Borenius acted as Finnish counsel to the lenders in the EUR 500 million green loan financing for Sibanye-Stillwater

We acted as Finnish legal adviser to the lenders, led by Bank of America and Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, in the EUR 500 million green loan financing to Sibanye-Stillwater for the financing of the Keliber lithium project in Finland. The credit facility is provided through the Finnish subsidiary of Sibanye-Stillwater, Keliber Technology Oy, and it comprises a bank-financed EUR 250 million export credit agency (ECA) guaranteed tranche (with the guarantee provided by Finnvera Oyj), a EUR 150 million tranche provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a EUR 100 million syndicated commercial bank tranche.

The Keliber lithium project is the most advanced lithium project in Europe dedicated to supplying the electric vehicle (EV) battery sector. The project is expected to produce up to 15,000 tonnes per annum of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, with the production from third-party ore expected to start in 2025 and from own ore in 2026. The financing will be used to complete the development of the Keliber project with a total capital expenditure estimated at about EUR 656 million in 2023 terms, or EUR 667 million adjusted for inflation.

Sibanye-Stillwater is a JSE- and NYSE-listed multinational mining and metals processing group with a diverse portfolio of operations, projects and investments across five continents. Sibanye-Stillwater is one of the world’s largest primary producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium, and a top tier gold producer. It also produces and refines iridium and ruthenium, nickel, chrome, copper and cobalt.

Read more from the media release here.