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- Bellevue Gold (BGL) says it has been inundated with indicative debt funding proposals for its project of the same name in WA
- The explorer has received non-binding debt offers of up to $289 million from 12 domestic and offshore lenders for construction of the project
- BGL is considering expanding the plant’s production capacity from a planned 0.75 million tonnes per annum (tpa) to one million tpa
- The potential increase is being explored through a stage two feasibility study that is due to be completed this quarter
- Bellevue Gold shares are up by 2.48 per cent to $1.04 at 2:45 pm AEST
Bellevue Gold (BGL) has had an overwhelming response to the call for project debt funding proposals for its eponymous project in Western Australia.
The explorer has received non-binding debt offers ranging between $170 million and $289 million for construction of the project from 12 domestic and offshore financial institutions.
Specifically, BGL is considering expanding its planned 0.75-million-tonne-per-annum (tpa) plant to a one million-tpa operation.
The potential modification is presently being explored through an upgraded stage two feasibility study, which is due to be completed this quarter.
Notably, the initial stage one study estimated a capital cost of $255 million for the project. The second stage, however, will be based on Bellevue’s recently increased global resource of three million ounces at 9.9 grams of gold per tonne.
Once the latest study is complete, BGL is set to draw up a shortlist of potential lenders and move to the second phase of the debt financing process. This will comprise site visits, legal and technical due diligence, and facility documentation.
Bellevue Managing Director Steve Parsons said the indicative offers were a testament to the project’s technical and financial strengths.
“The quality of the institutions which have lodged proposals and the highly attractive terms they contain reflects Bellevue’s outlook as a high-grade, high-margin project in a tier-one location,” he said.
“Given these offers and our cash position of $94 million at the end of June 2021, we are on track to develop the project and join the ranks of Australian gold producers in 2022.”
Given the non-binding nature of the offers received, BGL specified there was no guarantee that the proposals would lead to binding agreements.
Bellevue Gold shares were up by 2.48 per cent to $1.04 at 2:45 pm AEST.
