Lydian International Limited, the 100% shareholder of Geoteam CJSC has
announced that it has arranged a $325 million construction financing
package to be provided by Orion Mine Finance (“Orion”) and Resource Capital
Funds (“RCF”). Additionally on November 20 Lydian had announced value
engineering results for Amulsar project with a pre-production capital costs
decrease by 13% to $370 million and all-in sustaining costs decreaseby 17% to
$585/oz of gold. Lower costs resulted, in part, from a decrease in the
stripping ratio; the optimized layout and flow sheet leading to favorable
reductions in consumables such as diesel, electricity and reagents; and a
higher percentage of gold ounces recovered per tonne of ore mined and
processed. This has significantly improved the economics of the project
highlighting Amulsar as a competitive and attractive project for investors.
Howard Stevenson, President and CEO of Lydian International said: “This
Financing is an important milestone in our commitment to all stakeholders to
advance Amulsar to production. The economic enhancements from our recently
announced value engineering work represented a major step toward our
objective of optimizing project economics and underpinned the opportunity to
complete this Financing. Orion and RCF are highly-respected mining finance
investment funds, and over and above their financial commitments, each group
brings added experience to our team.”
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia said “The financing of the
construction of the Amulsar Mine represents a significant step forward in the
development of the mining industry in Armenia. The Government of Armenia is
pleased that significant investors in the mining industry recognize Armenia
as a mining investment destination. We look forward to the
socio-economic contributions to Armenia that the Amulsar Mine represents.”
Hayk Aloyan, Managing Director of Geoteam CJSC said: “Mining industry
experiences visible downturn in terms of commodity prices and project
financing in the recent years. Especially in this light securing financing
for Amulsar is a significant achievement. It highlights Armenia as an
investment destination. The investment will flow into building a modern, well
managed mine in Armenia, bringing significant economic benefits to the
country and the communities around Amulsar.”
Orion Mine Finance is a mining-focused investment business with approximately
$1.85 billion under management specializing in providing flexible capital
investment solutions to mining companies in the base and precious metals
sector. Orion has demonstrated capability in debt, equity, convertibles,
offtake, streaming, and royalty investments. In addition, the Orion team has
experience in the physical metals markets, such as facilitating the purchase,
metal financing, transporting, processing and selling of a mine’s output to
end customers.
Resource Capital Funds is a private equity firm established in 1998 with a
mining sector specific investment mandate spanning all hard mineral
commodities and geographic regions. Since inception, RCF has supported 142
mining companies, with projects located in 45 countries and across 29
commodities. RCF is currently investing its sixth fund with committed capital
of $2.04 billion. Further information about RCF can be found on its website (www.resourcecapitalfunds.com).
RCF has a strong team of technically diverse investment professionals, with
wide ranging industry expertise and demonstrated history of investments in
mining globally. RCF’s track record is based on its ability to pick
technically and commercially compelling assets and support management to
achieve desired outcomes whilst remaining throughout a source of patient
capital. RCF aims to partner with companies to build strong, successful and
sustainable businesses and in doing so strives to earn superior returns for
all shareholders.
In addition to the commitments from Orion and RCF, Lydian continues to have
prominent investors that include International Finance Corporation and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and development. Lydian and Geoteam are
committed to best practices in all aspects of its operations including
production, sustainability, and good corporate citizenry.
