Lundin Gold–LunR $490M silver stream: mine economics and planning notes
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Lundin Gold is selling a silver stream on the Fruta del Norte mine in Ecuador to LunR Royalties for about C$670 million in newly issued LunR shares, monetising a byproduct that currently contributes only 1–2% of revenue from forecast 2026 silver output of 500,000–600,000 oz. The deal grants LunR 100% of payable silver until 12.2 million oz. are delivered, 50% until a further 7.8 million oz., then 7.5% for the remaining 12-year mine life, effective 1 March. LunR’s market capitalisation of roughly C$1.5 billion and this life-of-mine, uncapped stream position it as what management calls the sixth-largest precious metals royalty and streaming company globally, adding long-term optionality on FDN’s near-mine expansion and 8.9 million oz. silver reserve base.
Technical Brief
- Transaction consideration is approximately 50.5 million newly issued LunR Royalties shares, priced on 20‑day VWAP.
- Fruta del Norte entered commercial production in February 2020 after Lundin Gold’s acquisition in late 2014.
- LunR Royalties, spun out of NGEx Minerals in 2025, holds Latin American net smelter royalties.
- LunR began trading on 19 December 2025 and has nearly doubled in value with higher copper prices.
Our Take
With silver contributing only an estimated 1–2% of Lundin Gold’s total revenue at Fruta del Norte, monetising 20 million oz of payable silver via a stream effectively front-loads value from a non-core by-product while leaving the much larger 5.8 million oz gold reserve base untouched from a financing perspective.
For LunR Royalties, locking in 12.2 million oz at 100% plus a further 7.8 million oz at 50% over a remaining 12-year mine life gives unusually long-duration silver exposure in southeast Ecuador, which in our database is less common than royalty deals anchored to shorter-life, higher-cost polymetallic operations.
The C$670 million in LunR shares that Lundin Gold will receive makes it a major equity holder in a royalty company focused on South American copper-gold projects such as Lunahuasi and the Los Helados joint venture, giving Lundin group entities indirect leverage to exploration upside in Argentina and Chile without adding operating risk to Fruta del Norte.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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