Latest news with #ExportFinanceAustralia
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Debt markets help buoy Austal's huge $1.2 billion US expansion
WA shipbuilder Austal has locked in the missing piece of a $1.2 billion funding package needed to finish two new major manufacturing facilities in the the US state of Alabama. The Henderson-headquartered business will have access to $488 million worth of debt from a group of Australian and international banks, as well as Export Finance Australia, as part of a new refinancing deal announced on Friday. The debt sits alongside the $220 million Austal raised in March from investors, including Andrew and Nicola Forrest's investment vehicle Tattarang, after the company capitalised on a bounding run in its stock price. Austal shares are worth about $3.69 more than this time last year as the company stares down a $14.5 billion pipeline worth of work in the US and WA. Its advancements in the US have piqued renewed interest from South Korean defence company Hanwha, which is angling for Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers to let them crank up their stake in the business up to 19.9 per cent. To deliver contracts for the US Navy and US Coast Guard, Austal is building two major expansion projects in Mobile Alabama. The FA2 facility will allow Austal to assemble large steel vessels, while the MMF3 operation means it can deliver submarine modules. Once completed, the new facilities at Mobile will add 2000 jobs to Austal's 3000-strong US workforce. Chief executive Paddy Gregg said there had been strong support for the refinancing, and that Austal was positioned for 'tremendous growth opportunities'. 'Austal possesses an exceptional pipeline of long-term defence work in the US, which will be complemented by the Strategic Ship Building Agreement in Australia,' he said. 'The company now has a stronger balance sheet with enhanced liquidity at a lower cost, longer tenor, and with superior flexibility to support this growth.' The new debt helping fund the builds replaces Austal's existing facility that was due to expire in 2026. The shipbuilder told the market the new arrangement came with better pricing and fewer covenants. A further $634m is available via other instruments Austal said it had negotiated. Last year Austal won a $US450m ($687.8m) contract towards the facility from General Dynamics Electric Boat.
West Australian
23-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Ardea winds up Goldfields drilling program for nickel resource upgrade
Ardea Resources has wound up its latest infill drilling program designed to upgrade its nickel resource, as part of the company's ongoing definitive feasibility study work being undertaken at its massive Kalgoorlie nickel project-Goongarrie hub in the Western Australian Goldfields. The DFS's significant $98.5 million budget is being funded by Japanese giants Sumitomo Metal Mining Co and Mitsubishi Corporation. Ardea subsidiary Kalgoorlie Nickel Pty Ltd is managing the DFS work program on behalf of the consortium companies to complete the DFS and move the project closer to development status. The consortium companies will contribute a total of $46.1 million to help complete the DFS, representing about 47 per cent of anticipated DFS expenditure. Ardea signed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) agreement with the exploration giants in April of last year to meet the expected increased demand for nickel to help fuel a global green energy transition. The three parties joined forced when Sumitomo sent an unsolicited email to Ardea expressing initial interest in the project, and Ardea was introduced to Mitsubishi management via the Australian Government-owned Export Finance Australia program. Ardea believes the project could become a multi-decade, low-cost nickel and cobalt producer. The key metals are used in electric vehicle batteries and alloys to strengthen and improve steel. The company's latest drilling program increased the density of drill holes to enable a resource classification upgrade and assist with early mine planning. Ardea says it has made further management and technical appointments during the month, including strengthening the project team by filling important roles for a head of approvals and compliance. The infill drilling program comprised 727 holes for 45,735 metres across five deposits. At Goongarrie South, 28 holes were drilled for 1938m to support Ardea's resource classification and increase its confidence in the mineral inventory. Four diamond holes were drilled at Goongarrie Hill to provide quality assurance and control using twin holes for the DFS. A diamond rig is still on site drilling large diameter holes to triple the metallurgical sample holes across the Goongarrie South, Big Four-Scotia Dam and Highway deposits. The company commenced wireframing at Big Four-Scotia Dam and is undertaking similar activities at the Goongarrie South and Highway deposits. It says the initial wireframes will help geostatistical analysis and preliminary resource estimation. Ardea has also made several key design and engineering improvements for the proposed process plant. Testwork on its all-important ore indicated the material was generally soft to medium-hard, with no hard ores identified, which bodes well