JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Namibian copper miner Weatherly International is concluding the final documentation stage with Red Kite for an $80-million debt facility for the development of the 70 000 t/y Tschudi solvent extraction and electrowinning copper project.

The Aim-listed miner pointed out that this included the finalisation of an offtake agreement with Red Kite, the transfer of the Louis Dreyfus loan and hedge book and new financial security packages.

The company and Red Kite were also finalising the three major contracts for the project that were a precondition to loan execution and drawdown. These were contracts with Basil Read for mining; B & E International for crushing, agglomeration and stacking; and Logiman for plant construction.

“While we recognise that this is taking longer than anticipated, it does mean that, once drawdown occurs, we can mobilise immediately. We expect first copper production 16 months after drawdown, which according to our current schedule, is the last calendar quarter of 2014,” the company said in a statement.

Further, Weatherly noted that it had finalised an agreement for power supply for the project with the Namibian power utility NamPower.

It was also negotiating a long-term acid supply agreement with DPM Namibia and Protea Chemicals.

Meanwhile, the company’s Central Operations produced 5 250 t of copper concentrate, containing 1 242 t of copper metal, in the fourth quarter of the financial year.

Full-year output for the Central Operations amounted to 22 477 t of copper concentrate, containing 5 182 t of copper metal.

Weatherly stated that the restructuring of these operations had been completed and that the benefits were starting to materialise in terms of production levels and lower cash costs.

Further, the company reported that site preparation for its Old Matchless mine was progressing well, with the blast of the first cut of the decline access to be undertaken this month.

First ore production from the operation was expected to start in the second quarter of the 2015 calendar year.