Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Jan. 12 / Trend D. Azizov /
During 2010-2016 a consortium of Chinese companies invest $185 million to develop Uzbek-British joint venture Amantaytau Goldfields. It extracts gold in Central Kyzylkum, the leadership of the joint venture said.
An interlocutor of the agency said that the British Oxus Gold plc, owning 50 percent of shares in the joint venture, has signed the agreement with a consortium of Chinese companies to participate in financing an enterprise on the basis of "investments in exchange for shares."
The consortium includes Baiyin Non-Ferrous Group Co Ltd and CITIC Construction Co Ltd, controlled by the Chinese Government and private Chinese investment fund Chang Xin Yuan Su (Tianjin) /.
In accordance with the terms of the agreement, in the first phase of 2010 the consortium will invest $85 million in the construction of the second stage of gold extraction plant in exchange for shares of the new issue of Oxus Gold. They are planned to be placed in May 2010.
The consortium also signed a five-year warrant to purchase shares at $ 20 million with a commitment to invest $ 80 million in business development and increase of gold production.
As a result of placing warrants, Chinese consortium will own 59.7 percent of shares in Oxus Gold.
It was previously reported that Amantaytau Goldfields joint venture in terms of the financial crisis has reduced the cost of building the second stage of gold extraction plant from $168 to $74 million.
In accordance with the new parameters of the project, in the first quarter of 2011 the joint venture plans to put into operation the second stage of factories processing 400,000 tons of oxidized ore and the production of 100,000 ounces of gold per year over 12 years.
The project was planned to be financed owing to own funds of the joint venture, shareholders Oxus, as well as loan of Royal Bank Scotland (RBS) worth $ 75 million.
In early 2009, RBS announced about significant losses in 2008, and revision of the strategy of its activity. Oxus was forced to begin searching for new sources of financing the project.
Amantaytu Goldfields joint venture put into operation the first stage of the gold extraction plant in the field "Amantaytau" in Central Kyzylkum worth $ 31 million in late December 2003. The design capacity of the enterprise for processing oxide ores is one million tons per year and production worth 6.3 tons of gold. Information about the extraction of gold in 2008 has not been announced.
The founders of Amantaytau Goldfields joint venture with a statutory fund worth $11.6 million are the British Oxus Gold Plc (50 percent), the Uzbek State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources (40 percent) and the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Plant (10 percent).
