Directors' Update on European Nickel Release

 

TIDMRMLA 
 
RNS Number : 5628M 
Rusina Mining NL 
26 May 2010 
 

Wednesday 26th May, 2010 
                                Rusina Mining NL 
                          ("Rusina" or the "Company") 
                  European Nickel Release re Financing Mandate 
                            Rusina Directors' Update 
 
Please find attached a release from Rusina's proposed merger partner, European 
Nickel PLC (AIM, PLUS: ENK), regarding the mandating of Société Générale and 
UniCredit Bank AG to arrange a US$300m term loan and US$25m overrun facility for 
the Çaldag project in Turkey. 
Rusina's directors note that this is a significant positive step in the process 
of obtaining the required debt funding for the construction of the Çaldag nickel 
laterite heap leach project. The mandated lead arrangers have committed to fund 
US$100 million between them and, the directors understand, there are substantive 
expressions of interest from other financial institutions that will cover the 
balance of the proposed debt facility. 
The Rusina directors have also considered the recent announcement by European 
Nickel with respect to the cancellation of the forestry permit for the Çaldag 
mine, resulting from a ruling by the Manisa Administrative Court that the permit 
was not constitutional due to discrepancy between the Forest Law and the Mining 
Law. The directors note that a new Mining Law is expected to go before the 
Turkish parliament imminently and are encouraged by European Nickels statements 
that the re-issuance of the forestry permit should be straightforward and should 
occur before the end of the third quarter 2010. 
In view of the recent announcements and further expected information on the 
complete Çaldag project financing, the Rusina directors consider that the scheme 
of arrangement to merge with European Nickel PLC remains in the best interests 
of all Rusina shareholders. 
Following merger completion, the merged entity will have a nearly financed 
project in Turkey, subject to forestry permit re-issuance which is expected 
shortly.  It will also have the Acoje nickel laterite heap leach project in the 
Philippines, a permitted robust alternate project that could be fast tracked to 
production due to synergies in design allowing all long lead items already 
purchased for Çaldag to be transferred to Acoje should the need arise. 
The Company confirms that the Shareholders Meeting has been advertised in 
accordance with the Court Orders (as amended) and will take place on 2nd June 
2010. 
 
For further information, please contact: 
Mark Hanlon                   Rusina Mining                    Tel: [phone] 
1111 
Roland Cornish                Beaumont Cornish  Tel: [phone] 
 
 
 
 
                     Çaldag Project Financing Mandate Signed 
26 May 2010 - London: Further to the announcement on 17 May 2010, European 
Nickel PLC ("European Nickel" or the "Company") (AIM, PLUS: ENK) is pleased to 
announce it has appointed Société Générale and UniCredit Bank AG ("UniCredit") 
as the Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers ("IMLAs") for the funding of the Çaldag 
nickel laterite project in Turkey. 
Société Générale and UniCredit have signed a joint mandate letter and provided 
an indicative term sheet to arrange a US$300 million term loan facility and 
US$25 million over-run facility for the development of Çaldag on a best effort 
basis. The IMLAs intend to commit US$50 million each subject to, inter alia, due 
diligence, internal credit approvals and related documentation. 
The Company, the IMLAs and their advisors have already started work to refresh 
the previously drafted documentation and finalise any outstanding issues. In due 
course, it is anticipated that a number of other financial institutions will 
join the IMLAs and form a club of banks to complete the financing. Société 
Générale was part of the original group of banks involved with the arranging of 
the debt financing of Çaldag in 2006/2007. 
Simon Purkiss, Managing Director, said "I am delighted that Société Générale and 
UniCredit have agreed to be initial Mandated Lead Arrangers. We look forward to 
working with them and towards closing the project financing of Çaldag by the end 
of this year. 
Along with our advisers, Endeavour Financial Corporation, we will continue to 
fast track the securing of the project financing during the second half of 
2010." 
European Nickel will provide a further update on the financing process and 
timeframe once the bank club has been completed. 
The merger with Rusina Mining NL ("Rusina") is proceeding according to the 
schedule announced on 23 April 2010 with the Rusina shareholders' meeting to 
approve the merger being held on 2 June 2010 and the merger is expected to 
become effective on 10 June. The second tranche of the placing, raising 
approximately GBP6.7 million (US$9.6 million), is expected to be completed on 16 
June. 
European Nickel also announces that the Company's Nominated Adviser and Joint 
Broker has undertaken a change of name from Canaccord Adams Limited to Canaccord 
Genuity Limited following the acquisition by its parent company, Canaccord 
Financial Inc., of Genuity Capital Markets, a leading independent advisory and 
restructuring firm in Canada. 
 
For more information, please visit www.enickel.co.uk or contact: 
Simon Purkiss or Andrew Lindsay, European Nickel                         Tel: 
020 7290 3130 
Andrew Chubb or Tarica Mpinga, Canaccord Genuity                       Tel: 020 
7050 6500 
Alex Buck, BuckBias 
             Tel: [phone] 
 
Note to editors: 
European Nickel (AIM, PLUS: ENK) is an emerging mid-tier nickel laterite 
producer focused on growth. The Çaldag project in Turkey is the Company's 
flagship asset with near-term production and will be the world's first 
commercial scale nickel laterite heap leach operation. The Company is currently 
in the process of merging with Rusina Mining, which will increase its nickel 
laterite resource base and increase its ownership of the Acoje project in the 
Philippines to 92%. Acoje is the Company's next heap leach development project. 
 
Société Générale ("SG") is one of Europe's largest banking groups, with over 
163,000 employees and 30 million clients in 82 countries. SG is a leader in the 
mining finance sector with specialised mining finance teams located in London, 
New York and Toronto. SG has a track record of arranging major international 
mining finance transactions, across a wide range of client profiles and has 
demonstrated its long term commitment to the mining sector. With a strong 
international track record, SG's recognised in-house technical expertise and 
risk management platforms allow it to provide its clients with a broad spectrum 
of financing and risk management solutions. 
 
UniCredit has been an active mining finance house for over 20 years catering to 
the needs of its diverse and broad client base. Its deep rooted industry and 
sector knowledge, coupled with its expertise in complementary banking and risk 
management services, makes UniCredit a strong partner in financing the mining 
and metals industries. UniCredit is a major international financial institution 
with strong roots in 22 European countries as well as representative offices in 
27 other markets, with approximately 10,000 branches and 160,000 employees. 
 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
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