Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the MMG Limited Investor Webcast. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Jarod Esam, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, and thank you for joining the call. I'm Jarod Esam, the Head of Investor Relations. As many of you are already aware, MMG announced an equity raising plan earlier this morning. Today's presentation, our CEO and Executive Director, Cao Liang, will run through the details of this rights issue and provide an update on MMG's business. Cao Liang was appointed as MMG CEO and Executive Director on the 24th of April this year, bringing with him nearly two decades of experience in international mining, investment, and strategy. Prior to this role, he served as Vice President of China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals and Vice President and Chief of Staff at Las Bambas, where he participated in mining acquisitions and investments and mining project construction.
Also joining us today is Executive General Manager of Finance, Song Qian, as well as our Chief Advisor , Commercial and Development, Sandra Guan, and our Head of Corporate Development, Brett Walsh. The slides for today's presentation are being webcast in both English and Chinese. They can be accessed from the Investor and Media section of the MMG website. At the end of today's webcast, we will open the line for questions. For those wishing to ask questions, please ensure you're accessing this presentation via the teleconference details that were included in the invitation for today's session, and not just the webcast. I will now hand over to Cao Liang, who will provide an overview of the transaction.
Thank you, Jarod. Good afternoon to everyone, and welcome to this presentation. Earlier today, we announced our rights issue of $1.16 billion, which will be used to repay existing debt and complete our funding term for the Khoemacau acquisition. This strategic move is expected to bring our gearing level down to approximately 44%, thereby supporting our capacity for future growth initiatives. The rights issue was introduced at a 31.4% discount to the last traded price and $0.247 discount to the theoretical ex-rights price. It is structured around a provisional allotment of two rights shares for every five shares held by investors.
Our largest shareholder, Minmetals, is fully supportive of this transaction and has signed an irrevocable commitment to subscribe to their full entitlement of 67.5%. The funds raised from the rights issue will be used to repay the remaining $611 million in short-term funding for the Khoemacau acquisition, repay $200 million of our shareholder loan due this year, and repay approximately $341 million of our revolving credit facilities. The outcome of this repayment is a significant strengthening of our financial standing, with a reduction in our gearing level to 44% and an achievement of annualized interest cost saving of around $80 million. This will increase our financial flexibility and position MMG for future growth opportunities.
The rights issue structure allows existing shareholders to fully participate and benefit from a stronger balance sheet, balance sheet. In conjunction with the funds from the rights issue, another integral part of our Khoemacau funding plan, as highlighted in this slide, was the recently announced joint venture. Under this transaction, a 45% stake in Khoemacau was purchased for $500 million by our joint venture partner. This transaction also considered the $1.05 billion term loan from China Development Bank, which was used for the Khoemacau acquisition and is positioned at the joint venture company level. The proceeds from this transaction were used to repay $500 million short-term loan to support the acquisition, and it reduced our gearing level by approximately 5%.
The joint venture and the rights issue reflect the final components of our funding strategy for the Khoemacau acquisition. When we compare the final pro forma balance sheet to our last reported balance in December last year, we have been able to fully fund the acquisition of Khoemacau, while reducing our gearing ratio from 50% to approximately 44%. Additionally, we have maintained a net debt to EBITDA ratio of around three times. With respect to timing, the last date of dealing in shares on cum rights basis will be the 7th of June. We expect to dispatch the prospectus on the 12th of June, with the deadline for acceptance scheduled for the 5th of July.
The results of acceptance and any excess application will be announced around the 12th of July, with new rights shares expected to begin trading from the 16th of July. Now that we have announced the rights issue, it's a good opportunity to reflect on our investment highlights. First and foremost, MMG reflects a high quality way to gain exposure to long-term growth in the copper market, with an increased weighting towards the metal, following our acquisition of Khoemacau, and our pathway to becoming a top 10 global producer. A key differentiating factor for us is the low capital intensity of our significant greenfield growth pipeline across Las Bambas, Kinsevere, and Khoemacau, each with a capital intensity of less than $10,000 per ton of annual capacity.
