Stanbic Bank Ghana said on Wednesday it had closed a $60-million senior revolving loan with Gold Fields’ unit in the country.
The bank, a unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, said in a statement the loan was for a fleet replacement at Tarkwa and Abosso mines.
The loan facility is for three years, the company said.
“With this facility in place, Gold Fields operations in West Africa have fully matured and would no longer depend solely on shareholder loans for its working capital and future investments,” Peter Turner, executive vice-president of Gold Field’s West Africa operations said.
The Tarkwa mine produced 720 700 ounces of gold during the 2010 financial year and is seen producing between 720 000 ounces and 760 000 ounces in the financial year to end-June 2011.
Abosso’s Damang mine is seen producing between 220 000 ounces and 240 000 ounces of gold in the current financial year, after producing 207 400 ounces in 2010.
Gold Fields shares were up 1.52% at R98.99 as of 8.42am GMT, compared with a 0.7% rise in Johannesburg’s Top-40 Index. — Reuters