Wheaton, Kinross close sale

Wheaton River Minerals (WRM-T) has completed the sale of its George Lake project in Nunavut to Kinross Gold (K-T).

Wheaton received 4 million Kinross shares in return for its 100% interest in the project.

Kinross has already carried out $6 million worth of drilling under a 1999 option agreement that would have seen the major earn a 70% interest by spending $20 million before December 2004.

Kinross’s work has focused on the Goose Lake deposit, where the partners outlined a resource of 3.9 million tonnes grading 12.5 grams gold per tonne, or 1.6 million contained ounces.

Five other deposits at the property host resources totalling 3.9 million tonnes at 10 grams gold, or another 1.3 million contained ounces.

Wheaton, meanwhile, has revamped its management team and is looking to act as a consolidator among junior gold producers active in the Americas. At last report, Wheaton had $25 million in cash and no debt.

Tiomin appeals Kenyan judgment

The Kenyan subsidiary of J.C. Potvin’s Tiomin Resources (TIO-T) has applied for a review of a Kenyan court judgment made in regards to the company’s mineral sands project in coastal Kenya.

In February 2001, three Kenyan citizens launched a suit against Tiomin Kenya Ltd. in the High Court of Mombasa, claiming damages and requesting an injunction against further work in the project area.

At that time, Justice Hayanga issued an ex parte 14-day work injunction to Tiomin, which prevented the company from pursuing exploration or development in the project area. It also prohibits Tiomin from having any contacts with local residents.

Following protracted hearings regarding the injunction, Justice Hayanga ruled on Sept. 21, 2001, that the injunction should remain in place pending the resolution of the court case, which is due to begin Dec. 18.

Tiomin says the plaintiff’s claims are “without merit,” and remains hopeful Kenya’s Court of Appeal will hear its appeal early in 2002.

Stillwater amends credit line

Stillwater Mining (SWC-N) has amended its long-term, US$250-million credit facility in light of recent plans to cut production.

The company has already drawn down US$200 million on its credit line; the the remaining US$50 million is available under a 5-year revolving line, of which US$25 million is immediately available and will be drawn down shortly. The second US$25 million will be available to the company as certain operating thresholds are achieved.

Of the US$200 million already drawn down, US$65 million is in the form of a 5-year term loan, and US$135 million is 7-year loan. The interest rate on the 5-year loan and the revolving facility will be between 2.5% to 2.9% above the London Interbank Borrowing Rate; the 7-year loan will be priced at 3.7% above LIBOR. The company will be converting about half of the variable-rate loans to fixed-rate loans prior to Jan. 31, 2002.

Alcan to redeem debentures

On Jan. 15, 2002, Alcan (AL-T) will redeem all of its currently outstanding 8 7/8% US$150-million debentures due on Jan. 15, 2022. The redemption will be at a price of 104.15%.

Gabriel expands in Romania

Gabriel Resources intends to raise up to $34.5 million to advance its 80%-owned Rosia Montana gold project in Romania.

Gabriel will issue up to 13.8 million shares priced at $2.50 per share under an agreement with HSBC Securities, Canaccord Capital and Dundee Securities.

The money will be used for village relocation and resettlement, as well as engineering and permitting.

Meanwhile, Gabriel’s exploration spinoff, European Goldfields (EGU-V), has landed a $4.7-million private placement of 1.5 million shares priced at $3.10 apiece. A portion of the proceeds will be used to explore projects in Romania.

Inmet alters reclamation provision

Inmet Mining (IMN-T) is reducing by $15 million its reclamation provision in response to lower-than-expected spending at its closed mines.

The $15 million (or 43 per share) is an after-tax amount and will be included in earnings in the fourth quarter.

The long-term reclamation balance at the end of this year is expected to be $35 million. Slightly less than half this amount represents the present value of future water treatment costs; the remainder represents closure costs.

Jipangu boosts stake in Cambior

The Japanese gold-investing company Jipangu has increased its interest in Montreal-based Cambior (CBJ-T) to 37.8%.

Already Cambior’s largest shareholder, Jipangu has bought 6.1 million Cambior shares for 83 each from Sprott Canadian Equity Fund, Sprott Hedge Fund LP, Eric Sprott and Sprott Securities.

Separately, Jipangu issued to Sprott Securities $10 million in redeemable convertible debentures to accounts managed by it. The debentures have a term of three years with interest payable at 7%.

Glencore scores in US debt markets

Swiss-based commodity giant Glencore International has returned once again to the U.S. debt capital markets by raising US$300 million in a private placement.

In response to strong demand, Glencore increased the placement to US$300 million from an initial US$200 million.

The issue was placed with 16 institutional investors, divided among tranches of up to 20 years with a weighted average life of 9.9 years and an average coupon of 6.9%.

JP Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney acted as lead manager and co-manager, respectively.