Serrote copper-gold project : Mineração Vale Verde secures $140m debt financing

Mineração Vale Verde (MVV) has secured debt financing of $140 million for the development of its Serrote copper-gold project in Alagoas, Brazil.

The Brazilian miner is a portfolio company of Appian Capital Advisory, a British investment advisor.

The debt financing will be provided by ING Capital, Natixis (New York branch), and Societe Generale.

Mineração Vale Verde said that the copper-gold project is now fully funded through production with the debt financing to cover the remaining development costs.

The Serrote copper-gold project, through open pit operations, is expected to produce nearly 20 ktpa of copper equivalent during an initial 14-year mine life. This will feed a processing plant with a capacity of 4.1 Mtpa.

Mineração Vale Verde said that the Serrote project is said to be on track to begin production in the latter half of this year.

According to the Brazilian miner, more than 94% of overall project execution has been wrapped up.

Appian Capital Advisory’s Appian Natural Resources Fund II will acquire a royalty over a portion of the gold by-product produced from Serrote, as part of the overall project funding package.

Paulo Castellari – CEO of Mineração Vale Verde and Appian Brazil said: “I am pleased that we have been able to secure this financing for Serrote, which finalises the overall funding package and will support completion of project development and delivery of first production.

“It is an important development which recognises the continued progress and key milestones achieved to date and highlights the attractiveness of this high-quality copper-gold deposit. The tremendous progress we have made during the pandemic is also testament to the hard work and determination of our employees, and I look forward to bringing Serrote into production on schedule and in line with budget.”