Ecora Resources PLC (LSE:ECOR, TSX:ECOR, OTCQX:ECRAF) is expecting a sharp increase in royalty income in 2025, driven by rising production volumes across its copper and cobalt assets and supported by what it called positive commodity price "tailwinds".
The London and Toronto-listed royalty and streaming company, which focuses on critical minerals, said on Thursday that it anticipates meaningful growth in volumes this year, underpinned by operational momentum at key producing sites and contributions from its recently acquired copper stream over the Mimbula mine.
At Voisey’s Bay in Canada, cobalt deliveries to Ecora are forecast to rise by as much as 90% to between 335 and 390 tonnes. Copper production at Chile’s Mantos Blancos mine is expected to grow by up to 20%, while output from Kestrel, the Australian steelmaking coal mine where Ecora holds a private royalty interest, is also set to increase.
Looking further ahead, the company highlighted a pipeline of development projects that it believes will materially lift royalty-linked production through to the end of the decade.
These include expansions at Mimbula and Mantos Blancos, progress on the Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa, and ongoing work to advance Capstone’s Santo Domingo copper asset in Chile.
Steady-state cobalt production from Voisey’s Bay is expected to be reached by the second half of 2026.
Chief executive Marc Bishop Lafleche said the business is “well positioned for the year ahead” and continues to target a more diversified revenue profile, underpinned by “expected meaningful balance sheet deleveraging over the next 12–24 months.”
For 2024, Ecora reported a 9% increase in portfolio contribution to $63.2 million, though adjusted earnings edged down to $28.9 million and free cash flow fell to $22.1 million.
“Significant progress across Ecora’s royalty portfolio was achieved in 2024,” Lafleche added.