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Overview

Shandong Gold Group provides a $20 million AUD loan to Focus Minerals for working capital purposes related to advancing feasibility work at the Cooldgardie Gold Project and the Laverton Gold Project

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$14,230,811
Commitment Year•2020Country of Activity•AustraliaDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•AustraliaSector•Industry, Mining, ConstructionFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Oct 1, 2020
Start (actual)
Oct 28, 2020
End (actual)
Oct 28, 2020
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Oct 28, 2023

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownershipAt least 25% Chinese ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned companies

  • Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd.

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Focus Minerals Limited

Loan description

Shandong Gold Group provides a $20 million AUD loan to Focus Minerals for working capital purposes related to advancing feasibility work at the Cooldgardie Gold Project and the Laverton Gold Project

Interest rate (t₀)•3.5%Interest type•Fixed Interest RateMaturity•3 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In or around October 2020, Chinese state-owned gold mining company Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd. entered into a $20,000,000 AUD loan agreement with Focus Minerals Limited — an Australia-incorporated gold producer with operations based in Coolgardie in Western Australia listed on the Australian Securities Exchange whose largest shareholder at the time was Shandong Gold International Mining Corporation Limited (49.27%) — to advance feasibility work at the Cooldgardie Gold Project and the Laverton Gold Project. This loan carried a maturity period of three years with principal payable at the end of the term and an interest rate of 3.5% payable quarterly in arrears. This loan was unsecured. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower for working capital purposes related to advancing feasibility work for the Cooldgardie Gold Project and the Laverton Gold Project. This loan was fully drawn down on October 28, 2020 and thus due on October 28, 2023. As of December 31, 2020, the total interest for the loan for the year was $126,389 AUD. As of December 31, 2021, the total interest for the loan for the year was $709,722 AUD. As of December 31, 2022, the total interest for the loan for the year was $709,722 AUD. In 2022, Shandong Gold Group Co. Ltd provided a letter of comfort to Focus Minerals Limited to indicate its intention to extend the repayment date of the $20 million AUD loan from October 2023 to October 2024. The Coolgardie Gold Project was located in Western Australia and drew resources from the Greenfields, Brillant, and Bonnie Vale deposits. Based on pre-feasibility study results, there was a total ore reserve of 6.64 million tons at 1.97 grams per tor ton for 422,000 ounces of gold, which would supporting a six-year mine life based on a primarily open-pit with an average production of 63,000 ounces annually. The Laverton Gold Project was located in Western Australia and was subject to extensive exploration drilling.

Staff comments

1. In 2021, Shandong Gold International Mining Corporation Limited increased its stake in Focus Minerals Limited from 49.27% to 62.84%, making it the majority owner of the company {{see pg.76 of ID#194068}}. 2. As this loan was for working capital purposes and the borrower drew down the full value of the loan on October 28, 2020, AidData has coded October 28, 2020 as the actual implementation start and end date dates and set the project_status field to Completion.