Argonaut acted as Financial Advisor to Northern Minerals Limited (ASX:NTU) (“Northern Minerals”) to successfully provide approximately A$61 million of structured financing for the Browns Range Pilot Plant.
Argonaut and Northern Minerals sourced funds as follows:
- $10m Sales Agreement Prepayment for the Browns Range heavy rare earths Pilot Plant output with Lianyugang Zeyu New Materials Sales Co Ltd (JFMAG), a 51% owned subsidiary of Guandong Rare Earths Group (“Guandong”). Guandong is one of the 5 major heavy rare earths companies in China. The Sales Agreement includes A$10m pre-payment, receivable in early 2018 and 40 million unlisted options at $0.25 exercise price
- $11m Deferred Contractor Payment with Sinosteel MECC who has agreed to defer 20% of its contract amount for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Brown Ranges Pilot Plant for 24 months, with the ability to convert into Northern Minerals shares at a conversion price of the lessor of $0.15 per share or 20 day VWAP prior to conversion notice.
- $26m Equity Placements to various parties including Hutai Mining Pty Ltd, project contractors and Australian retail investors
- $14m Convertible Securities Financing with Lind Partners for a 30 month term, including provisions for the conversion into Ordinary Shares or repayment in cash, and second ranking security
Argonaut is delighted to have supported Northern Minerals and looks forward to providing ongoing assistance to the company.
Additional information regarding Northern Minerals and the various funding components can be found on the company’s website at www.northernminerals.com.au.