Grange Resources considers sale to ease project burden
From: Dow Jones Newswires
January 03, 201212:00AM
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GRANGE Resources is considering selling part of its stake in the Southdown iron ore project in Western Australia to help fund the proposed $2.57 billion export venture.
Chief executive Russell Clark said that if necessary, the Perth-based company would also sell part of Savage River, its already functioning iron ore mine in Tasmania.
Grange owns 70 per cent of Southdown and Japan's Sojitz holds the remainder.
The mine is expected to start operating in 2014 and produce 10 million tonnes of magnetite annually for at least 19 years.
Magnetite is a type of low-grade iron ore used to develop steel-making pellets, and is more expensive to produce than the conventional high-grade variant.
Sojitz is also in talks to sell part of its 30 per cent stake in Southdown to help share development costs, sources said.
"We recognise it's a big project and we're not a big company," Mr Clark said. "By selling down part of Southdown, up to 30 per cent perhaps, you immediately reduce your debt and equity requirements by that amount."
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There was no formal asset sale process under way at present, with the company likely to need most of next year to bed down Southdown's debt component because of Europe's rocky credit markets, Mr Clark said.
JPMorgan, which recently started coverage of Grange, places a value of $275 million on the Southdown asset. The estimated $2.57bn cost of developing the venture compares with Grange's market value of about $600m.
Grange said in October that Standard Chartered Bank had been appointed to advise on its debt requirements.
"I still believe the bulk of the funding will come out of Japan and China," Mr Clark said
From: Dow Jones Newswires
January 03, 201212:00AM
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
GRANGE Resources is considering selling part of its stake in the Southdown iron ore project in Western Australia to help fund the proposed $2.57 billion export venture.
Chief executive Russell Clark said that if necessary, the Perth-based company would also sell part of Savage River, its already functioning iron ore mine in Tasmania.
Grange owns 70 per cent of Southdown and Japan's Sojitz holds the remainder.
The mine is expected to start operating in 2014 and produce 10 million tonnes of magnetite annually for at least 19 years.
Magnetite is a type of low-grade iron ore used to develop steel-making pellets, and is more expensive to produce than the conventional high-grade variant.
Sojitz is also in talks to sell part of its 30 per cent stake in Southdown to help share development costs, sources said.
"We recognise it's a big project and we're not a big company," Mr Clark said. "By selling down part of Southdown, up to 30 per cent perhaps, you immediately reduce your debt and equity requirements by that amount."
.
. .
There was no formal asset sale process under way at present, with the company likely to need most of next year to bed down Southdown's debt component because of Europe's rocky credit markets, Mr Clark said.
JPMorgan, which recently started coverage of Grange, places a value of $275 million on the Southdown asset. The estimated $2.57bn cost of developing the venture compares with Grange's market value of about $600m.
Grange said in October that Standard Chartered Bank had been appointed to advise on its debt requirements.
"I still believe the bulk of the funding will come out of Japan and China," Mr Clark said
