Sierra Leone Secures Historic Mining Financing Deal

Mining

FG Gold Limited has reached fiscal adjacent connected a US$330 cardinal elder indebtedness installation with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Afreximbank, clearing the mode for afloat improvement of Sierra Leone’s flagship Baomahun Gold Project, the country’s archetypal modern, ample standard commercialized golden mine.

The financing, strengthened by further superior mobilised by Trafigura Group, brings full concern from African improvement concern institutions to US$430 million. According to FG Gold, this milestone represents 1 of the astir important task financing achievements successful Sierra Leone’s history, unlocking a transformational plus expected to reshape the country’s mining assemblage and present acold reaching economical benefits.

Oliver Tunde Andrews, Founder and Executive Chairman of FG Gold, described the accomplishment arsenic a defining infinitesimal for the country. He noted that the Baomahun Project demonstrates Africa’s increasing capableness to make satellite people mining ventures done blase financing, method expertise and organization collaboration. Andrews added that AFC’s anchor concern played a important relation successful attracting further financiers and gathering agelong word assurance successful the project’s viability.

AFC President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Samaila Zubairu, said the Baomahun improvement aligns with AFC’s ngo to catalyse sustainable, African led concern growth. He emphasised that the task sets a caller benchmark for responsible, globally competitory mining improvement connected the continent.

Afreximbank’s President and Board Chairman, Dr. George Elombi, noted that the bank’s information reflects its committedness to supporting African countries to alteration earthy resources into home wealthiness and inclusive growth. Trafigura’s Global Head of Metals and Mineral, Gonzalo De Olazaval, added that the company’s engagement underscores its expanding beingness successful golden markets and its assurance successful the project.

The Baomahun Gold Project is being executed done Boxmoor Au and the Africa Minerals and Metals Processing Platform (A2MP), supported by an engineering squad dominated by African professionals. Leading partners, including Lycopodium, Knight Piésold, CrossBoundary Energy and Komatsu/PanAfrican Equipment, are contributing to what is wide recognised arsenic 1 of Sierra Leone’s astir guardant looking mining developments.

The task introduces respective nationalist firsts successful financing, engineering standards, powerfulness solutions and assemblage partnership, offering a exemplary for delivering precocious interaction mining ventures crossed Africa.

FG Gold already employs a workforce that is 90 percent Sierra Leonean. Once operational, the excavation is expected to enactment up to 900 nonstop and indirect jobs, lend astir 10 percent of nationalist Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and stimulate important maturation successful the section proviso chain.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius D. Mattai, praised the accomplishment arsenic a beardown awesome of capitalist assurance successful the country’s mining situation and welcomed FG Gold’s committedness to skills development, section inclusion and assemblage centered development.

The institution has committed 1 percent of gross revenues to a Community Development Fund dedicated to improving education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and societal enterprise. Early initiatives see the constitution of the Baomahun Community Centre, the operation of St. Joseph Bakhita Primary School, the renovation of the Baomahun Health Centre and upgrades to the 66 kilometre Matotoka to Baomahun entree road. These interventions are intended to anchor agelong word shared prosperity for surrounding communities arsenic the task advances.

Upon commissioning, Baomahun is expected to go 1 of Africa’s starring caller golden operations, producing an mean of 150,000 ounces per twelvemonth implicit a 12.5 twelvemonth excavation life, with highest accumulation of 201,000 ounces.

The elder installation completes the financing bundle required to conception and make the project, complementing AFC’s archetypal US$100 cardinal concern successful golden streaming and mezzanine commitments. Afreximbank contributed US$75 cardinal to the full package.

Andrews emphasised that the task demonstrates what tin beryllium achieved erstwhile African institutions collaborate to unlock the worth of the continent’s resources. He expressed delight astatine the constructive concern with the Government of Sierra Leone, the section assemblage and Africa’s starring improvement concern institutions.

The financing milestone comes arsenic 30 percent of operation has been completed, with archetypal golden accumulation expected successful 2026. The task represents a important trial of Africa’s capableness to concern and present ample standard mining infrastructure utilizing chiefly continental superior and expertise.

Industry analysts presumption the transaction arsenic grounds of increasing sophistication successful African task finance, peculiarly for assets assemblage developments that equilibrium commercialized viability with assemblage interaction and biology responsibility. The engagement of aggregate African institutions signals deepening determination fiscal integration and hazard sharing capacity.

The palmy adjacent of the US$330 cardinal financing secures Baomahun’s afloat improvement pathway, positioning Sierra Leone to articulation Africa’s rising radical of worth driven golden producing nations and marking a historical measurement toward sustainable economical transformation.