UPDATE 1-Petaquilla Minerals cuts debt by $6 mln
* Post payment, co has $69.8 mln in debt
* Says debt repayment helped by rising gold prices
Sept 14 (Reuters) - Canada's Petaquilla Minerals Ltd (PTQ.TO) said it cut its debt position by $6 million, helped by rising gold prices.
After this payment, the company's total senior and convertible senior notes outstanding will be $69.8 million, the company said in a statement.
The emerging gold producer is subject to a semi-annual principal repayment on the senior secured notes, and starting Sept. 15, 2010, on the convertible senior secured notes, depending upon the weighted average market price of gold during the six months prior to the payment date.
Gold has been averaging around $900 an ounce, with a range of $700 to $1,000 it hit last week. On Friday, spot gold XAU= traded at $1,005 an ounce in New York.
Shares of Petaquilla Minerals closed at 39.5 Canadian cents Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by R. Manikandan in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)
