Mining finance, from first drill hole to closing.
A complete course on mining M&A and project finance: how a deposit is estimated, valued, funded and bought.
The mine you build in the course, from the first hole to production
One path, from zero to the interview
See the whole path- The basicsFifteen lectures, from the time value of money to the interview. Each one adds a floor to your head office.Start with the time value of money
- The mineTen chapters, from the first drill hole to production, built around your own mine.Already know the basics? Start here
- The finaleFive real takeovers, studied before you buy the mine next door.Newmont and Newcrest, Glencore and Xstrata, and three more
Practise for the interview
Open the interview trainerWhat is the difference between a scoping study, a pre-feasibility study and a feasibility study?
This week in mining
All newsFree to start
The first two lectures, the first three mining chapters and a sample of the interview questions are free. Premium opens every lecture with its problem set, the whole mining course with its five takeovers, all the interview questions and the mock interviews.
News
Mining M&A and finance news, dated and sourced. Each item says why it matters and links to the module that explains the mechanics.
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The mining globe
Major mines, projects and historic sites. Drag to turn the globe, click a site, a label or a country to fly there, or follow the guided tour. Locations are approximate.
The globe could not load. Check your connection, then open this page again. The list of sites below still works.
Drag to turn. Scroll to zoom.All sites
A short history of mining finance
Mines have funded fleets, empires and the first shareholders. This timeline follows the money, from ancient silver to today’s copper mergers.
Gold, in a few reference points
Kestrel Ridge
Finance from zero
Fifteen lectures that take you from the time value of money to the investment banking interview. Each one has worked examples, calculators and a problem set, and feeds the interview trainer.
Interview trainer
Questions asked in investment banking interviews, from accounting to mining, each with a model answer. Practise them with spaced repetition, work through timed drills, then sit a mock interview.
Mining finance
Ten foundation modules and five case studies, best read in order. Each ends with a short quiz; answer it correctly and the module is marked as read. Underlined terms show their definition on hover.
Calculators
Each tool opens on a worked example you can edit. The models are simplified for learning.
Implied rate by gold price and mine life
How the market may react
Will target shareholders accept?
Approvals and structure
What the deal team would flag
Formulas
Every calculation in the course, typeset on one page. Each group links back to the module that explains it.
Metal and grade
Contained metal
\(T\) is tonnage and \(g\) the grade. The starting point of every valuation.
Recovered and payable metal
\(R\) is metallurgical recovery and \(p\) the payable share in a concentrate. Only payable metal earns revenue.
Unit conversions
Metal equivalent grade
Converts by-product metals into the main metal at assumed prices \(P\) and recoveries \(R\), with grades in consistent units.
Costs
Strip ratio
C1 cash cost
The reference cost measure for copper.
All-in sustaining cost
The World Gold Council standard since 2013.
Operating leverage
A thin margin \(m\) amplifies every move in the price \(P\).
Valuation
Net present value
In real terms, prices, costs and the rate \(r\) all exclude inflation.
Internal rate of return
Real rate
The Fisher relation, with \(\pi\) as inflation.
Net asset value
P/NAV and enterprise value
EV per ounce divides EV by ounces in resource or reserve.
Funding
Debt service coverage
The core covenant of a project loan.
NSR royalty
Implied cost of a stream
Solve for \(i\): \(D\) is the deposit, \(q_t\) the ounces delivered, \(S_t\) the spot price and \(k\) the share of spot the streamer pays.
Offers and accretion
Premium
Exchange ratio
\(c\) is the share of the price paid in cash.
New shares and target ownership
NAV per share accretion
The same logic applies to production, cash flow or reserves per share.
Landmark transactions
Values are rounded, as published at announcement. Some include the target’s debt: check the source before any professional use.
Financings
Equity raises, project debt, streams and royalties. Each one shows how a miner chose to pay for growth, and what it gave up. Amounts are in the currency of the announcement.
Glossary
Terms as they appear in technical reports and offer documents, with the French equivalent in italics.
Quiz
Questions drawn from the whole course, in random order, with an explanation after each answer.
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Mine lab
A debug view, linked from nowhere: type a seed to generate a mine and look at it at each phase and gold price.