Atico Secures US$111.4 Million Trafigura Financing Package for Ecuador Copper-Gold Project

Atico Mining has assembled a US$111.4 million financing package with Trafigura for its La Plata polymetallic project in Ecuador, combining a US$95 million secured project-finance facility with a convertible debenture carrying a US$16.4 million face value. The company announced the definitive agreements on September 29, positioning the package as funding for construction, development and pre-construction work rather than evidence that commercial production has begun.

How the US$95 million facility works

Compañía Minera La Plata will be the borrower under the credit agreement, with Atico and Toachi Mining acting as guarantors. Trafigura is to make the facility available in one or more drawdowns after customary conditions precedent are satisfied. The borrowed money is earmarked for construction and development of La Plata, or other uses agreed with the lender.

Drawdowns will remain available for about two and a half years after the earlier of construction starting or March 31, 2027. The facility will mature seven years after that point and carry interest at adjusted term SOFR plus 7.5 percentage points. Security covers the project assets, and Atico’s parent guarantee is due to be released only after the project reaches completion.

Convertible debt reshapes the balance sheet

A Trafigura affiliate also agreed to subscribe for a secured convertible debenture with a face value of US$16.4 million in exchange for a US$16 million advance. The instrument converts at US$0.22 per Atico share, which the company said was 40 percent above the shares’ 20-day volume-weighted average closing price on September 28. It matures five years and one day after issuance.

The debenture pays 7 percent annual interest when settled in cash or 10 percent when paid in shares. Atico can force conversion of up to 25 percent of the principal on four separate occasions if the share-price thresholds specified in the agreement are reached. Those thresholds begin at 130 percent of the applicable volume-weighted average price and rise for later conversions.

Atico expects to use part of the debenture proceeds to repay about US$3.5 million under an existing Trafigura credit agreement and roughly US$6.98 million owed under a Dundee Corporation subordinated debenture. The balance is intended for La Plata pre-construction activities and general corporate purposes. A separate debt-settlement agreement would exchange US$2.5 million of existing Trafigura debt for 16,149,870 Atico shares at an implied US$0.1548 per share.

The project and the remaining conditions

La Plata is a pre-development gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide project in Ecuador’s Toachi district, about 100 kilometres southwest of Quito. Atico describes the property as road-accessible and connected to the power grid, with a planned polymetallic concentrate containing gold, copper, silver, zinc and lead. The financing therefore matters beyond precious metals: it advances a project designed to produce several industrial and strategic metals from one deposit.

The transaction is not yet unconditional. The private placement and debt-for-shares settlement require customary closing steps, including TSX Venture Exchange approval. Atico said it expected those transactions to close around October 13, with the first credit-facility advance sometime afterward. Construction timing, regulatory approvals, engineering assumptions and future metal prices remain material variables, so the package should be read as a financing milestone rather than a guarantee of schedule, cost or output.