Great Basin Gold Ltd. expects to be able to draw on a new $150 million credit line by Dec. 15, the Vancouver-based mining company said Wednesday.

The money will be used to boost production at the company's 100 percent-owned Burnstone project, an underground gold mine in South Africa.

Great Basin has a targeted yearly production of 254,000 ounces over the mine's expected 25-year life span, with cash costs of $579 per ounce. Burnstone has a resource of 12.1 million ounces.

We are extremely pleased with the speed and efficiency with which this low cost facility was arranged and executed by the lenders, CEO Ferdi Dippenaar said in a statement.

Following the operational delays the credit facility provides the funding required to finance the additional development to help enable the delivery of the previously announced 2012 production build-up plan at Burnstone.

Shares rose in premarket trading 5.94 percent.

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