TVI Pacific's 30.66% owned TVIRD Closes US $30 million Term Loan Facility Through GRC for its Siana Gold Mine
TVI Pacific's 30.66% owned TVIRD Closes US
$30 million Term Loan Facility Through GRC
for its Siana Gold Mine
CALGARY, AB
,
Dec. 28, 2023
/CNW/ - TVI Pacific Inc. (TSXV: TVI) (OTC Pink: TVIPF) ("
TVI
" or
"
the Company
") is pleased to announce that Greenstone Resources Corporation (
"GRC"
), the
owner and operator of the Siana Gold mine (
"Siana"
) and an entity wholly owned by TVI Resource
Development Phils., Inc. ("
TVIRD
"), a
Philippines
corporation in which TVI holds a 30.66% interest,
has closed an Omnibus Loan and Surety Agreement ("
OLSA
") with China Banking Corporation (the
"
Lender
") providing for a US
$30 million
principal amount term loan facility (the "
Facility
"), the
proceeds of which shall be used to partially finance its 3,000 metric tons per day ("
MTPD
") Siana
mine.
GRC Financing Highlights
US
$30 million
Facility concluded with China Banking Corporation.
Five (5) year term with a fixed interest rate per annum (
"pa"
) for the first two (2) years that
shall be repriced on the second anniversary from the initial drawdown date.
Repayable in fifteen (15) equal quarterly installments to start at the end of the sixth (6
th
) quarter
from the initial drawdown date. Interest is payable starting at the end of the first quarter from
the initial drawdown date.
GRC Financing
The Facility is a five (5) year term loan facility from the Lender in the aggregate principal amount of
up to US
$30 million
, the proceeds of which shall be used to partially finance GRCs 3,000 MTPD
Siana mine.
GRC has elected to apply a fixed interest rate for the first two years of any amounts borrowed
through the Facility that shall be based on the sum of the benchmark rate plus a spread of 200 basis
points or 6.50% pa, whichever is higher, as established one Banking Day prior to the relevant
drawdown date (
"Interest Rate Setting Date"
). A day after the second anniversary of the initial
drawdown date, a new repriced interest rate will be applied based on the sum of the applicable
benchmark rate plus a spread of 200 basis point or 6.50% pa, whichever is higher, as established
one Banking Day prior to the relevant anniversary from the initial drawdown date. The new interest
rate will be applicable for the remaining tenor of the loan.
Benchmark rate is the simple average bid yield for the Applicable Tenor of US dollar bonds issued
by the Republic of
the Philippines
as displayed on the ALLQ Screen source-BGN (or successor
screen) of Bloomberg (or such successor electronic service provider) at approximately
5:00 pm
GMT
+8 for the three (3) banking days ending on and inclusive of the Interest Rate Setting Date.
The principal shall be repaid in fifteen (15) equal quarterly installments to start at the end of the sixth
(6
th
) quarter from the initial drawdown date, with interest payable quarterly in arrears starting at the
end of the first quarter from the initial drawdown date. An option exists to prepay the Facility, in full
or in part, subject to a prepayment penalty.
The Facility shall be secured by:
a) A corporate surety provided by Prime Asset Ventures, Inc.;
b) Fine Properties, Inc., a member of the Villar Group, acting as Mortgagor;
c) A corporate surety provided by TVIRD and TVIRD acting as Share Security Grantor
whereby a first ranking security interest over all of TVIRD's shares in GRC is provided;
d) First ranking security interest over, or assignment of, GRC's rights/interests/receivables in
its contracts with buyers and all material contracts of Siana, excluding the Mineral Production
Sharing Agreement (
"MPSA"
);
e) The Debt Service Reserve Account that shall hold at least the amount equivalent to the
next principal repayment and interest due up to 90 days in advance of the due date; and,
f) Insurance contract rights related to Siana.
The Facility has been fully drawn on
December 28, 2023
.
