The past quarter has been a busy but successful one during which we have received significant stakeholder support and a funding package signed for up to US$120 million to fully fund the Salamanca project into production.
The local communities, the Spanish media and the regional government have welcomed this major investment, which has the potential to rejuvenate a region of Spain suffering from some of the highest levels of unemployment in the EU.
Local media highlighted that "con Berkeley va a acabar el desempleo en la provincia de Salamanca" (unemployment will disappear in the province of Salamanca thanks to Berkeley.)
Managing Director, Paul Atherley, commented:
"We are delighted to welcome Oman's sovereign wealth fund as a long-term strategic investor in the Company and look forward to working closely with them to realise the full potential of the Salamanca mine.
With an agreement signed to fully finance the Salamanca mine to first production we are focused on continuing the progress made with the construction phase. Key equipment was delivered earlier this summer and we are continuing to add to our team on site, recruiting heavily from the local area.
Creating badly needed jobs is extremely important to us and we will continue to run training courses, equipping local residents with the skills needed for the 450 long term jobs the project is creating.
It’s fantastic to have such strong support for our project among our key stakeholders in Spain, which reflects the growing awareness of the benefits the investment is bringing to the community.”
The Company is in a strong financial position with US$22.6 million in cash and no debt.
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