Top Create Resources Limited — a subsidiary of China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Company Limited — provides $300 million term loan facility for Kinsevere Copper and Cobalt Mining Expansion Project

Project narrative

On December 7, 2023, MMG Limited (borrower) and Top Create Resources Limited (lender) — a subsidiary of China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Company Limited (which is itself a subsidiary of China Minmetals Corporation, a state-owned enterprise incorporated under the laws of the PRC) — signed a $300 million term loan facility agreement for the Kinsevere Copper and Cobalt Mining Expansion Project. The loan carries an estimated maturity of 7 years (final maturity date: December 2030), and a fixed interest rate of 4.15%, but its grace period is unknown. As of the first quarter of 2024, the loan was undrawn and available. By the end of 2024, US$210.0 million had been drawn down and $90 million was available. The Kinsevere open-pit copper and cobalt mining operation is located in the Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo. The mine holds three deposits Tshifufia, Tshifufiamashi and Kinsevere Hill which are hosted by interbedded calcareous siltstones and silty dolomites of the Mines Group sediments. Tshifufia is a structurally modified stratiform copper deposit and is also the main deposit. It is hosted in the moderately to steeply dipping Neoproterozoic sedimentary formation, which is part of the Roan group of the Katanga stratigraphy in the mine series subgroup of the Katangan African copper belt. The oxide mineralization appears as disseminated in recrystallized layers or infilling bedding plans, reactivated bedding, fractures and joints. The mineralization is dominated by malachite and lesser pseudomalachite, hosted by highly altered dolomitic and argillaceous sediments. The sulphide mineralization at Tshifufia consists of chalcopyrite in crosscutting veins and stringers, produced during the Lufilian Orogeny. The Tshifufia and Tshifufiamashi deposits have a mineralization strike length of about 1.3km, while the Kinsevere Hill deposit has a 1km strike length. Mineralization is estimated to extend to a depth of 400m with up to 300m in width. MMG Limited (originally Minmetals Resources), a company headquartered in Australia, is responsible for the development of the Kinsevere Copper and Cobalt Mining Expansion Project. Through its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary MMG Malachite, MMG Limited acquired ownership in Anvil Mining in March 2012 that held a 95% equity stake in the Kinsevere mine. However, MMG Limited did not approve the Kinsevere Copper and Cobalt Mining Expansion Project until March 2022. The purpose of the project was to facilitate a transition to the mining and processing of sulphide ore and the commencement of cobalt production. At full capacity, the expanded mine was originally expected to increase the total annual production to around 80,000 tons (t) of copper cathode and 4,000t to 6,000t of cobalt in cobalt hydroxide with an estimated extended mine life of 13 years. During the construction phase, the Kinsevere Copper and Cobalt Mining Expansion Project was also expected to produce copper cathode from the existing oxide ore reserves. At baseline, the existing infrastructure at the Kinsevere mine consisted of a processing plant, onsite accommodation facility, water and power supply, access roads, and tailings storage facility (TSF). The new infrastructure at the Kinsevere Copper and Cobalt Mining Expansion Project was expected to involve the installation of a flotation plant, a roaster system and a cobalt processing circuit. An existing solvent extraction electro-winning (SX-EW) plant was also expected be integrated into the new facilities. The cobalt plant was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2023 with cobalt hydroxide produced, containing 105 tonnes of cobalt. The new tailing storage facility was commissioned in 2023 to support the cobalt plant ramp-up. The construction of the sulphide processing system continued with the majority of civil work completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. Mechanical and structural installation also commenced in 2023. Additional progress was made in 2023 at the jaw crusher, coarse ore stockpile, SAG mill, flotation cells, thickeners and concentrator storage, as well as the main body of the roaster plant. The first production of copper cathode from sulphides is expected in the second half of 2024, and a full ramp-up is expected in 2025. Mechanical completion of the Kinsevere expansion was reached on September 15, 2024.