Electric Royalties Ltd (TSX-V:ELEC, OTC:ELECF) CEO Brandon Yurik joined Proactive to discuss the company’s latest acquisition—a revenue royalty on the Punitaqui copper mine in Chile.
With the mine recently restarting production, Yurik outlined how this move will boost the company’s cash flow and its broader strategy for 2025. He also shared insights into future plans for expansion across various clean energy metals and the outlook for key commodities like copper, tin, and zinc.
Proactive: You've secured a revenue royalty on the Punitaqui copper mine in Chile. Let's dive into that. Tell me more about this mine and what you really like about it.
Brandon Yurik: We’re really excited about this. It’s something we’ve been planning since the summer — to acquire a producing royalty, specifically in copper. This is a great opportunity. The mine is a past producer that operated for about ten years under Glencore and restarted production in May of this year. Our funding is the final piece they need to ramp up to full production. They’re expecting to produce 19 to 23 million pounds of copper annually.
The mine is operated by Battery Mineral Resources Corp (TSX-V:BMR, OTCQB:BTRMF), which is backed by Yorktown Group, a major private equity firm. We’re thrilled about this acquisition, as it will immediately enhance our cash flow. We’re hoping for a cash surplus next year, especially since we have four royalties that could come back into production or start production next year, along with several key feasibility updates from projects like Mont Sorcier and Seymour Lake. It’s shaping up to be a strong year for us, and this acquisition is a key part of that.
It’s a significant move. You’ve made a large cash investment for a 0.75% gross revenue royalty. To help everyone understand, as production increases, the royalty becomes more valuable, right?
Exactly. As production ramps up, our royalty grows, which is exciting for us. To fund this acquisition, we’re drawing down from a facility provided by Stefan Gleason, our largest shareholder. This means we can close the deal without needing to do additional financing, which is a big win for us. We’re really excited to add this asset to our portfolio.
It’s setting up for an exciting 2025. Can you share what you’re seeing ahead? There are royalties available in many sectors around the world. Are you focusing on certain areas, or are you looking across the board for opportunities in 2025?
This is actually our 73rd asset acquisition, and our 41st clean energy metal royalty since going public in June 2020. We’re definitely staying active in this space. Adding this royalty to our portfolio, we now have 29 properties under option with third parties, where we expect income to flow back to us.
We’re also expecting advanced royalty payments from Bissett Creek, the Middle Tennessee zinc mine, and our Penouta mine royalties, all of which have the potential to come back into production next year. Additionally, our past-producing Graphmada royalty could come back online, and our lithium royalty is part of the now-producing North American Lithium Hub. We’re also watching updates on Mont Sorcier and Seymour Lake, where we anticipate feasibility studies in the next 12 months.
There’s a lot happening across our portfolio, and with no associated costs to us. 2025 is shaping up to be our best year yet.
And lastly, Brandon, how do you see the markets for these metals shaping up? Do you expect the strength we’ve seen this year to continue into next year? That would clearly be a big positive for your company.
There are opportunities in all sectors. This summer, we thought the copper market might be closed off for royalty deals, but we’ve seen some softness, which has actually opened up opportunities for the next three to six months. We plan to take advantage of this.
Looking long-term, our forecasts for these metals show exponential growth over the next two decades. We’re excited to keep acquiring assets in these commodities. Moving into the new year, we’ll be focusing a bit more on copper, tin, and zinc.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style