July 31 (Reuters) - Australian tin producer Metals X MLX.AX on Friday said it has allowed a number of shortlisted parties interested in buying its copper portfolio to undertake due diligence and submit final bids for the projects.
The company, struggling with loan repayments after breaching some debt covenants recently, said it had finally repaid a reworked loan facility with Citibank, allowing it access to a separate A$26 million ($18.7 million) loan.
The most recent loan comes from a unit of its shareholder APAC Resources 1104.HK , which has previously called for a removal of some directors on the Metals X board and pushed for the sale of its copper portfolio. part of our strategy, the refinancing of the Citibank facility frees the company from the regime imposed under that facility, including restricted access to our cash reserves," said Metals X Executive Director Brett Smith.
"This allows the company to now focus on the divestment of its copper assets without the immediate pressure of being in breach of its banking covenants."
The company did not disclose a valuation for the copper assets.
In November the miner suspended operations at its Nifty Copper Mine in Western Australia, a big part of its copper portfolio, after a review showed that production had plateaued and associated costs were no longer acceptable. X also said on Friday that its non-executive directors had all agreed to a A$10,000 ($7,183) cut in annual pay with effect from Aug. 1, in line with the company's cost-cutting plans. ($1 = 1.3922 Australian dollars)