USD70m Debt Mandate Letter for Sanankoro Project

Cora Gold Limited

28 June 2023

 

Cora Gold Limited / EPIC: CORA.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining 

28 June 2023

Cora Gold Limited  

('Cora' or 'the Company') 

US$70m debt Mandate Letter signed to support

Sanankoro Gold Project Construction

Cora Gold Limited, the West African focused gold company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a mandate letter to appoint Atlantique Finance to act as sole adviser in the structuring and mobilisation of a medium-term loan of US$70 million in CFA franc ('XOF') to support funding the development of Cora's flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in south Mali.

Atlantique Finance is the investment banking and advisory arm of Groupe Banque Atlantique and a member of the Banque Centrale Populaire Group ('BCP Group'), the 6th largest banking group in Africa in terms of equity and the leading banking institution in Morocco. The appointment of Atlantique Finance is for a minimum term of six months and on an exclusive basis.

Bert Monro, Chief Executive Officer of Cora, commented, "We look forward to working with Atlantique Finance to deliver debt finance for the construction of Cora's flagship Sanankoro Gold Project. The Banque Atlantique group has extensive experience of debt financing in West Africa.

"This US$70 million debt mandate is building on our fundraising activities earlier this year, where we raised US$3.9m in equity and US$15.9m in Convertible Loan Notes.  Once the definitive binding agreements in respect of senior debt are concluded, and such agreements become unconditional, then the Convertible Loan Notes are subject to mandatory conversion.  The Company looks forward to giving further updates on fully financing Sanankoro into production in due course as it progresses with Atlantique Finance."

Habib Kone, Chief Executive Officer of Atlantique Finance, commented, "Atlantique Finance and BCP Group have a track record of successfully helping businesses secure debt funding for various purposes including, in 2021, US$122m to support the construction of a gold mine in Guinea. Over the past five years Atlantique Finance and BCP Group have raised over US$8,500m on the banking and capital markets. We are confident in our ability to support Cora through our expertise and breadth of knowledge of the market, and we are available to seek the expected debt financing for the Sanankoro Gold Project."

Further information on the Sanankoro Gold Project

Following completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study and Maiden Reserves on Sanankoro the Company announced, on 21 November 2022, the following Optimised Project Economics (post tax, based on a gold price of US$1,750/oz) and a Maiden Probable Reserve of 422koz @ 1.3 g/t Au:

●     52.3% internal rate of return ('IRR')

●     1.2 year payback period

●     US$71.8m first full year free cash flow ('FCF')

●     US$234m FCF over life of mine ('LOM')

●     US$997/oz all-in sustaining costs ('AISC')

●     6.8 years Reserve mine life

●     56,000oz pa average production

●     US$90m pre-production capital (including mining pre-production & contingencies)

Market Abuse Regulation ('MAR') Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ('MAR'), which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit http://www.coragold.com or contact:

Bert Monro Craig Banfield	Cora Gold Limited	[e-mail]
Christopher Raggett Charlie Beeson	finnCap Ltd (Nomad & Broker)	[phone]
Susie Geliher Isabel de Salis Will Turner	St Brides Partners (Financial PR)	[e-mail]

Notes 

Cora is a West African gold developer with de-risked project areas within two known gold belts in Mali and Senegal. Led by a team with a proven track record in making multi-million-ounce gold discoveries that have been developed into operating mines, its primary focus is on developing the Sanankoro Gold Project in the Yanfolila Gold Belt, southern Mali, into an open pit oxide mine. Based on a gold price of US$1,750/oz and a Maiden Probable Reserve of 422 koz at 1.3 g/t Au the project has strong economic fundamentals, including 52% IRR, US$234 million Free Cash Flow over life of mine and all-in sustaining costs of US$997/oz. 

 

END