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PolyMet Mining kicked off the week with some good news, announcing Monday morning that Poly Met Mining, its subsidiary, has entered into a US$30-million loan facility with a subsidiary of Glencore.
PolyMet Mining (TSX:POM,NYSEMKT:PLM) kicked off the week with some good news, announcing Monday morning that Poly Met Mining, its subsidiary, has entered into a US$30-million loan facility with a subsidiary of Glencore (LSE:GLEN).
According to President and CEO Jon Cherry, the money will cover the company’s anticipated 2015 costs, which will be related to the completion of the environmental impact statement (EIS) for PolyMet’s NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals project, as well as subsequent permitting.
“The environmental review and permitting process continues to track in line with the schedule outlined by the Commissioners of the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency last fall,” Cherry added.
The loan facility is made up of four secured debentures, each of which is due on either March 31, 2016 or when $100 million in construction finance is available — whichever comes soonest. The first tranche of US$8 million was issued on January 30, 2015, and the other three are as follows:
- US$8 million to be issued on or before April 15, 2015
- US$8 million to be issued on or before July 1, 2015
- US$6 million to be issued on or before October 1, 2015
Encouragingly, Tom Meyer of CIBC World Markets has praised the announcement, stating in a Monday note that he sees it as as a “positive development for the company.” He also goes into detail about what’s next for the company, noting that while the permitting process is not controlled by PolyMet, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has said that the EIS for NorthMet should be completed this spring. The company expects to receive the final permits for the project late this year.
Investors should also expect “a definitive cost estimate and project update in the next several months, which will incorporate numerous process and project improvements, environmental controls described in the supplemental draft EIS and subsequent changes that will be reflected in the final EIS,” said Meyer.
If NorthMet goes into production it will be the first project in Minnesota to commercially extract metals from Minnesota’s Duluth Complex.
At close of day Monday, shares of PolyMet were up a modest 2.26 percent on the TSX, selling for $1.36 each. On the NYSE MKT they saw a similar increase, rising 2.86 percent to hit $1.08.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: PolyMet Mining is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.