Debt Funding

Progressing Debt Financing Initiatives for the TECH Project

The debt financing due diligence process, led by advisors KPMG, has commenced and is ongoing. QPM’s debt funding strategy is to work with international export credit agencies and other government-backed lenders for the provision of debt financing for the TECH Project.

One of the most recent highlights of QPM’s debt funding progress is the non-binding letter of interest received from Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s export credit agency, for the potential provision of debt funding for the TECH Project for up to A$200m. This letter of interest is a significant development for QPM, as it demonstrates continued progress by QPM on its debt financing initiatives, which has already resulted in:

• A $250m indicative financing letter of interest received from EFA;
• Completion of strategic assessment phase for NAIF;
• Indicative letter of interest and support received from Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE);
• Expressions of interest from other export credit agencies and commercial banks.

QPM’s debt financing strategy has been to target a debt syndicate largely consisting of government-backed lenders led by Australian agencies, Export Finance Australia (EFA) and Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). The company remains in active discussions with these Australian and other international government agencies, as well as other commercial lenders.

QPM has also recently appointed independent consultants who will be assisting the lenders in their due diligence on the TECH Project. RPM Global has been formally appointed as Independent Technical Expert for the debt syndicate and has commenced its technical due diligence on the TECH Project. CRU Group has been appointed as the Independent Market Consultant and will be producing a detailed report on the Nickel and Cobalt Sulfate markets.

Overall, QPM’s debt financing process is progressing well and the company is confident that it will be able to secure the funding it needs to move forward with the TECH Project. The support from EDC, EFA, NAIF and K-SURE is a strong indication of the potential for success in securing the necessary debt funding for the project.