BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Solidcore Resources plc has secured a seven-year $100 million credit facility from Germany's KfW IPEX-Bank to finance the construction of the Ertis POX project in Kazakhstan.
This was announced in a report published by Solidcore Resources plc.
According to the information, the facility will finance infrastructure, equipment and engineering costs for the project. It has a three-year-and-six-month grace period, with repayments scheduled to begin in 2030.
"Our agreement with KfW IPEX-Bank to finance Ertis POX construction marks an important milestone for the project. This is a meaningful addition to the previously announced syndicate financing of $600 million, which further demonstrates the strong confidence of our international financial partners in our strategy and long-term vision," Solidcore Resources CFO Evgenia Onuschenko said.
Ertis POX, located in the Pavlodar Special Economic Zone, is Kazakhstan's first large-scale, high-tech full-cycle pressure oxidation plant for refractory ore processing. The project's capital expenditures are estimated at $978 million and will be financed through a combination of Solidcore's operating cash flow and bank financing.
The new facility will be capable of processing up to 300,000 tons of gold-bearing concentrate and producing up to 500,000 ounces of gold in dore alloy annually. The project is expected to create approximately 500 permanent jobs in the region, as well as around 1,000 jobs during the construction period.
According to KfW IPEX-Bank, the financing will support European exports, enabling Belgian company Coek Engineering to supply a 50-meter pressure oxidation autoclave for the project.
"With this financing, we are supporting European exports, helping to position European industry more strongly in global competition," Member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank Dr. Velibor Marjanovic said.
KfW IPEX-Bank is a German project and export finance bank and a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned KfW Group. The bank provides financing for infrastructure, energy, transport, and industrial projects.
Solidcore Resources is a gold producer registered in the Astana International Financial Centre and listed on the Astana International Exchange. The company operates two producing gold mines and the Ertis POX growth project in Kazakhstan.
