NexMetals receives EXIM letter for potential $150M loan

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NexMetals Mining (TSXV: NEXM) (NASDAQ: NEXM) has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for a potential loan of $150 million to support its redevelopment of two nickel-copper mines in Botswana.

In a press release Thursday, NexMetals CEO Morgan Lekstrom said the letter represents “a willingness from the United States to fund critical metals projects in one of Africa’s safest and most stable jurisdictions.

“It clearly denotes the US government’s specific interest in Botswana, recognizing both its rich mineral endowment and the scale of our high-grade projects.”

The loan, if it proceeds, would have a maximum 15-year repayment tenor to support the company’s project developments.

The company, formerly known as Premium Resources, is currently looking to redevelop the past-producing Selebi and Selkirk mines located near Francistown, a 19th-century gold rush town in eastern Botswana.

The Selebi project covers two deposits that contain nearly 400,000 tonnes of copper and 260,000 tonnes of nickel in resources, while the Selkirk has 132,000 tonnes of copper, 108,000 tonnes of nickel, 775,000 oz. of palladium and 174,000 oz. of platinum.

“Given the quality and size of our resources and the pace of current activity, we anticipate our aggressive growth trajectory to align with our shared objective of delivering new, sustainable sources of critical metals for the US and its allies contributing to the future of the global critical metals supply chain,” Lekstrom stated.

EXIM has also advised that procurement of US goods and services for the Selebi and Selkirk mines may be eligible for special consideration under the provisions of Section 402 of EXIM’s 2019 reauthorization (P.L. 116-94), part of the China and Transformational Exports Program.

The EXIM letter comes a day after NexMetals made its trading debut on the NASDAQ. By Thursday afternoon, the stock traded 6% lower at $7.26 a piece, with a market capitalization of around $156 million.