Greenstone seeks additional funding for Siana Gold project

MANILA, Philippines – Greenstone Resources Corp., which has taken over the Siana Gold project of Merrill Crowe, is expected to finalize this month the additional funding it is securing from Deutsche Bank AG and the Ashmore Investment Management Limited.

In a briefing at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), William Darcey, director for operations of GRC, said the $80-million project in Surigao del Norte is proceeding well. Darcey said they have secured all the necessary permits and they are now in the final stage of talks for additional funding for the expected start of some mining operations by September this year.

Darcey told to the MGB that GRC completed last July 8 the merger and takeover of Merrill Crowe’s interest in the Siana Gold project. GRC is part of the Red 5 Limited Group of Australia.

In a Dec. 4, 2009 disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange where it is listed, Red 5 said it has exclusively mandated Deutsche Bank AG, Sydney branch and Ashmore Investment Management Limited, a subsidiary of Ashmore Group plc, to handle the $40-million senior secured financing for the project.

Ashmore is a leading emerging markets fund manager based in the UK. It manages a fund of $31 billion worldwide.

Ashmore has a long standing association with the Philippines, having invested in hard assets across a wide range of industries including mining, oil refining, telecommunications, transport and high end commercial and residential developments.

Red 5 holds a 90-percent beneficial interest in the Siana Gold project through GRC, which manages the local operations through a joint venture with JCG Resources Corp.

Merrill Crowe Corp., a Philippine mining investment company, holds a 10-percent interest in the Siana Gold project.

Merrill Crowe’s controlling shareholder is Jerry Angping, president of Angping Securities and is also the vice chairman of First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking subsidiary of MetroBank.

The Siana Gold project is covered by a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) covering 2,023.74 hectares in Siana, Mainit, Surigao del Norte.

Initially, the MGB said the Siana Gold project was expected to bring in $45 million in investments and could generate gross sales of $15 million annually.