Maaden signs $ 320 m deals for key project

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) said yesterday it had signed financing agreements worth $ 320 million with a Saudi government fund to develop the first phase of an aluminum project in the Kingdom with Alcoa. Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a government institution, has agreed to lend Maaden two loans, each worth $ 160 million, the mining company said. The first loan is to its subsidiary Maaden Aluminium Co. and the second to Maaden Rolling Mill Co, which is a joint venture with Alcoa in which the international aluminum refiner holds a 25.1 percent stake. The loans are to be repaid over six years in twice yearly installments, with repayments starting for the first in February 2015, and for the second in January 2016, Maaden said. The company added, in a statement posted on the website of the Saudi bourse, that the agreements completed financing requirements for the project. From arabnews