Trident Royalties PLC (LON:TRR)(FSX:5KV) said it received a total of US$291,832 in royalty payments during the fourth quarter of 2020.
The income came from the iron ore royalty on Koolyanobbing, and from the Mimbula copper project.
Trident undertook six royalty transactions in 2020, including the acquisition of the Pukaqaqa copper royalties in the fourth quarter from Orion Resource Partners, Trident's first all-equity deal.
With a portfolio inclusive of copper, iron ore, and gold, Trident is increasingly reflective of the broader global mining sector, providing investors with an inflation hedge in the face of loose global monetary policy.
The company has a number of transactions in the pipeline, continuing to advance across multiple commodities.
The commodity prices underlying Trident's royalties remained strong throughout the fourth quarter, with iron ore averaging US$131 per tonne, copper averaging US$7,173 per tonne tonne, and gold averaging US$1,876 per ounce.
Current spot prices for iron ore and copper are well in excess of the fourth quarter average, presently at US$157.4 per tonne and US$7,778 respectively.
As of December 31, 2020, Trident had cash of US$6.9mln.
In addition, Trident continues to engage with debt providers in order to unlock additional funding capacity and provide shareholders with levered returns. Trident expects any debt facility would be agreed and drawn in conjunction with a future potential transaction.
"The significant progress Trident made during 2020 has meant that it has rapidly positioned itself as a go-to investment vehicle in which investors can gain exposure to an increasingly diversified portfolio of mining royalties,” said Trident chief executive Adam Davidson in a statement.
“Our strategy of targeting attractive small to mid-size transactions, which are often ignored by larger players across assets in premier mining jurisdictions, has already proved successful in a short period of time. Having gained exposure to a portfolio which includes copper, iron ore and gold, all of which are forecast to continue their strong performance, we anticipate seeing increasing returns from our existing paying royalties.”
Separately, Trident has noted that ASX-listed Calidus Resources Ltd has successfully consolidated key exploration and infrastructure tenements as part of the broader Warrawoona gold project.
Calidus previously owned the tenements in a joint venture arrangement with TSX-listed Novo Resources Corp and is now moving to 100% ownership.
Trident has a binding agreement to acquire a 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty over the eastern part of the planned Warrawoona mine. The acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021. Trident announced the Warrawoona Royalty acquisition on 28 August 2020.