Australian company Black Rock Mining Limited (ASX: BKT) has received loan approval from The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for up to USD 59.6 million for its Tanzanian operations.
The funding is allocated for the Mahenge Graphite Project and is expected to form a significant part of the project’s overall debt financing.
The loan is contingent upon the finalization and execution of legal documentation in line with the terms stipulated by DBSA.
In addition to DBSA, Black Rock is in discussions with various other potential lenders, including Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Tanzanian commercial banks, to secure further financing.
These institutions are currently finalizing their due diligence processes, which have included site visits, and are now progressing towards indicative term sheets.
The company anticipates notifications of lender Board approvals within the fourth quarter of 2023.
Upon receiving these approvals, Black Rock aims to finalize and execute facility agreements with the successful lenders.
The terms and conditions for these facilities are expected to be standard for such financing, although there is no certainty on the specifics that lenders may require.
The financing structure for the Mahenge Project is designed to be a mix of debt and equity, with the company targeting a debt component of up to 50% through traditional project finance methods.
POSCO, a multinational corporation, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) indicating a potential cornerstone equity investment of up to USD 40 million.
The debt financing is primarily intended to support the construction of Module 1 of the project and its associated infrastructure.
This includes a 220kV powerline and related switchyards at the Mahenge townsite.
Black Rock is progressing with its financing plans and continues to target the commencement of production from Module 1 in the year 2025.
The DBSA is a prominent African Development Finance Institution, wholly owned by the South African government.
Its mandate is to promote sustainable socio-economic development within South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the broader Sub-Saharan region through investments in social and economic infrastructure sectors.
The Mahenge Graphite Project
The Mahenge Project is spread across 324 square kilometers of exploration tenements in Tanzania’s Ulanga district, approximately 250 km north of the border with Mozambique.
The project is fully owned by Black Rock Mining and is one of the largest JORC-compliant flake graphite resources globally.
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