Lucapa Diamond has allotted more than 10,4 million fully paid ordinary shares in respect of the quarterly interest and fees due in accordance with the terms of the $15 million Equigold loan facility. It said in a statement that the outstanding principal has been reduced from $15 million to $6.3 million.
Lucapa used the 2017 Equigold loan to help finance the development of the company’s second high value diamond project, the new 1.1 million tonne per annum Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho.
When Lucapa secured the debt, it indicated that it would attract an annual interest rate of 13% and other fees.
It was initially a three-year debt facility that would have been repaid in eight quarterly payments commencing December 2018.
However, Lucapa and Equigold amended the repayment terms of the loan agreement late last year to extend the repayment term.
The final of the scheduled payments was at the time set for 1 January 2022 instead of this year under the original agreement.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
