Mining financings fell nearly 90 percent year over year to $765 million (C$1 billion) in September, down 78 percent from August, according to The Northern Miner’s monthly ranking. Over the twelve months ended September 30, tracked financings totaled $23.34 billion, 6.9 percent below the previous twelve-month period. The Northern Miner changed data providers to expand its coverage, so the figures may differ from those published in earlier issues.
What got done was concentrated in government-backed critical minerals. A separate ranking for August 17 to September 15 counted C$3.53 billion in transactions, led by a $1.55 billion package announced by USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) for the vehicle that will buy Serra Verde’s Brazilian rare-earth output. Worth C$2.15 billion in the ranking, the package includes a $750 million US government investment commitment, a conditional $500 million bank facility, and at least $300 million of contracted purchases.
McEwen Copper, 46.3 percent owned by McEwen (TSX/NYSE: MUX), placed second with a $240 million senior secured loan to advance Los Azules in Argentina toward a targeted mid-2027 investment decision. StrikePoint Gold (TSXV: SKP; US-OTC: STKXF) placed third with a C$190 million bought-deal private placement for its planned acquisition of Nevada’s Northumberland gold project from Newmont. StrikePoint expects to close around October 6, pay $70 million upfront and retain about C$90 million in cash; two further $25 million payments are tied to project milestones.
The near-freeze matters because it is not uniform. Juniors with no cash flow are the ones locked out; the deals that closed are either backed by a sovereign balance sheet or tied to named producing assets. Troilus Gold’s $850 million senior-debt letter of intent, reported yesterday, belongs to the same pattern: lenders are still open, but only where cash flow is visible.