Australian junior salt and sulfate of potash (SOP) producer BCI Minerals Ltd., West Perth, has secured commitments totaling A$981 million for the “salt first” portion of the Mardie Salt and Potash Project in Western Australia.
The Syndicated Facility Agreement (SFA) was signed with Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), Export Finance Australia (EFA), Export Development Canada (EDC), Westpac Banking and Industrial, and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
“The signing of the Syndicated Facility Agreement is a significant achievement in securing the funding needed to deliver BCI’s Mardie Project,” said BCI Managing Director David Boshoff. “The ongoing support shown by this diversified lender group indicates strong confidence and trust in the project over the long term.”
The SFA delivers a total of A$981 million of debt finance to fund the Mardie salt development. The finance facilities are fully underpinned by forecasted salt revenues only, in what BCI describes as the “salt-first” phase of the project. BCI is targeting to satisfy the remaining conditions for “salt-first” in the first quarter of 2024, with the first drawdown expected by mid-2024.
BCI reported in August that the project would produce an estimated 5.35 million mt/y of salt, with the first shipment now expected in 2026 (GM Sept. 1, p. 27).
Debt funding for the SOP plant is expected to progress during 2024 following the completion of further design and cost development, subject also to several provisions in the SFA, including lender approval. BCI is targeting an estimated SOP production at Mardie of some 140,000 mt/y, with the first shipment in mid-2027.