ALPHAMIN Resources, the Toronto- and Johannesburg-listed tin development company, said it noted provisions in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) mining code that could provide it with certain tax exemptions. The exemptions might be applied because its Bisie project was located in an “infrastructure poor” part of the country.
“The company is currently in the process of assessing the revised Mining Code and the applicable regulations, and their impact on Alphamin,” it said in an announcement in which it also confirmed it had completed a $25m drawdown of its $80m credit facility.
The DRC is due to promulgate a new Mining Code which has drawn the criticism of mining companies operating in the central African country because it raises levies and taxes. In the case of Alphamin, it said it might be subject to a higher royalty rate of 3.5% up from 2%, and potentially higher taxes, as a result of reduction in tax deductible expenses.
Bisie, which is situated in North Kivu, is expected to produce an estimated 9,600 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate annually with an initial life-of-mine of 12.5 years.
Alphamin also said it had converted $3.396m in debt due to Sprott Private Resource Lending, Barak Fund and the company’s 44.86% shareholder, Tremont Master Holdings, into 17.34 million shares for a price of 25 Canadian cents per share.
