Mwana Africa secures loan for Zimbabwe mine

Mwana Africa has raised $6 million to fund its efforts to ramp up production at the Freda Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe and take advantage of record high gold prices.

The diversified mining company raised the funds by drawing down the second tranche of its $10 million loan facility with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).

"This loan marks a significant development for project finance into Zimbabwe...our objective at Freda Rebecca is now to optimise performance and maximise our exposure to the current advantageous gold price," said chief executive of Mwana Africa Kalaa Mpinga.

The drawdown came after the mine reached the Phase One annual target production rate of 30,000 ounces, with the company now targeting a Phase Two production rate of 50,000 ounces per annum.

Gold production at Freda Rebecca reached an average rate of 2,741 ounces per month during the three months to June, while production in July reached 3,937 ounces. Mwana expects to achieve the Phase Two monthly production rate of 4,167 ounces of gold in September this year.

The company would repay the IDC loan in ten equal installments over five years.