First Nickel Inc. announced that it has closed out the hedge position of 15 million pounds of nickel, 12 million pounds of copper and the corresponding foreign exchange and interest rate contracts entered into in July 2011 as required under the project debt facility.
The Company will receive net cash proceeds of approximately US$35 million as a result of this transaction. The proceeds will be used to fund the remaining costs to complete the Lockerby project and for general corporate purposes. The Company no longer plans to utilize the project debt facility to fund Lockerby Mine costs and availability under the facility has been reduced to a nominal amount.
First Nickel monetized the 15 million pound nickel hedge at an average realized price of US$8.38 per pound nickel, the 12 million pound copper hedge at an average realized price of US$3.26.
Thomas M. Boehlert, Chief Executive Officer, said “Recent weakness in metal prices provided First Nickel with an opportunity to fully fund the remaining Lockerby project costs without the use of debt and significantly improved corporate liquidity at the same time. First Nickel is now well positioned with the Lockerby Mine in production and a strong balance sheet.”