"Conclusion of a loan facility with China Banking Corporation will help Siana to move toward
commercial production and to proudly become the fifth mine for TVIRD following the Canatuan gold-
silver mine from 2004 to 2008, the Canatuan copper-zinc mine from 2009 to 2014, the Agata nickel
direct shipping ore mine from 2014 to 2023 and in which TVIRD holds a 60% interest and the
Balabag gold/silver mine that commenced operations in 2021," stated
Cliff James
, Chairman and
CEO of TVI and Chairman of TVIRD. "This represents yet another exciting step for both TVIRD and
TVI Pacific as we continue to be focused on adding value to TVIRD's portfolio of projects."
About GRC
On
November 4, 2021
, TVIRD completed its acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity in GRC,
the owner and operator of Siana and the Mapawa Project ("
Mapawa
"), both of which are located in
the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Prior to the acquisition by TVIRD, GRC was
the
Philippines
affiliate of Red 5 Limited ("
Red 5
") (ASX: RED), a
Perth
, Western Australian-based gold
company, the shares of which are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Red 5 previously
reported in their 2020 Annual Report a combined historical Indicated JORC 2012 mineral resource
estimate for the Siana open pit and underground mine of 4.3Mt @ 4.6 g/t gold (
"Au"
) and 6.8 g/t
silver (
"Ag"
) and combined Inferred JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate for the Siana open pit
and underground mine of 0.5Mt @ 8.9 g/t Au and 10.6 g/t Ag. TVI is not treating this as a current
mineral resource under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
as a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current and
has not verified this information; as such, these estimates should not be relied upon.
Siana is located in Tubod, Surigao del Norte, approximately 35 kilometers from Surigao City and
near to Lake Mainit, while Mapawa is located 20 kilometers north of Siana and has the potential to
be developed as a satellite source of ore feed for the Siana processing plant. The Siana mine
covers a 3,289-hectare MPSA (MPSA No. 184-2002-XIII) in addition to 100% of the neighboring
1,482-hectare MPSA No. 280-2009-XIII for the Mapawa Project and the Ferrer Claim (as covered
by the Application for Mineral Production Sharing Agreement No. A000046 and comprising of one
Block of 595 hectares). The Siana MPSA was granted on
December 11, 2002
and registered with
the Philippine Mines and Geoscience Bureau on
December 27, 2002
for a term of 25 years. Siana
is located along the Surigao Valley Fault, a major mineral structure, which is a part of the major
Philippine Fault or Rift Zone. The Rift Zone constitutes multiple epithermal gold and porphyry-type
copper-gold mineral deposits.
GRC continues to focus on dewatering of the Siana pit and the reconditioning and commissioning of
the Process Plant. The construction of Tailings Storage Facility 6 (
"TSF-6"
) is now complete with
surfacing and maintenance of the embankment ongoing. Permission of the TSF Engineer has been
given to start utilizing the facility for mill tails deposition and soft-commissioning of the plant
commenced in December 2022. Through to
November 30, 2023
, a total of 365,249 tonnes of low-
grade stockpile mineralized material with an average grade of 0.68 g/t Au and 4.37 g/t Ag has been
milled, averaging through the same period a plant utilization of 64% and an average throughput of
1,900 MTPD to manage the drawdown of the low-grade stockpile until the full development of the
open pit is achieved. A total of 699 kg of doré containing 6,401 oz of Au and 15,377 oz of Ag have
been smelted and a total of 674 kg of doré containing 6,283 oz of Au and 14,968 oz of Ag have
been shipped as at
November 30, 2023
.
As the previous 100% owner of TVIRD, TVI's focus upon responsible mining established the
framework through which TVIRD received and has continued to receive various environmental and
safety awards for its exceptional performance. This discipline has carried through into GRC with
GRC being awarded in
November 2023
the Platinum Achievement Award in the Surface Mining
Operation category and runner-up for the Safest Surface Mining Operation Award by the
Presidential Mineral Industry Environment Award (
"PMIEA"
) Committee, both in relation to GRC's
operations at Siana mine as it continues to work through the soft-commissioning phase.
About TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc.
