PRAGUE, June 30 (Reuters) – Cyanide maker Draslovka is contemplating an fairness fundraising price a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} assist the roll out of recent expertise that would assist miners slash use of cyanide, its CEO stated in an interview on Friday.

The privately-held Czech firm is the world’s main sodium cyanide maker. The toxic chemical is used within the extraction of gold and silver from ores, chemical manufacturing and extra.

Now, Draslovka has put serving to miners use much less cyanide on the centre of an formidable development plan. It acquired Australian Mining & Process Solutions final 12 months, which developed progressive glycine leaching expertise that may reduce cyanide utilization in mining by about half, relying on the circumstances.

Draslovka hopes the expertise will spearhead a metamorphosis of the business, elevating its effectiveness and decreasing environmental impacts. It needs to boost funds to assist it drive uptake, profiting from its current buyer base, Chief Executive Pavel Bruzek Jr. stated.

The firm goals to quadruple its earnings earlier than curiosity, depreciation and tax (EBITDA) to $400 million over 5 years, primarily by way of licensing the patented glycine course of and offering companies, he continued.

The firm entered right into a $150 million most well-liked fairness funding with U.S.-based Oaktree Capital Management final 12 months, however Bruzek stated this didn’t present a transparent fairness valuation of the agency.

“As we are moving closer to the market, we would like to get a valuation tag, clean equity,” he stated of the fairness spherical into account.

Draslovka would look to supply a minority stake, he continued, including giant gamers that will assist enhance its profile most well-liked a dimension of at the very least $200 million.

Draslovka has been working with JP Morgan in London as advisers, he added.

The firm would inform buyers its current enterprise infrastructure and relationships are key to the roll out of the brand new product, Bruzek stated.

The firm has already acquired cyanide maker Chemours (CC.N) within the United States and one other enterprise from Sasol (SOLJ.J) in South Africa as a part of an formidable growth technique, which Bruzek stated had left it with a world market share of round 16-20% in sodium cyanide.

Gold miner Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) signed as much as check and implement glycine for leaching ores with Draslovka in March.

Bruzek stated Draslovka had one other 10 comparable potential tasks lined up by year-end, together with a high nickel and cobalt miner.

Bringing Draslovka, managed by Czech household workplace BPD Partners and Bruzek’s household, public is a longer-term purpose, he added.

Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Emma Rumney

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