Indonesia-listed miner PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk has secured shareholders’ approval to issue as much as 2.29 billion new shares, representing 10% of the company’s paid-up capital, for a private placement offering within the next two years, a top executive said.
Merdeka Copper Gold president director Albert Saputro said the shareholders have also agreed to allocate as much as 600 billion rupiah ($41 million) to repurchase its shares within the next 18 months.
The private placement agreement aims to provide funding flexibility for the company’s business activities and potential expansion plans, Saputro said in a statement.
Merdeka Copper Gold has conducted large acquisitions within the first three months of 2022, including PT Hamparan Logistik Nusantara, whose nickel ore reserves is one of the largest in the world, and PT Andalan Bersama Investama.
The company recorded $65.41 million in net profit in the first quarter of 2022, a swing from $6.34 million in losses in the same period a year earlier. Its EBITDA reached $105 million in the January-March period, compared with $25 million a year earlier on the back of proceeds from the company’s assets.
Merdeka Copper Gold vice president-director Simon Milroy said, the company will continue to focus on Indonesia.
“We’ve got the right cornerstone shareholders, access to finance through the listing, our banking relationships and the right technical expertise to operate successfully in Indonesia. It’s fair to say we are in the most prospective country in the world for copper, gold and nickel,” he said at a public expose.
The company’s gold mine Tujuh Bukit is projected to produce between 100,000 ounces and 120,000 ounces of gold with an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,000-1,100 per ounce.