What Makes a Mining Project Viable in 2026, Part 2 of 3 – Who Will Put Up the Money
Mine financing in 2026 is being arranged as interest rates rise in most large economies, and futures markets expect more rises through 2027. This part looks at what that does to the cost of funding a mine, the political dates ahead, and how five projects around the world are being funded.
Part 1 of this series looked at what a mine sells and what it costs to build in 2026. It ended on a question. Once the study is done and the cost has grown, who takes the remaining risk and who supplies the cash?
This part looks at mine financing. It starts with interest rates, which four of five major central banks raised in September 2026 and which futures markets expect to rise further. It sets out four paths the next 12 to 24 months could take, with the dates on which each would show itself, and then the political dates that can change a project’s costs.
The second half looks at five recent deals, each a different answer to the question in the title. The companies are Minerals 260 in Western Australia, Toubani Resources in Mali, MP Materials in California, Nickel Industries in Indonesia, and Anglo American and Teck in Chile and Canada. Samso has not covered any of them before.
READING THE SERIES Part 1. The Economics Have Changed. What a mine sells, what it now costs to build, and how gold, oil, diesel and acid prices moved in 2026. Part 2. Who Will Put Up the Money. Interest rates, the four paths from here, the political dates ahead, and five ways projects are being funded. Part 3. Follow the Funding and the Delivery. Ten projects tested against the four paths, closing in Noel’s words. |
Technical terms are explained where they first appear and are also collected in “The Vocabulary, in Plain English” at the back. Numbers in square brackets, such as [R1], point to the numbered list in “References and Sources”, so each figure can be traced to the document it came from.
