Andrada Mining says it has raised N$181 million through the issuance of loan notes for the mine’s ongoing capital expansion project.
The mining company said it also made a breakthrough in the completion of the construction phase of the lithium bulk sampling facility and a tantalum production circuit.
“The company has raised £7.7 million (N$181 million) via the issue of loan notes. The raise demonstrates the strong support that Andrada has from its existing shareholders and other investors. In addition, the funds will be used for working capital purposes as Andrada progresses its exploration programme, and commences a lithium feasibility study, to further consolidate its competitive lithium advantage within the Erongo region.”
“These developments underpin the directors’ belief that Andrada is well-positioned to be a significant supplier of technology metals globally and to be the first AIM-listed lithium producer,” said Andrada Chief Executive Officer Anthony Viljoen.
The funds were raised through the issue of 77 unsecured, convertible loan notes of £100,000 each (N$2.4 million) to new and existing investors.
The company has also issued the holders of the loan notes two warrants for every £1 of the loan note held, enabling each holder to subscribe to one ordinary share in the company.
“The directors also believe that the loan notes offer the least dilutive method for the company to achieve its objectives. This is particularly important whilst the funding from the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and a fund managed by Orion Resource Partners is being finalised. As set out in the announcement of 23 June 2023, the funding from DBN is ring fenced to be applied to the continuous improvement of current plant operations. We believe the DBN funding will be drawn down by the end of July 2023 or early August 2023,” the company said.
Andrada is expected to receive N$100 million from DBN which together with the generated N$181 million, the company anticipates will be sufficient to cover its financing requirements for the next 15 to 18 months.
“While other financing packages are delayed, further funding is required to progress the company’s work programmes and projects at full pace. The net proceeds from the issue of the loan notes will be mainly utilised for funding the commissioning of the bulk sampling plant as well as the tantalum circuit. Other uses are on-going exploration, metallurgical testing programmes and working capital. In addition, the funds will enable the commencement of a lithium feasibility study which is fundamental to determining the detailed design of Andrada’s next transformative growth.”
In terms of the testing plant, Viljoen said the completion of the construction phase of the lithium bulk sampling facility is an important milestone for Andrada, as it allows the company to advance its lithium expansion programme, owing it to the ground forces’ hard work.
Meanwhile, this latest development was well received by the Chamber of Mines and Commerce’s CEO Veston Malango who said the testing facility comes at a time when the government banned the export of rare earth minerals as it pushes for local beneficiation.
“Not long ago I was briefed by the company regarding this milestone and together we have agreed that the facility should be made open to all local miners for testing purposes to determine the content of the minerals or deposits that they have mined, instead of exporting it somewhere else because we now have the capabilities locally. I am informed the plant was constructed for N$95 million,” stated Malango.
He said Namibia’s Memorandum of Understanding with the European Union will bear fruits, hence encouraging such investors to come and set up manufacturing and processing plants.
“As the Chamber of Mines, we welcome such positive developments and it is our hope that the EU block will honour the agreement and do more investments. Another benefit is that we have engaged the Namibia University of Science and Technology to come on board and utilise the facility for laboratory testing and enhance local upskilling,” Malango said.
In addition, the Chamber recommended to the Mines and Energy Ministry to make a provision for a mobile testing plant that may cater for small-scale miners who cannot afford to construct multimillion-dollar facilities for as long as they do sell their raw deposits to local companies after ascertaining the value.
