Combo of project debt funding and equity. A bond issue is rare. Debt is sourced from a bank or specialist resource debt funder/private equity firm. Typical ratio is 60% debt + 40% equity. Be mindful that the capex number a company promotes isn't always the all in cost to positive CFs fro operations, usually there is an additional working capital component i.e. cash burn through construction and commissioning + interest payments on debt drawn if not capitalised.

Mining is outside my circle of competence but the following may be of help:

Trawling for Ten Baggers podcast

Ep 3 Adrian Byass Talks Project Identification, JORC & Drilling

Ep 2 Interview with Warwick Grigor

Planet MicroCap podcast

Ep 69 The 8 P's for Speculative Investing with Doug Casey

Ep 81 How to Approach Investing in Energy Markets with Keith Schaefer, Publisher of Oil & Gas Investments Bulletin (more about Shale but some useful info on other mining as well)

Stockhead - Your Guide to Mining Feasibility Studies

https://stockhead.com.au/primers/your-guide-to-mining-feasibility-studies/

Hope that helps

Ack, $300 for that course - is it worth that? (Or easier to find information elsewhere/through books?) 

Hahaha! Can't offer personal financial advice Grizzly? :D 

"Things to be wary of in Mining" - that's a good names for a forum thread - and it already exists - so... Bonus!

Here's the first addition to this thread in two years:

Just over one week ago, on May 23rd 2024, James Marlay, the co-founder of Livewire Markets (a.k.a. Livewire) interviewed the boys from Money of Mine - which is now a business that produces multiple podcasts every week, a daily newsletter on most weekdays, and even Merch, although importantly while they do their own [sometimes hilarious, other times annoying] ads for mining SERVICES companies [to pay the bills], they do NOT accept any money from mining companies, so they remain fiercely independent, and usually quite opinionated, but right or wrong (i.e. whether you agree with them or not) it's their opinions, not a paid promotion for a miner. And they WILL call out poor corporate governance or any deal that doesn't make obvious sense or leaves ordinary retail shareholders worse off. I learn a hell of a lot from listening to their poddies. And they freely admit that they learn a hell of a lot themselves through producing the podcasts (and newsletters) - both from the research they do and the feedback they receive - and from the guests they have on and what they discuss.

The MoM lads focus almost solely on mining, and mostly on Australian mining companies, and they're HQ'd in Perth, because WA is where most of Australia's mines are located.

James Marlay interviewed them on May 23rd and the Livewire episode is titled, "Tips to avoid blowing your dough in mining stocks":

Click on James' coffee cup to watch the episode - or use this link: Tips to avoid blowing your dough in mining stocks (youtube.com)

It's also a great little history recap on how the lads got together to do what they do, what they see their roles as, and what they enjoy most about it all - like Matty enjoys losing less money on mining stocks now.

Below is James Marlay's show notes:

Spectacular fortunes have been made from mining. Australia’s two wealthiest individuals, Gina Rinehart and Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest have a combined wealth of more than $50 billion, amassed from their ownership of vast expanses of commodity-rich dirt.

It’s also worth noting that, in the global context, the ASX is home to very few industry-leading companies, with the exception of BHP Group and RIO Tinto.

So, it should come as no surprise that there are a disproportionately large number of aspiring miners listed on the ASX. With these companies also comes an avid pool of investors keen to take a punt on what they reckon will be the next big thing.

You know the drill—last year, it was lithium; this year, it’s uranium. Get in early, and you could be rubbing shoulders with Gina and Twiggy.

But where the money flows the sharks also circle. This is true of all industries and the mining sector has had its fair share of spectacular flameouts. You’d think the days of Bre-X were behind us but earlier this month a Canadian miner came clean to investors after discovering a rogue CEO had been manipulating assays of drill results. Needless to say, the market did not respond well with shares falling over 50% on the news.

Mining is a sector many Livewire readers have on their radar; however, it tends to receive less coverage from professional money managers who regularly contribute their insights to Livewire. So when the crew at Money of Mine got in touch ahead of their recent Sydney visit, it was an excellent opportunity to dig deeper into the sector.

For those not familiar, Money of Mine is a daily mining podcast run out of Perth and hosted by three mining tragics. Don’t be deceived by their larrikin image, Matt, Travis, and Jonas are passionate, switched on and knowledgeable about the mining industry.

While in Sydney, I hosted a chat with the Money Miners to help Livewire readers identify red flags in resource stocks and learn about the ingredients the crew looks for when scouring the market for investment ideas.

Time codes

• 0:00 - Introducing the Money Miners
• 4:03 - Lessons from 12 months analysing mining stocks
• 12:39 - Explorer, Developer or Producer?
• 20:07 - The most important ingredient when picking a mining stock
• 22:56 - Which commodities look underrated?
• 29:17 - The best emerging mining operators
• 31:46 - Fund managers that impressed the Money Miners
• 36:15 - What’s next for Money of Mine