Cradle Arc secures funding extension for troubled Mowana asset

Cradle Arc subsidiary Leboam has secured a $4m extension to its pre-existing loan facility Fujax Minerals and Energy, an Africa-focused raw materials supplier, allowing it to step up operations at its Mowana copper mine in Botswana.

The AIM-listed explorer said the extension represented a "vote of confidence" in its Mowana asset and ensured the outfit would have "sufficient headroom" ahead of its planned ramp-up in production.

However, despite the positive funding movements, Cradle Arc revealed that Mowana had produced just 140 tonnes of copper throughout October - significantly shy of the 392 tonnes originally forecast, principally due to intermittent equipment breakdowns at its processing plant.

Cradle assured investors that following a series of maintenance work at the asset, stable production had been achieved and was expected to continue the remainder of the quarter.

Chief executive Kevin van Wouw said that improvement and rehabilitation works undertaken at the processing plant were mostly completed, excluding a mill reline planned for the last week of November, noting that Cradle Arc now expected "steady improvement in performance of the project over the coming month".

As of 0920 GMT, Cradle Arc shares had tumbled 7.98% to 0.75p.