-demand, revolving pre-export loan facility (the "Loan Facility") with Scipion Active Trading Fund ("SATF") arranged by Scipion Capital Ltd ("Scipion"). The Loan Facility is available for a period of 360 days from the date of first draw-down and the term can be extended, or the size increased, on the mutual agreement of both parties. Interest is payable on amounts drawn under the Loan Facility at a rate equal to LIBOR plus a margin of 9.5 per cent per annum. Security on the drawn amounts has been granted over Goldplat Recovery (Pty) Limited's ("GPL") tailings facility in South Africa, intercompany loan agreements, contracts and proceeds of sale with gold refiners, and the collection bank account operated by GMR for that purpose. The security is granted by GMR and other subsidiaries of Goldplat, with GPL signing as guarantor. Various positive and negative undertakings and covenants are provided in the Loan Facility documentation.
To date, the processing plant expansion at the Kilimapesa Gold Mine ("Kilimapesa") in Kenya has been funded out of internally-generated operating cash flows. With stage one of the expansion commissioned, the Company has decided to arrange the Loan Facility to recapitalise the group's subsidiaries that have financed the work to date, and to fund the expenditure of stage two of the processing plant expansion. Stage two is expected to increase gold production at Kilimapesa from the current stage one 60 tonnes per day to 120 tonnes per day, with a target of achieving an annualised production rate after stage two of approximately 4,500 ounces of gold.
Gerard Kisbey-Green, CEO of Goldplat commented: "We stated in our interim results announced on 20 February 2017 that we were looking at various forms of debt capital raising with a view to restructuring the group balance sheet and I am very pleased to have agreed this loan facility with Scipion. We will use the funds initially to complete stage two of the processing plant expansion at Kilimapesa and to repay the capital made available to Kilimapesa Gold Limited from other group subsidiaries for goods and services rendered. The result will be a cleaner and more appropriate group capital structure and availability of working capital for our recovery businesses."
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For further information, visit www.goldplat.com, follow on Twitter @GoldPlatPlc or contact:
| Gerard Kisbey-Green | CEO Goldplat plc | Tel: +27 (71) 8915775 |
| Colin Aaronson / Daniel Bush | Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 |
| Andrew Raca / Justin McKeegan | VSA Capital Limited (Broker) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3005 5000 |
| Charlotte Page / Susie Geliher | St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
About Goldplat Goldplat plc, is an AIM quoted gold recovery services company with two market leading operations in South Africa and Ghana. The Company's strategy is focussed on utilising its cash flow generated from flagship gold recovery operations in Africa to self-fund sustainable growth and expansion of niche gold recovery business model. The Company also has a small gold mining and exploration portfolio in Kenya, Burkina Faso and Ghana and is evaluating various opportunities to create value or monetise these assets.
