The 20-year term funding will be provided in two tranches to Resgen with the first €175m planned to be given before 31 January 2016 and the remaining €305m in June 2016.
Resource Generation managing director Paul Jury said: "We are pleased, after a protracted process of seeking funding in a difficult market for coal projects, to have achieved in principle agreement for funding to enable all the remaining phases of the mine construction and its social labor programs to be completed.
"The cost of HAB & JPR Privée’s funding is the most attractive of the various sources that we have considered and materially more favorable than the incomplete proposals of the debt club involving Noble Group and Altius.
Noble Group owns 7.5% stake in Resgen while Altius has 10.7% stake. Nobel and Altius have been working together as part of a club of bankers, which also included HSBC and the South African government-owned Industrial Development, for a $400m funding package for the Boikarabelo project development.
The MoU follows the Altius’ decision to replace Resgen board of directors with its own nominees.
"This is a great step forward for Resource Generation, our BEE partner and all our shareholders, and we look forward to shareholders rejecting Altius’ attempt to change the board for the benefit of the debt club members."
However, HAB & JPR Privee intends to reserve the right to cancel the loan facility upon potential change of directors.
In August, Resgen signed a $113m loan agreement with Komatsu Financial to fund mobile equipment fleet at Boikarabelo project.
The first phase of the Boikarabelo mine is estimated to produce six million ton a year. The mine is expected to account for 40% of the country’s remaining coal resources.
