Good morning to the few followers of EQN out there. Found this...

Good morning to the few followers of EQN out there. Found this article in The Age today(10th). Cheers John

Equinox confident it will raise $432m
September 9, 2004 - 7:29PM



Copper developer Equinox Minerals Ltd said it was confident of securing $US300 million ($A432 million) in funding by the second half of 2005 and pushing the button on its Zambia copper operation.

The company already has the core of a banking syndicate in four banks which put up $US14 million for a final study on the Lumwana copper project and have expressed interest in funding the development, Equinox chief executive Craig Williams said on the sidelines of the Africa Downunder conference.

"We are in the process of bringing a syndicate together that will finance the whole construction of the project - about $US300 million," Mr Williams said.

"But to go from the point that you have all the bankers putting up their hands and saying `yes we want to get involved' to where you actually have sign off ready for draw down is a substantial legal process.

"That will take a little time."

Heading up Equinox's financing efforts is chartered accountant Mark Arnesen, who has been involved with the financing of several major African resource projects, including the $US1.8 billion Hillside aluminium smelter in South Africa.

He also oversaw the restructuring of Ashanti Goldfields' out of the money hedge book and the refinancing of the company before it merged with AngloGold Ltd.

Apart from banks, Mr Williams said Equinox is also talking to a number of potential minority equity partners.

Several metal trading and processing groups have indicated interest.

"I think that the most likely structure would be to have an off-taker - somebody interested in putting their foot on the metal" by taking a stake in the project, Mr Williams said.

Equinox will soon own 100 per cent of Lumwana after recently indicating it will exercise an option to acquire the balance of the project from US copper giant Phelps Dodge for $US5 million.

The proposed Lumwana operation is similar in size and process to Newcrest Mining Ltd's low grade, high volume Cadia Hill open cut operation near Orange in New South Wales.

During the first five years of operation - following an 18 month construction period - Lumwana will yield 140,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate that will be smelted off site.

From year six, when the second stage of development kicks off, the plant will be extended to allow production of 104,000 tonnes a year of copper cathode on site.

"One of the reasons we are generating so much interest is that there aren't that many projects around the world that are at our scale or at our point of development," Mr Williams said.

"So I'm pretty confident we'll get that done."

To better capitalise on that international goodwill Equinox listed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange.

"It's fair to say that African operators based in Australia have not had strong support from the Australian market - it's improving but it's still not strong," Mr Williams said.

"Whereas you look at comparable companies in Toronto and in London and they get much better support."

Although the stock has not performed as well as Equinox hoped in Toronto Mr Williams said he believed the company had made the right decision.

"I believe that it's a matter of settling in and getting the story known in Toronto a bit more widely."

Equinox shares closed down three cents at 46 cents on the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday.

© 2004 AAP
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/09/1094530761825.html