for ease of future processing. The company is also making progress with the necessary baseline environmental studies, native title discussions and heritage agreements. The imposing Kalgoorlie nickel project-Goongarrie hub is 70 kilometres northwest of Kalgoorlie and contains a significant number of nickel-cobalt and critical mineral deposits. A whopping total resource of 854 million tonnes at 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for 6.1Mt of contained nickel and 386,000t of cobalt is locked and loaded within its Goongarrie, Kalpini and Yerilla hubs. Goongarrie hosts a 584Mt mineral resource at 0.69 per cent nickel and 0.043 per cent cobalt for 4.044Mt of contained nickel and 250,000t of cobalt. Kalpini and Yerilla hold 270Mt grading 0.76 per cent nickel and 0.05 per cent cobalt for 2.056Mt of nickel and 136,000t of cobalt. Ardea is patiently nudging its mammoth project step-by-step towards development and may end up producing the valuable metals to coincide with electric vehicle makers' and industry's screams for more of the high-quality, clean Aussie minerals. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
The Guardian
02-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Coalition says it will allow gas producers to access $4bn net zero fund for critical minerals
The Coalition has told a gas industry conference in Sydney it would give gas the same status as a critical mineral, to allow the industry to access a $4bn export finance fund set up to support the transition to net zero. Queensland senator Susan McDonald told the conference on Wednesday morning the policy would ensure that gas – which is methane, a fossil fuel – 'remains a critical part of the Australian economy for decades'. 'I can announce today that to boost investment, a Coalition government will elevate gas to the same status as a critical mineral,' she said. 'This will ensure gas projects are able to apply for funding from the $4bn critical minerals facility. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter 'This will ensure gas projects, so critical to our national and international security, are able to access specialised teams within the department of resources to support their projects.' The facility is a fund managed by Export Finance Australia. It was established to support projects that are in line with the goals of the federal government's critical minerals strategy, which aims to boost the critical minerals sector as energy markets transition to clean energy. The announcement follows Peter Dutton's budget reply last week, where the opposition leader vowed to establish an east coast gas reservation scheme to reduce domestic prices. Dutton said he would require east coast gas exporters to add 10% to 20% to available gas supply for Australian homes and businesses, and that it could lead to wholesale gas prices falling from $14 to $10 a gigajoule before the end of the year. The Coalition had not yet explained how the policy would work, but promised to release modelling to back up the claims. Samantha McCulloch, the chief executive of the peak industry body Australian Energy Producers, told the conference the announcement was 'further welcome news and further welcome recognition of the critical role of gas in our economy'. Anti-gas group the Lock the Gate Alliance expressed alarm about 'the very large amounts of taxpayers' money being offered to the gas industry by the Coalition', noting Wednesday's announcement came on top of another promise in Dutton's budget reply, of $1bn for gas pipelines and storage facilities. 'This is a huge pot of public money being opened up during a cost of living crisis to big gas companies that are already making large profits, pay little to no royalties to the federal government, and absolutely don't need a taxpayers' leg up,' national coordinator Carmel Flint said. Josh Runciman, from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said because the vast majority of Australia's gas was exported, any benefits from the additional financial support could flow overseas. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Government financial support often plays a key role in supporting emerging Australian industries. Australia's critical minerals industry, still in its infancy, is one such industry likely to require government support,' he said. 'Conversely, Australia's gas industry is well established, rather than emerging, with hundreds of billions invested in recent decades without government support.' In a pre-recorded speech to the conference, the resources minister, Madeleine King, said the opposition leader's overall gas plan was 'not much of a plan' and 'reckless' in its lack of detail. She noted that in the recent parliament, the opposition had voted against government legislation designed to bring gas prices down for Australian consumers, such as a temporary $12 a gigajoule price cap. 'There is a distinct lack of detail [in the Coalition's policy], and there is certainly nothing new in it, and nothing the government hasn't already done,' King said. 'All Peter Dutton's gas reservation scheme has to offer is a slogan.' McCulloch was also critical of the gas reservation plan, telling the conference it 'risks undermining the case for investment in the long term secure gas supply that we need'.
