PROJECT FINANCE

Altamira considers other finance for Brazil mine

Mining hopeful Altamira Gold says it’s “considering other financing options” as it is yet to receive any payments due under a US$6 million gold forward purchase agreement.

Staff reporter
 Altamira Gold’s Cajueiro project in Brazil

Altamira Gold’s Cajueiro project in Brazil

Altamira had signed the deal with MetalStream in April, to fund the construction of a small mine and 1000 tonne per day processing plant at its Cajueiro project in Brazil's Mato Grosso state.

"To date, MetalStream has failed to make any of its contractual payments to Altamira," the company said on Friday.

MetalStream is a private company registered in Malaysia and has not commented further on the deal since announcing the agreement in April.

Altamira said it had not formally agreed to any further extensions of the MetalStream payments beyond July 14 and September 14.

President and CEO Michael Bennett, who is Altamira's largest shareholder, said the situation was very disappointing but the company had not yet made a decision to terminate the MetalStream deal.

"However, the ability to terminate the agreement presents an opportunity for Altamira to explore a number of alternative unsolicited offers of financing," he said.

"Management has made significant advances in completing the necessary engineering and design work at Cajueiro over the last few months, and is confident that these advances will increase the likelihood that the company will be able to secure funding for this project."

Cajueiro has an indicated 5.66 million tonne resource at 1.02g/t gold for 185,000 ounces and an inferred 12.66Mt at 1.26g/t for 515,000oz.

The company pointed out a production decision had not been based on a feasibility study.

It received key permits for the trial mining project over the past year and had been hoping to start production in the second half of 2021, according to an August presentation.

Altamira last raised C$1.7 million in an oversubscribed placement priced at 6c per unit which closed in March.

Its shares (TSXV: ALTA) have ranged from C3.5c-18.5c over the 12 months to date.

They closed down 3.3% to 14.5c on Friday, valuing it at $14.4 million (US$10.8 million).

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Investor Sentiment Report 2024

Survey revealing the plans, priorities, and preferences of 120+ mining investors and their expectations for the sector in 2024.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Mining Equities Report 2023

Access an exclusive, inside look on the quarterly mining IPOs and secondary raisings data and mining equities performance tables with an annual Stock Exchange Comparisons supplement.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence World Risk Report 2023 (feat. MineHutte ratings)

A detailed analysis of mining investment risks across 121 jurisdictions globally, built on 11 ‘hard risk’ metrics and an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Global Leadership Report 2023: Social licence

Gain insights into social licence trends and best practices from interviews with 20+ top mining company executives and an industrywide survey.