Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, February 6, 2023 – Royal Helium Ltd. (TSXV: RHC) (TSXV: RHC.WT) (OTCQB: RHCCF) (“Royal” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce that binding commitment letters have been received and signed with the Business Development Bank of Canada (“BDC“) and Canadian Western Bank (“CWB”) acting pari passu for a non-revolving credit facility (“Credit Facility“) in the amount of CAD $15 million (see news release December 21, 2022). Proceeds of the Credit Facility will be used for the development and construction of production facilities currently under construction for the Steveville helium field in southern Alberta, Canada.
The commitment letter with CWB also includes a revolving CAD $2.5 million Demand Operating Loan (“Operating Line“) to be used for working capital purposes. It is anticipated that the debt facilities will close in February when funds are expected to be drawn down. The facilities are subject to regulatory and exchange approvals.
Royal Helium also announces that following the receipt of the above commitment letters, the remaining conditions have been waived by the debenture holders to release from escrow the aggregate gross proceeds of CAD $5.5 million from the previously closed bought deal private placement of convertible debenture units (see news release of January 10, 2023). The Company expects the release of funds from escrow and issuance of convertible debentures and warrants on or about February 10.
President and CEO Andrew Davidson states, “Securing debt facilities with two leading banking institutions in Canada is a significant milestone in the completion of our first helium production plant. It validates the feasibility and profitability of Royal’s projects. We are grateful for the partnership support of senior lenders at CWB and the BDC and look forward to growing our relationship further with additional production facilities in the near future. Together with the early release of the convertible debentures, the Steveville helium production plant is now fully funded including the working capital required to see first production in the second quarter 2023.”
About Royal Helium Ltd.
Royal controls over 1,000,000 acres of prospective helium land across southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta. All of Royal’s lands are in close vicinity to highways, roads, cities and importantly, close to existing oil and gas infrastructure, with a significant portion of its land near existing helium producing locations. With stable, rising prices and limited, non-renewable sources for helium worldwide, Royal intends to become a leading North American producer of this high value commodity. Royal’s helium reservoirs are carried primarily with nitrogen. Nitrogen is not considered a greenhouse gas (“GHG“) and therefore has a low GHG footprint when compared to other jurisdictions that rely on large scale natural gas production for helium extraction. Helium extracted from wells in Saskatchewan and Alberta can be up to 99% less carbon intensive than helium extraction processes in other jurisdictions.
For more information, please contact the Company.
| Andrew Davidson President and CEO Royal Helium Ltd. 1 (306) 653-2695 davidson@royalheliumltd.com | Dean Nawata Manager of Corporate Development Royal Helium Ltd. (604) 561-2821 dean@royalheliumltd.com |
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements, including anticipated deliveries under Royal’s offtake agreement, anticipated drilling of the Nazare horizontal well and other drilling plans, the intended construction of a Steveville Helium Processing Plant and pipelines and accelerated development of the Company’s other assets. In addition, all references to resources are deemed to be forward-looking statements as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the resources described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated and can be profitably produced in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company’s control, including without limitation, risks associated with oil and gas exploration, development, exploitation, production, marketing and transportation, loss of markets, volatility of commodity prices, volatility in production rates, environmental risks, inability to obtain drilling rigs or other services, capital expenditure costs, including drilling, completion and facility costs, unexpected decline rates in wells, wells not performing as expected, delays resulting from or inability to obtain required third party and regulatory approvals, ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, inability to access gas transportation and processing infrastructure, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and overseas, industry conditions, changes in laws and regulations (including the adoption of new environmental laws and regulations) and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced, increased competition, the lack of availability of qualified personnel or management, fluctuations in foreign exchange or interest rates, and the uncertainty of estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information and risks applicable to the Company.