Crocodile Gold Closes Prepaid Swap Facility With Credit Suisse
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 06/12/12 -- Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX: CRK)(OTCQX: CROCF)(FRANKFURT: XGC) ("Crocodile Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has, through its Australian subsidiaries (the "Sellers"), entered into a four-year prepaid swap facility with Credit Suisse AG whereby Credit Suisse advanced A$75 million against the sale of future gold production.
The facility is repayable in 39 equal installments of A$1,923,080 commencing on January 2013 and ending March 2016. The facility also provides for the Sellers entering into a gold swap agreement with Credit Suisse AG for 8,000 ounces of gold per month, commencing in July 2012 and continuing until March 2016 at an effective swap price of approximately A$1,540 per ounce. The effective swap price includes all interest owed to Credit Suisse for the A$75 million facility.
The facility also provides the Company with a series of call options struck at A$2,100 an ounce for 4,000 ounces of gold per month over the same timeframe, allowing Crocodile Gold to participate on the upside of the gold price above A$2,100 for half of the ounces hedged.
The facility is guaranteed by the Company and secured against the shares of the Sellers, which own the mining assets of Crocodile Gold located in Australia, and a security interest in all of the assets and properties of the Sellers. Ounces associated with the gold swap agreement represent less than 40% of the forecasted production over this period, with the remaining 60% planned to be sold at prevailing spot prices. The Company believes this approach will de-risk its growth strategy while offering significant exposure to increasing gold prices.
Crocodile Gold intends to use the proceeds of the credit facility to repay a portion of the bridge loan facility provided by Luxor Capital Group in connection with the completion of the acquisition by Crocodile Gold of the Fosterville and Stawell mines located in Victoria State, Australia through the acquisition of all of the shares of Northgate Australian Ventures Corporation Pty Ltd. from AuRico Gold Inc., which was completed on May 4, 2012, while the remainder of the bridge loan facility is to be repaid from cash on hand. The balance will be used for capital expenditures in respect of projects expected to contribute to the Company's growth strategy.
About Crocodile Gold
Crocodile Gold is a Canadian company with operating gold mines in the Northern Territory of Australia and in the State of Victoria with a land package of over 3,900 square kilometres. Crocodile Gold is currently mining at the Fosterville and Stawell mines in the State of Victoria. In the Northern Territory, the Company continues to develop its Cosmo underground mine and is permitting the International open pit mine. The Northern Territory ore production is processed at the Union Reefs Mill with a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per year.
At its Northern Territory properties, the Company has 3.175 million ounces of NI 43-101 reported Measured and Indicated mineral resources and 2.14 million ounces of Inferred mineral resources. These resources are inclusive of mineral reserves. At the State of Victoria properties, the Company has an additional 3.732 million ounces of NI 43-101 reported Measured and Indicated mineral resources and 0.622 million ounces of Inferred mineral resources. These are exclusive of mineral reserves which total 0.472 million ounces.
Crocodile Gold has an extensive exploration program in place in the Northern Territory and is exploring on several key properties on its expansive land package. Crocodile Gold's main focus is on the Cosmo Mine, the Union Reefs and Maud Creek project areas. In the State of Victoria, the Company has exploration programs in place designed to expand the resource base of each mine property.
For additional information, please visit our website www.crocgold.com. Follow us on Twitter (@crocgold_crk) or Facebook(www.facebook.com/CrocodileGoldCorp).
Qualified Person
David Keough, F.AusIMM and Bill Nielsen, P. Geo of Crocodile Gold, each a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101, have reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements, which include the use of proceeds of the facility, expected gold prices, and mineral resource estimates and are based on Crocodile Gold's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects" "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Crocodile Gold's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: liabilities inherent in mine development and production; geological, mining and processing technical problems; Crocodile Gold's inability to obtain required mine licenses, mine permits and regulatory approvals required in connection with mining and mineral processing operations; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; changes in commodity prices and exchange rates; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt operations and/or the transportation of mineral products, including labour stoppages and severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail, port and other transportation services; the ability to secure adequate financing and management's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Crocodile Gold undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Crocodile Gold Corp.
Rob Hopkins
Manager, Investor Relations
416-861-5899
info@crocgold.com
www.crocgold.com