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- Lithium producer Altura Mining has announced a financial restructure to support its balance sheet
- A three-year extension has been approved for its current US$125 million loan
- The funding will help double production at the Altura Lithium Project here in Western Australia
- Additionally, the lithium miner is undertaking an equity raising to strengthen its position
- The company’s securities have been in voluntary suspension since mid-January and shares last traded for 6.3 cents each
Lithium producer Altura Mining (AJM) is now in the final stages of a significant financial restructuring that will support its balance sheet.
The company has announced a term sheet with current lenders to extend an existing loan facility by another three years.
In 2017, Altura secured a loan note subscription agreement from undisclosed lenders in the amount of US$110 million (approx. A$163.7 million). In 2018, an additional US$15 million (approx. A$22.3 million) was stacked on top of that.
The company needed the funding to accelerate its Altura Lithium Project and continue ongoing work on the Stage 2 expansion that is targeting a doubling of production to 440,000 tonnes per annum before July this year.
“The extension of the existing loan facility shows tremendous support by our lenders, who have been with us since the commencement of the development of this project,” Managing Director James Brown said.
In addition, Altura is undertaking a capital raise to strengthen its balance sheet even more and position itself well enough to meet its targets.
“This combined package gives us significant balance sheet strength to navigate the current lithium market. Fortunately, our operations continue to perform strongly with solid production and highly marketable product grade,” James added.
In December 2019, the company dropped its production guidance forecast due to an earlier than expected 92-hour plant shut down. This was originally planned for this month however it means the plant performance is now ready to meet higher production rates this year.
Altura is now finalising all documents and expects this to be done by the end of the month.
The company’s securities have been in voluntary suspension since mid-January and will remain so until the documentation and equity raising is finalised. Shares last traded for 6.3 cents each.
