Apollo Gold Corp said it has closed a US$15 million bridge financing facility with Macquarie Bank Ltd and RMB Resources Inc relating to its 100 percent- owned Black Fox project near Timmins, Ontario, Canada.
At this time, Apollo can utilize US$6 million of the bridging loan to advance the Black Fox Project with the balance of US$9 million to be utilized pending satisfaction of certain conditions required by the banks.
The bridging loan is required to ensure that development of the open pit mine and the upgrade of the mill continue on schedule, while Macquarie Bank and RMB Resources are still conducting due diligence and a project review.
In May 2008 Apollo retained Macquarie Bank and RMB Resources as joint arrangers and underwriters for the Black Fox project finance facility.
The Bridge Facility will mature on June 30, 2009, but may be refinanced before that date if the project facility is finalized. Apollo expects that following completion of the due diligence process, and assuming Apollo is able to satisfy various conditions, Apollo and the banks would be in a position to finalize the project facility that will fund Black Fox through to commencement of production in April 2009.
Apollo is a gold mining and exploration company which operates the Montana Tunnels Mine, which is a 50 percent joint venture with Elkhorn Tunnels, LLC, in Montana, the Black Fox development project in Ontario, Canada, and the Huizopa project, an early stage exploration project in the Sierra Madres in Chihuahua, Mexico.