Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) has appointed Bedrock Advisory Partners to manage the credit section of the financing strategy for Stage 1 operations at the Challenger project in South Australia.
Bedrock will be responsible for operational and credit risk modelling to optimise and de-risk Barton’s investment strategy as it transitions to low-cost development leveraging off a restart of the mothballed but fully-permitted Central Gawler Mill.
The advisor’s leadership team has a wealth of natural resources finance experience with firms including BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada, and NM Rothschild & Sons.
It has completed billions of dollars in financing for Australian precious metals groups Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS), Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), Vault Minerals (ASX: VAU), OceanaGold, and Gold Road.
Early Credit Talks
An ongoing ++definitive feasibility study++ is targeting baseline Stage 1 operations at Challenger using historical higher-grade tailings and limited near-surface materials to maximise development optionality of the Challenger underground mine and Tarcoola, Wudinna, and Tolmer deposits.
Barton has held early talks with a range of minerals investment, trading, and credit finance groups interested in participating in or financing the operations on a range of indicative terms.
Bedrock will assist in formalising and managing a thorough process to evaluate these potential options, which may include conventional and structured credit, trade finance, commodities trading, and equity approaches.
Barton expects Bedrock’s technical expertise to enhance its in-house capacity and supplement its capabilities in metals trading and equity capital markets.
Highly Attractive Opportunity
Barton managing director Alexander Scanlon said the company was working hard to advance Challenger through to Stage 1.
“With record high gold prices and over 300,000 ounces of confirmed gold resources, the opportunity to leverage the Central Gawler Mill to Stage 1 operations has never been more attractive,” he said.
“Reinstatement of CGM will materially enhance the exploration and development optionality of the Challenger underground mine as well as our ‘regional enhancement’ assets at Tarcoola, Tolmer and Wudinna—each of which could potentially provide high-grade gold and silver mineralisation for processing through the mill.”
“Bedrock’s deep credit and technical expertise will be an invaluable asset to the ongoing refinement of our strategies.”
