King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised the Taurus Mining Finance Fund and the Taurus Mining Finance Annex Fund (collectively "Taurus") on their provision of a US$200 million syndicated facility agreement to West African Resources Limited (West African).
The first draw down of the facility, worth US$75 million, occurred on 1 April and is underscored by West African's confidence in its Burkina Faso based Sanbrado Gold Project – a world class gold deposit.
KWM is currently advising on the second tranche of the facility.
The KWM team advising on the transaction was led by Perth partner, Nathan Collins. He was supported by senior associate, Peixin Truong, and solicitors, Philippa Spurr and Louisa Harris.
Commenting on the transaction, Nathan said, "We are pleased to have advised Taurus on the debt facility for WAF. This is a significant gold project and underlines both Taurus' and KWM's capability in delivering project financing solutions to miners in Africa."
Perth-based West African expects that the first production from the Sandrado operation will be in the third quarter of 2020. Herbert Smith Freehills advised WAF on the transaction.
