The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Alexis Minerals Corp. has an agreement to borrow US$45 million to help restart the Snow Lake Mine, but it requires the junior miner to raise more equity. The company said last week it has received formal credit approval from Credit Suisse for the four-and-a-half-year term loan to further the development of the long-idle gold mine. 'The project team at Snow Lake has continued to advance the project and our ability to attract a financing partner such as Credit Suisse demonstrates the robustness of the project,' Alexis president and CEO Francois Perron said in a news release. 'We will soon be ready to move forward on our project at Snow Lake, which is expected to transform the company.' Perron, whose company has spent years talking about restarting the mine, called this 'the moment that shareholders have been waiting for.' But the loan is contingent on Alexis raising likely significant dollars. The company did not reveal the amount needed, but one analyst, Michael Fowler, told the Winnipeg Free Press it is likely in the range of $10 million to $30 million. Alexis said details of the equity contribution will be released upon finalization of definitive agreements relative to the loan. The use of proceeds will include the restart of the Snow Lake Mine, repayment of a current bridge loan and for general corporate expenses, the company said. 'Some challenges' Fowler told the Free Press that while the arrangement is good news for Alexis, 'they still have some challenges ahead to get to Snow Lake.' A feasibility study released in 2010 showed the Snow Lake Mine has a five-year lifespan, though Alexis is hopeful gold reserves can be increased. Alexis' continued talk of restarting the mine, with no opening to date, has sparked some pessimism in Snow Lake over whether the project will ever actually proceed. In speaking with the Free Press, Perron said the company wants 'to make sure when we start we can reach the finish line properly.' 'When you hit the go button, everything has to be lined up and planned,' he said. Perron also announced that Alexis will change its name to QMX Gold Corp. The Q stands for Quebec, where the company has its only active mine, the M is for Manitoba and the X is for exploration. The Snow Lake Mine was most recently operated as the New Britannia Mine until closing in 2005. Alexis took ownership of the mine when it bought Garson Gold in 2009. Alexis expects that once the pre-production stage is complete, the mine should produce 80,000 tonnes of ore per year. The company also plans to continue exploration at the site.
