METAL Tiger has completed a pre-flotation financing of its new Thai mining joint venture to be called Kemco. The financing raised £514,000, payment of which will be triggered when the company lists on AIM later this year.
Metal Tiger and Kemco directors put in £67,000 of the money, which will fund the IPO costs and provide working capital for the Thai operations. Since January, Metal Tiger has provided an additional £590,000 to Kemco to cover costs. It is likely to contribute further moderate sums to support the operations before completion of the IPO.
Metal Tiger says the float, which is likely to occur during June or July, will be the first IPO of a Thai operation on the London Stock Exchange and it is looking to raise between £3 million and £4 million from the listing.
The primary assets are two underground silver-lead-zinc mines, Boh-Yai and Song-Toh in Kanchanaburi Province, which were worked between 1978 and 2002, and for which considerable infrastructure remains in place, including a plant.
Metal Tiger is pleased that a new Minerals Act has been signed by the King of Thailand and will be in force on August 30, 2017, which it believes will aid permitting of the mines.
CEO Michael McNeilly said the new act was signed ahead of expectations, removing a key element of timetable uncertainty in the permitting process. He said it underlined the Thai Government’s long-term commitment to the extractive industry. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with our JV partners to make the IPO a success. We are pleased that they will be in a position to make submissions to relevant authorities at an earlier date and have full confidence that they will make the strongest possible case for permitting.”
Metal Tiger says the mine plan is substantially complete, while an updated resource is progressing, which will lead to a further update on the plan. Work towards an environmental impact assessment report is under way, as is data collection for a water study.
“The management team for the Thai JV has significant in-country project development and operating expertise and this is proving invaluable and being demonstrated through the progress occurring to complete the studies before the envisaged IPO.”