TVI Pacific unit obtains $20M loan facility for Balabag project

TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) has signed a nonbinding term sheet with Metrobank for a $20-million term loan facility for its Balabag gold-silver project, the company said Wednesday. TVIRD, the local unit of Canadian miner TVI Pacific Inc., said the three-year facility will provide the company with additional working capital funding for construction, mining and processing activities at the mine, which is in Zamboanga del Sur and some 75 kilometers away from its Canatuan mine in Zamboanga del Norte. Repayments will be spread over eight quarters after a one-year grace period. The interest rate of the facility is to be set at 90-day Libor plus 250 basis points, fixed on a quarterly basis. The bank will also make available an additional $3-million letter of credit to TVIRD for a 180-day period at the prevailing market rate. According to TVI, Metrobank had provided debt financing to TVIRD before, which the company has repaid in full. TVIRD, which holds a mineral product sharing agreement (MPSA) for of the 4,779-hectare Balabag property, expects plant construction by the second half of this year followed by its first ore production by the 1st quarter of next year. — BM, GMA News