GNM secures $50 million long term loan from consortium of Banks

KOLKATA: Gujarat NRE Minerals Ltd, (GNM) an Australian subsidiary of Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd has negotiated and secured a US$50 million long term loan from a consortium of Banks in Singapore, London, Hong Kong and Antwerp led by the Axis Bank Ltd.

Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd stood as a guarantor for the loan. It will be used to support and sustain mine developments that are in progress at the NRE No.1 Colliery and NRE Wongawilli Colliery of GNM.

GNM is developing three new roadways for conveyor, rubber-tyred vehicles and track vehicles in the Wongawilli Seam at NRE No.1 Colliery. Development of these roadways will allow access to the virgin coal seam and replaces the old access to the existing Bulli Seam workings.

At NRE Wongawilli Colliery, GNM is preparing its first longwall extraction panel, which is scheduled to commence in July this year and also establishing access to another portion of the colliery. All these developments will help the company ramp up total production to 7 million tonnes per annum from the NRE No.1 Colliery and NRE Wongawilli Colliery by the year 2012/13.

"The timing of the loan cannot be any better with much favourable US to Australian dollar exchange rate. In the current market downtrend market, GNM is focusing on expediting its developments and the availability of funds in current financial market offers GNM much better leverage over its suppliers and contractors to achieve desired progress and substantial cost-savings on these developments," said the company release.