This significant growth in near-term copper production volumes also comes at an operating cost in the bottom half of the cost curve for each operation. We also have a highly prospective exploration portfolio, which includes a tenements package of more than 4,000 sq km across the Kalahari Copper Belt that we acquired with Khoemacau, and extensive opportunities at each of our existing operations. Our portfolio is also well diversified with our entry into Botswana, a world-class mining jurisdiction, that complements existing operations across Peru, DRC, and Australia. With Minmetals as a highly supportive major shareholder, we have a strong funding capacity, which means that we are well-placed to capitalize on any organic growth opportunities in the future.
Our unique approach brings together the best practice from international mining operations, demonstrated by our commitment to the International Council on Mining and Metals, with the competitive advantage of having the support of China, making us a partner of choice in our favored jurisdictions. Overall, we also remain committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet, and we have continued to reduced our gearing level over a number of years. I'll now share some updates on our asset portfolio. All our assets have been operating well throughout this year, and we remain on track to deliver in line with our previously set guidance, including the incorporation of Khoemacau. For the entirety of 2024, we aim for a total of 350,000-405,000 tons of copper production.
Regarding zinc production, we expect to reach a total of 225,000-250,000 tons. I'd also like to provide an update on our community engagement initiatives and the transport logistics at Las Bambas. Since March last year, our efforts to enhance partnerships with the communities and the government support have helped ensure stable and consistent logistics for the concentrate transportation. Our discussions with the Huancuire community have advanced with the signing of five contracts with community companies, which have been extended until the end of the year. The Las Bambas team is now working with the Huancuire community towards an enduring agreement for the development of the Chalcobamba deposit. Since early February, MMG machinery and the personnel have been working alongside community companies on development activities at the Chalcobamba pit.
At Kinsevere Mine, the expansion project remains on track, with the first copper cathode from Sapphire expected to be produced this year. Lastly, the integration of the Khoemacau Mine is progressing well as well. Khoemacau is a scarce, high-grade, low-cost producing asset with a greater than 20 years mine life, based on a Zone 5 deposit alone, with potential for further increase in scale and life from other known resources. Expansion project at Khoemacau will deliver production around 130,000 tons of copper per annum. Expansion is a cost efficient pathway to achieve production at a scale with a low capital intensity. As I mentioned, MMG is committed to debt reduction. In 2023, MMG achieved an increase in net cash flow from operations, totaling around $1.85 billion.
Using this strong cash flow, the company reduced overall net debt levels by around $784 million, reducing the gearing ratio by 5% to 50% at the end of 2023, the lowest the company's gearing had been since 2013. Also, importantly, we maintain strong relationships with our funding partners and our major shareholder. These partners are very supportive and flexible in their approach to funding MMG and helping us to grow. As discussed, the funding plan for Khoemacau will allow us to further decrease the gearing ratio to around 44%. The chart on the right-hand slide sets out our updated term debt repayment profile, including the seven-year $1.05 billion China Development Bank loan, used to complete our acquisition of Khoemacau in March.
Repayments due on the Las Bambas project facility will reduce in 2024, before further reducing in 2025 and beyond. The same CMM shareholder loan due this year is being partially paid as part of the rights issue. Although we have some significant debt repayment due on the loan from our major shareholder over the next three years, this will be reviewed with our major shareholder as required to optimize the company's funding cash flows. In closing, on behalf of the MMG management team, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our investors. Your support is vital to our success. Thank you for your time today. I will now hand back to the operator, who will open the line to questions. Thank you.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Once again, that is star one if you would like to ask a question. We'll now pause a moment to allow for any questions to register. Thank you. There are no questions at this time. I'll now hand back to management for closing remarks.
Thank you, everyone, for joining today's presentation. Thank you.
Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.