UPDATE 1-Moly Mines gets $494 mln loan for Australia molybdenum project

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June 28 (Reuters) - Moly Mines Ltd said it got loans totalling $494 million from China Development Bank Corp(CDB) for the construction of its Spinifex Ridge molybdenum and copper project in Western Australia.

The miner said the loans will include a $454 million syndicated loan. CDB will also provide the company with a $40 million working capital loan.

Moly Mines majority shareholder Hanlong Mining Investment will also provide a $6 million loan over the coming months as part of the $500 million commitment it had made earlier to the miner.

The price of molybdenum, used to harden steel, has risen steadily over the last few months, and could hit $18 a pound by the end of the year, according to commodity analysts.

The company began commercial production at its Spinifex Ridge project in November and has a production target of 1 million tonnes a year in the second quarter of 2011.

The Toronto-listed shares of the company were down 1 Canadian cent at 79 Canadian cents in Tuesday morning trade. (Reporting by Maneesha Tiwari in Bangalore; Editing by Viraj Nair)