Merdeka Gold (EMAS) Obtains USD 350 Million Loan to Fund Pani Gold Mine Project
Mon 08 Dec 2025, 07:48 AM
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PT Merdeka Gold Resources Tbk (EMAS) announced several operational and financial milestones related to the development of the Pani Gold Mine in Pohuwato, Gorontalo Province.
Its subsidiaries, PT Pani Bersama Tambang (PBT), PT Puncak Emas Tani Sejahtera (PETS), and PT Gorontalo Sejahtera Mining (GSM) have completed a USD 350 million Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) to support the final stage of mine construction and production readiness in early 2026.
In parallel, commissioning of the Adsorption, Desorption & Recovery (ADR) facility is progressing on schedule, marking a key step toward the first gold pour in the first quarter of 2026.
The USD 350 million RCF, signed on December 4, 2025 with a consortium of domestic and international lenders, complements the IDR 4.9 trillion (USD 280 million) funding raised from EMAS’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in September 2025.
This facility strengthens the company’s liquidity amid capital expenditures that had reached USD 208.7 million as of September 30, 2025, ensuring robust financial capacity to complete construction and transition to the commercial phase.
Proceeds from the RCF will be used to refinance subsidiary loans, support working capital needs during commissioning and early operations, and finance ongoing development of the Pani Gold Mine.
After ore crushing began on November 12, 2025, the ADR facility entered its energization phase on December 1, 2025, initiating a staged commissioning sequence covering mechanical, electrical, and water systems.
All commissioning stages are targeted for completion before the end of December 2025, enabling the first reagent irrigation in early January 2026 as the final step before gold production begins.
EMAS President Director Boyke Poerbaya Abidin said that progress on the ADR facility is a significant milestone in Pani’s transition to the production phase.
“We remain on track to achieve the first gold pour in early 2026. With a strong funding structure, disciplined execution, and high ESG standards, we are confident Pani will become a major contributor to the Merdeka Group and national gold output, while delivering long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders,” he said in an official statement on Monday (December 8, 2025).
As of end-September 2025, construction progress at the Pani Gold Mine had reached 83% on key infrastructure, including the heap leach pad, ore processing facilities, and the ADR plant, which is now nearly complete.
Mining activities began on October 1, 2025; the Ore Preparation Plant (OPP) is fully operational, and 150 kV electricity from PLN’s renewable energy sources started flowing on the same day.
The Pani operation is designed for phased capacity expansion. The first stage uses a heap leach method with a processing capacity of 7 million tonnes of ore per year.
This will be followed by a Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) process targeted to start up in 2028. At full capacity, the Pani Gold Mine is expected to reach peak production of around 500,000 ounces of gold per year.
Pani is one of Indonesia’s largest primary gold resources, with ore reserves of 190 million tonnes containing 4.8 million ounces of gold.
EMAS is developing the Pani Gold Mine with strict environmental standards, community empowerment, and strong ESG practices to support job creation, local economic growth, and long-term development in Pohuwato.
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