Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) Ltd, a subsidiary of Australia-listed Emerald Resources NL, said it has raised more funds during the first quarter of the year, with more development activities towards gold production next year.
In its just-released quarterly report, the company said it successfully completed an equity placement to raise $75 million through the support of existing shareholders and the addition of globally recognised institutional shareholders to the share register with the demand to participate in the placement well over the shares available.
It noted the placement provides funding to be used toward advancing development activities at the Okvau Project, the company’s most advanced project as well as its regional exploration program on Emerald’s 1,426km² Cambodian exploration footprints.
Emerald and Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP, a leading financier to the mining sector globally, signed the ‘credit agreement’ for a $60 million project finance facility, which the firm said is a significant milestone for the development of the Okvau Gold project.
In addition, Emerald also signed a $230 million mining contract with Mining and Civil Australia (Maca), to supply earth-moving equipment and conduct contract mining services at the Okvau Gold Project for over seven years.
During the quarter, a 230 kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) transmission line was also completed to the location of the Okvau Gold Project substation to supply power to the Project.
In response to COVID-19, the company said it remains focused on the health and wellbeing of staff, contractors and stakeholders through the implementation of suitable protocols.
Last year, Cambodia collected more than $21 million in non-tax revenue from the sector, according to the Ministry of Mine and Energy. Investment capital by both foreign and local investors in the mining sector was valued at $1.157 billion as of 2019. About 40 companies have mining exploration licenses in the Kingdom.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
