Microsoft Word - 23 Apr 15 - Sandfire Completes Restructure of DeGrussa Project Finance Facility
www.sandfire.com.au
ASX/Media Release 22 April 2015
SANDFIRE COMPLETES RESTRUCTURE OF DEGRUSSA PROJECT FINANCE FACILITY
Restructure of outstanding $125M DeGrussa Project Finance Facility completed into a separate
$85M Revolver Facility and $40M Amortising Facility.
$85M Revolver Facility will provide increased flexibility to repay and redraw as required.
Extended facility term to December 2017 is better aligned with the recently extended mine life at
DeGrussa (to mid-2021).
Further to its announcement of 31 March 2015, Sandfire Resources NL (ASX: SFR; "Sandfire") is pleased to advise that it has reached agreement with its financier, ANZ Banking Corporation ("ANZ"), to restructure the DeGrussa Project Finance Facility.
The restructured facility provides increased flexibility and better aligns the facility term to the operating cash flows to be generated by DeGrussa over the recently extended mine life. The DeGrussa Mine Plan now extends until mid-2021 (see ASX Announcement - 28 January 2015).
The revised structure includes two facilities, namely:
an $85 million Revolver Facility, initially fully-drawn, which can be paid down or redrawn as required and which must be fully repaid by 31 December 2017; and
a $40 million Amortising Facility with fixed repayments of $5 million per quarter for six quarters
(commencing on 30 June 2015), followed by $2 million per quarter for five quarters (ending 31
December 2017).
The previous repayment schedule required full repayment by December 2015. The new facilities are subject to usual financing terms, covenants and pricing.
Sandfire has also reduced its existing working capital facility with ANZ from $50 million to $25 million. This facility can be drawn-down against the value of saleable copper concentrate inventories held by the Company at the mine and ports and remains undrawn.
Management Comment
Sandfire's Managing Director, Mr Karl Simich, said the Company had decided to take advantage of the strong Australian Dollar copper price environment and the continuing robust operating and financial performance of the DeGrussa Copper Mine to implement a more flexible long-term debt structure.
"After rapidly reducing our debt over the past two-and-a-half years - with a total of $255 million now repaid against the original $380 million - we have reached agreement to restructure our facility arrangements with ANZ in a way that gives us better access to project cash flows in the short and medium term." he said.
"The repayment structure of the Amortising Facility ensures that we continue to steadily reduce our overall debt position over the next two and a half years while the $85 million Revolver Facility gives us the flexibility to either pay down our debt or redraw against this facility should we so desire in the future.
"This gives us a flexible and balanced debt structure that better aligns with the six-year mine life at DeGrussa following the recent resource, reserve and mine plan update, while allowing us greater freedom to deploy cash across our business in the short term," Mr Simich continued.
"With the DeGrussa operation continuing to perform strongly from a production and cost perspective, the project benefiting from a strong Australian Dollar copper price, and the Company's gearing now reduced, this represented an opportune time to restructure and reposition our financing arrangements for the future," he said.
ENDS
For further information contact: Sandfire Resources NL
Karl Simich - Managing Director/CEO Matthew Fitzgerald - CFO
Office: +61 8 6430 3800
Read Corporate
Mobile: +61 419 929 046 (Nicholas Read) Mobile: +61 421 619 084 (Paul Armstrong)
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made during or in connection with this statement contain or comprise certain forward-looking statements regarding Sandfire's Mineral Resources and Reserves, exploration operations, project development operations, production rates, life of mine, projected cash flow, capital expenditure, operating costs and other economic performance and financial condition as well as general market outlook. Although Sandfire believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such expectations are only predictions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual values, results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in any forward looking statements and no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, results could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, changes in economic and market conditions, delays or changes in project development, success of business and operating initiatives, changes in the regulatory environment and other government actions, fluctuations in metals prices and exchange rates and business and operational risk management. Except for statutory liability which cannot be excluded, each of Sandfire, its officers, employees and advisors expressly disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the material contained in this statement and excludes all liability whatsoever (including in negligence) for any loss or damage which may be suffered by any person as a consequence of any information in this statement or any error or omission. Sandfire undertakes no obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after today's date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events other than required by the Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rules. Accordingly you should not place undue reliance on any forward looking statement.
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