Great Panther Mining (TSX: GPR) announced that its Mexican subsidiary Minera Mexicana El Rosario entered into a $10-million concentrate prepayment agreement with IXM Group, one of the world’s largest physical metal traders, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
The deal entails that IXM’s subsidiary in Mexico commits to purchase 100% of the gold-silver concentrates produced from the Guanajuato Mine Complex in 2020 and 2021. As part of this commitment, the Swiss company agreed to advance a $10-million prepayment to MMR on December 30, 2019.
GPR shares were up by 1.52% on Monday following the announcement
In a press release, Great Panther explained that the prepayment will be repaid on December 31, 2020, and will bear interest at an annual rate of 3-month USD LIBOR plus 5%. There is no hedging of the price of gold or silver associated with the off-take or prepayment agreement.
“We are pleased to be partnering with IXM in Mexico for our GMC concentrates over the next two years,” Jeffrey Mason, the Canadian miner’s interim president and CEO, said in the media brief. “Securing the sale of this off-take at competitive market terms, while strengthening our balance sheet with $10 million at an attractive cost of capital, positions us well to achieve our strategic objectives as we move into 2020.”
The Guanajuato Mine Complex is Great Panther’s largest operation in Mexico and includes production from the San Ignacio mine, which is processed at the Cata processing plant. It is located within the central Guanajuato District – historically one of the country’s most prolific mining districts, with past production of over one billion ounces of silver and four million ounces of gold since the 16th century.