Junior salt and sulfate of potash (SOP) producer BCI Minerals Ltd., Perth, on Oct. 15 announced that it has received approvals, subject to conditions, for A$740 million of project finance debt for the Mardie Project.
Total funding of approximately $1.2 billion is required to develop the project to a capacity of 5.35 million mt/y of salt and 140,000 mt/y of SOP. This includes all construction, contingency, funding, interest, and ramp-up costs and will be funded by the $740 million debt package and approximately $460 million in equity from a combination of existing BCI cash, ongoing Iron Valley royalty earnings, potential corporate debt and new equity.
The $740 million includes a $490 million 15-year loan facility from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), a 10-year $110 million loan facility from the Export Finance Australia (EFA) and credit approvals from two leading commercial banks to provide a $140 million construction loan with a 7.5 year term, plus $170 million facilities for cost overrun and guarantee requirements.