TNG Limited secures Chinese cornerstone investment and strategic partnership

TNG Limited (ASX: TNG) has positioned itself to develop the Mount Peake Iron-Vanadium Project by executing a binding letter of intent with the Chinese state owned enterprise Jiangsu Eastern China Non-Ferrous Metals Investment Holding Company (ECE).
Under the terms of the strategic partnership, ECE will make a $13.4 million investment for a 30% cornerstone stake in TNG - priced at $0.11 for around 122 million shares.
Importantly for existing shareholders, the investment has been struck at a premium to the $0.093 price before TNG entered the trading halt to make the announcement.
The transaction is subject to due diligence, TNG shareholder approval and other regulatory approvals including the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government.
A A$2 million loan facility will also be made available to TNG to provide interim working capital prior to the end of August to underpin the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study and metallurgical test work program, provided by a private company introduced by ECE.
Paul Burton, managing director of TNG said that the strategic partnership with ECE delivered a number of substantial benefits to the company and represented a major turning point in its corporate development providing security for the long term development, while opening up new opportunities.
"It will provide us with a substantial cash injection as well as the corporate and strategic backing of a major Chinese group with the technical and financial capability to underpin the development of major resource projects.
“We are very much looking forward to working with ECE towards the completion of the Mount Peake Pre-Feasibility Study and the commercialisation of the TIVAN™ process."
ECE will be offered two non-executive board positions on the TNG board.
ECE has also recently opened up an office and established an exploration team in Darwin, allowing for synergies between the companies.

About ECE
ECE is a major Chinese mineral exploration, development and mining group, based in Nanjing, which has been set up since 1955.
The company has over 4,000 employees and is one of the few organisations authorised by the Chinese Government to carry out geological exploration and scientific research in major state classified projects.
ECE has discovered more than 160 ore deposits in China with a potential value of in excess of $10 billion.


Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/18335/tng-limited-secures-chinese-cornerstone-investment-and-strategic-partnership-18335.html