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=INTERVIEW: OZ Minerals Confident Of Debt Refinance By Dec 29
01-12-2008 07:41:21

By Alex Wilson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


MELBOURNE (Dow Jones)--OZ Minerals Ltd. (OZL.A) is confident it can refinance US$560 million in debt by Dec. 29 and negotiations with lenders are well advanced, Executive General Manager Business Support Bruce Loveday said Monday.


The diversified miner said Monday its syndicate of lenders has granted it an extension until Dec. 29 to refinance the debt, with an option to extend this to Jan. 31 if certain conditions are satisfied.


"We are quite confident that we will get the refinancing completed and get it completed by the 29th of December," Loveday told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.


"There is a lot of work to be done to get there but we are pretty well advanced."


There has been mounting speculation about OZ Minerals financial position and Loveday said the company now plans to release a financial update within days to help the market understand how it has traded since the release of its Jun. 30 accounts.


"I think what people will see is that the impact has been all on lower cash inflow because of commodity prices and therefore we have had to chew into the cash to a much greater extent than we had anticipated," he said.


Loveday said the company is now in a net debt position, but not by a great deal, and that on a gross basis it still has several hundred million dollars on the balance sheet.


OZ Minerals shares have fallen sharply and Loveday said they did not reflect the value of the company, which is now a potential takeover target.


-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9671-4313; [email protected]