Junior miner Gensource Potash Corp., Saskatoon, on Aug. 12 announced that it has reached a significant milestone in the financing of its initial small-scale project at its wholly-owned Vanguard area in Saskatchewan. Specifically, it said it has received Letters of Intent from KfW IPEX-Bank of Germany and Export Development Canada (EDC). It said both are currently evaluating how they can support the project by providing senior debt. Gensource said it is also in discussions with a major global bank that may be engaged to round out the club.
“We are excited to have reached this important milestone that our shareholders have been anticipating,” said Mike Ferguson, Gensource President and CEO. “As anyone who has been involved in bringing a major project to completion knows, there are a series of critical hurdles or milestones that must be attained. Obtaining debt financing – an indication by third party capital 2 providers that the project is not only viable, but also attractive – is among the most important. We are gratified to have attracted major, globally-recognized, and experienced lenders to the Gensource team for this project.
“Together with KfW IPEX-Bank and EDC, both world-class institutions in the resource industry, we now want to take the next steps,” he added. “Today’s announcement, together with the May 22nd news release announcing the creation of the project through commitments from the offtaker and a third-party equity investor (GM May 24, p. 1), makes it plain that the project is on a clear path to financing.
“The selected institutions bring extensive experience in structured mining finance in Canada and internationally. Their support gives us strong confidence in our ability to advance the project to a successful financing and confirms the attractiveness of Gensource’s small-scale, modular approach to potash mining,” said Ferguson.
Gensource said KfW IPEX-Bank is planning to assume a role as the arranger of the senior debt financing, and will work with EDC and other senior lenders to conduct customary due diligence and possibly utilize official export promotion schemes as credit enhancement. As is customary, final, definitive, terms have not yet been agreed upon, and the financing remains conditional upon the successful completion of the detailed due diligence process.
On completion of the due diligence process, an agreed term sheet will be submitted for senior lender’s formal credit approval. Following this, Gensource and the senior lenders will prepare and execute definitive facility and security documentation. Gensource is working with Roc Global LLC of New York as its exclusive financial advisor.