There is enough important info within today's News Release, assurance that all is good and that we are still on the right track. This NR is the most informative that Almonty has released in half a year. Things are happening.
LB squashes any potential worry that we had concerning the envronmental issues.
Quote from LB from the NR:
“We are pleased to have received the fourth drawdown from our financing partners, KfW IPEX-Bank, under the US$75.1 million project financing loan facility. These drawdowns are occurring on time, as planned, in line with the drawdown schedule.
Much of what occurs when building a tier one mine such as Sangdong, in a developed democracy, occurs behind the scenes. We are building a mine that will serve as the focal point of western tungsten production, and it is important to ensure that plans are executed with diligence and consideration, as we are doing.
All long lead time equipment is now in Korea except for one drive that is waiting to be shipped from France. We have recently hosted multiple regional and local government visits as well as multiple residents who are all excited at the prospect of the reopening of the former largest tungsten mine in the world, especially in how it relates to both the local economy and the contribution it will make to Korea’s technology and heavy industrial economies, which have the highest per capita consumption of Tungsten in the world. All engineering plans are now finalised and surface scalping will shortly begin.
There is a reason that KFW IPEX-Bank has and continues to support the Sangdong project as it qualified for a tier 1 financing on the merits of the project and on the experience of our team. This fourth drawdown ensures that all the parties are comfortable that we are proceeding as anticipated and in a manner that ensures that we have maintained the highest levels of ESG to date.
Work also continues on the downstream Tungsten Oxide plant with a location 28kms from the Sangdong Mine at the Seok Moon Industrial Complex, which was identified due to its excellent existing infrastructure -- i.e. access to sufficient water, electricity, communications and gas as well as existing environmental permitting. We are also pleased to advise that the scoping study for the downstream Tungsten Oxide plant has now been completed. We are moving now to the application process with KFW IPEX-Bank which, in turn, leads to its credit approval committee. It is, as it has been with Sangdong, a lengthy process but ultimately represents the highest quality of financing available globally.
I am also pleased to note that the tungsten price has continued to remain strong against a backdrop of increasing demand especially from the defence sector. The last observed price on March 24th was US$336.50/MTU. This strong price, coupled with our unprecedented floor price guarantee in our contract with offtake partner Plansee GTP of US$235/MTU (with no upside cap), has the potential to generate truly spectacular returns for our shareholders once commissioning has commenced.”
KfW Facility Background
The Loan Facility is funded by KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, a 100% German state-owned development bank, pursuant to which the Company has access to a total US$75.1 million to finance the development and operation of the Sangdong Mine. The terms of the Loan Facility are favourable to the Company and the Sangdong Mine is targeted to be in operation well before the Loan Facility matures and becomes repayable.