JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-and Aim-listed Avesoro Resources’ wholly owned subsidiary Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC) has entered into equipment finance facility agreements with Mapa Insaat ve Ticaret, a related party of the company, to facilitate the purchase of heavy mining equipment for $6.1-million.
The additional equipment, which will be used at the New Liberty gold mine, in Liberia, was bought to help the company achieve the new mine plan.
Avesoro said it had sought quotes for the heavy mining equipment from a number of providers; however, owing to Mapa's purchasing power, it could secure more competitive terms than could be achieved by the company directly.
The finance agreements relate to two Sandvik 1500i drill rigs, one Komatsu PC1250 excavator and four Komatsu HD785 haul trucks. Delivery to New Liberty is expected to take place in late October.
BMMC expects to enter into further agreements with Mapa, on substantially similar terms, to facilitate the purchase of additional new equipment including three Komatsu PC1250 excavators and eight Komatsu HD785 haul trucks, along with some auxiliary equipment for delivery to New Liberty throughout the first quarter of 2018.
Once the mining fleet has been expanded, the company expects the mine will be able to ramp up to a quarterly gold production rate of 36 000 oz during 2018.