TVIRD, a Philippine corporation in which TVI holds a 30.66% interest, is a diversified mining
company that focuses on the acquisition, exploration, development and production of resource
projects in the Philippines. TVIRD owns 100% of the operating Balabag gold/silver mine, 100% of
the Siana gold mine that is proceeding through the stage of soft-commissioning, 100% of the
Mapawa project (gold), a 60% indirect interest in the Mabilo project (a copper-gold-iron skarn
deposit that offers potential for multi-metal products, namely copper, gold and silver, with by-
products magnetite and pyrite), and a 60% interest in Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (nickel/iron DSO
mine).
About TVI Pacific Inc.
TVI Pacific Inc. is a Canadian resource company focused on mining projects in
the Philippines
, one
of the most prolifically mineralized countries in the world. TVI currently holds a 30.66% equity
interest in TVIRD, a
Philippines
corporation. Through TVIRD, TVI has ownership in a currently
producing gold mine and is focused on bringing on-stream the Siana gold mine at which equipment
has been rehabilitated and commissioning of the plant has commenced in line with TVIRD's plan to
restart operations.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-
looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek",
"anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might",
"should", "believe", "scheduled", "to be", "will be" and similar expressions. Forward-looking
statements in this News Release are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of
the Company as at the effective date of such statements. Although the Company believes that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct.
Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (known and unknown)
that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such
forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the
Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information supplied by
third parties. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and that information received from third
parties is reliable, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been
correct.
Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (known and
unknown) that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or
implied and should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results.
These
factors include, but are not limited to, such things as: (i) general economic conditions in
Canada
,
the Philippines
and elsewhere; (ii) volatility of prices for precious metals, base metals, and other
commodities; (iii) commodity supply and demand; (iv) fluctuations in currency and interest rates;
(v) inherent risks associated with the exploration and development of mining properties, including
but not limited to geological characteristics, metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, the
availability of equipment and facilities necessary to complete development and the ability to
develop adequate processing capacity; (vi) the cost of consumables and mining and processing
equipment; (vii) unforeseen technological and engineering problems; (viii) ultimate recoverability
of reserves; (ix) production, timing, results and costs of exploration and development activities; *
political factors, political stability or civil unrest, including but not limited to acts of sabotage or
terrorism; (xi) availability of financial resources or third-party financing; (xii) changes in laws or
regulations (domestic or foreign); (xiii) changes in administrative practices; (xiv) changes in
exploration plans or budgets; (xv) the availability of skilled labour; (xvi) the failure of parties to
contracts with the Company and TVIRD to perform as agreed, including its joint venture partners;
(xvii) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and (xviii) extreme weather conditions and forces of
nature (i.e. typhoons, heavy rains, earthquakes, and the like) that may disrupt operations and
exploration.
Forward-looking statements regarding GRC's Siana development are based upon, but are not
limited to, TVIRD's past exploration, operations, construction and project development experience
in the region and in such terrain, current and previous exploration activities, discussions with third
parties, the availability of financing and TVIRD's overall plans, budget and strategy for Siana
(which are all subject to change).
The Company does not have control over TVIRD nor does it have any involvement in the
management or decisions of TVIRD or control over financial reporting and internal controls of
TVIRD. The Company relies on the internal controls and financial reporting controls of TVIRD and
their failure to maintain effectiveness or comply with applicable standards may adversely affect
TVI.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance upon the forward-looking statements
contained in this material change report and such forward-looking statements should not be
interpreted or regarded as guarantees of future outcomes.
Various risks to which the Company is exposed in the conduct of its business (including mining
activities) are described in detail in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended
December 31, 2022
, which was filed on SEDAR+ on
May 15, 2023
, and is available under the
Company's profile at
www.sedarplus.ca
.
The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof
and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or to revise any of the included
forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws in force in Canada.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary
statement.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
SOURCE
TVI Pacific Inc.
View original content:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2023/28/c2060.html
%SEDAR: 00001837E
For further information:
Contact Information: Patrick Hanna, Chief Financial Officer, TVI Pacific
Inc., Phone: 403-265-4356, E-mail: [email protected], www.tvipacific.com
CO: TVI Pacific Inc.
CNW 10:49e 28-DEC-23