Miner Petropavlovsk gets loan repayment notice from sanction-hit Gazprombank

Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk Plc said on Wednesday its main lender Gazprombank has sent a notice demanding an immediate repayment of about $201 million due under a term loan with the sanction-hit bank. Petropavlovsk said it also got a notice from Gazprombank to return about $87.1 million due under the group's Russian units' revolving credit facilities by April 26.

Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk Plc said on Wednesday its main lender Gazprombank has sent a notice demanding immediate repayment of about $201 million due under a term loan with the sanctions-hit bank.

Petropavlovsk said it also got a notice from Gazprombank to return about $87.1 million due under the group's Russian units' revolving credit facilities by April 26. The miner said it was considering the implications of the notices from Gazprombank, which was sanctioned by the UK last month following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

Petropavlovsk has substantial commercial and financial relationships with Gazprombank, which also acts as an off-taker of the group's entire gold production, but the miner is currently prohibited from any payment to the lender due to the sanctions. The struggling Russian miner said it also got a notice from UMMC-INVEST that Gazprombank had assigned all its rights under the term loan to UMMC, which is the successor agent as per the loan agreement.