Pretium buys back gold-silver stream, closes $480m debt deal

Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX,NYSE:PVG) has closed on the previously announced $480 million debt facility to refinance its existing construction credit facility.

The company has also repurchased 100% of the callable 8% gold and silver stream that was sold as part of the construction financing package for the development of the Brucejack gold-silver mine in British Columbia.

Last week, Pretium reported steady-state production at Brucejack, and that it received the amended permits to increase the Brucejack Mine production rate to 3,800 tonnes per day from the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

The amended permits allow for a production increase to an annual rate of 1.387 million tonnes from 0.99 million tonnes, with a daily average of 3,800 tonnes, up from 2,700 tonnes.

With 14.1 g/t of gold in reserves, the Brucejack mine is one of the highest grade gold projects to enter production in recent years. But in January 2018, shares in Pretium tanked after the company announced disappointing 2017 production and cost forecasts from Brucejack.

“With the refinancing of our construction credit facility and the repurchase of the precious metals stream, we have accomplished all of the objectives we set for ourselves at the start of this year, including the achievement of steady state gold production and the receipt of permit amendments to increase production to 3,800 tonnes per day,” said Joseph Ovsenek, Pretium president and CEO stated in a press release Tuesday.

“The ability to achieve these objectives in less than six quarters of production in a declining gold environment speaks to the quality of our team and profitability of Brucejack.”

In 2016, Brucejack was named the world’s highest grade “rookie” gold mine, ranked according to gold concentration in reserves, based on available data.