Black Cat Syndicate, an Australian gold explorer, has secured $38.5m (A$60m) in commitments to support the restart of operations at three of its gold projects in Australia.
The company entered a debt and equity agreement with China-based Fuyang Mingjin New Energy Development (Mingjin) and Southeast Mingqing Supply Chain (Southeast Mingqing).
The equity part of the investment will amount to A$45m, which will be invested by Mingjin and Southeast Mingqing. After completion, each of the two companies will own a 19.9% stake in Black Cat.
As part of the investment, the company will issue nearly 200 million of its shares at A$0.225 apiece. All the shares are subject to an escrow until March 2027.
The remaining part of the investment is debt, amounting to A$15m. It will be provided by Mingjin. Once completed, with the debt amount Black Cat aims to pay in full its deferred amounts owed to Northern Star Resources.
This deal awaits the green light from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), and other regulatory approvals in Australia. It is also pending clearance from shareholders, which is scheduled for a general meeting in November this year.
Black Cat managing director Gareth Solly said: “This funding package is a major milestone as we drive toward Black Cat’s vision of being the dominant player in three prolific gold districts. Subject to completion, the A$60m funding package is to be used to restart Paulsens.
“In the period up to completion, we will be building on the foundation laid in the July 2023 Paulsens Restart Study. An updated study will be released in November 2023 targeting increased production, improved recoveries, lower upfront capital cost and stronger cash flow. We will also be progressing the regulatory items required for completion.
“We would like to acknowledge the support of our new proposed shareholders in Mingjin and Southeast Mingqing. Both parties share our vision of starting our three operations with strong internal cash flows and ongoing resource growth. This is an exciting time for Black Cat.”
Paulsens gold mine has been in operation since 2005. This high-grade underground mine has so far recovered 907,344oz at 7.3 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold with an average of nearly 75,000oz per annum (ozpa).
It was placed on care and maintenance in 2017 and Black Cat acquired it last year.
Coyote is 100% owned by Black Cat and located in Tanami gold region. It began operations in 2006 and since then has recovered 211,220oz at 4.9g/t of gold from open pits and underground at an average of nearly 35,000ozpa.
It was put into administration in 2013 and last year the company acquired it.
Kalgoorlie East gold project (Kal East) is located at Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. The company plans to build a central processing facility near the Majestic Mining Centre. The facility will be designed as a traditional carbon-in-leach gold plant suited for free milling resources along with third-party ores.
