Lundin Gold sells silver stream to LunR Royalties in $490M deal

Lundin Gold (TSX: LUG) will sell a silver stream on its Fruta del Norte (FDN) mine in Ecuador for newly issued shares of LunR Royalties (TSXV: LUNR) valued at approximately C$670 million ($490 million).

LunR Royalties was created last year as a spin-out of NGEx Minerals (TSX: NGEX) to hold its net smelter royalty interests in Latin America. Part of the Lundin group of companies, NGEx is currently developing the Lunahuasi project in Argentina and operates the Los Helados joint venture with Japan’s JX Advanced Metals in Chile.

Adam Lundin, current chair of Lundin Mining, serves as the president and chief executive officer of LunR Royalties.

Trading of LunR Royalties began on Dec. 19, 2025, and has since nearly doubled in value as copper prices surge to record highs. Trading at about C$21.50 per share, the company’s market capitalization is approximately C$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion).

‘Small byproduct’

In a press release on Sunday, Lundin Gold said the stream-for-equity deal with LunR would unlock value from a minor byproduct produced at FDN. The company estimates that silver currently represents only 1–2% of its total revenue, with forecast production of 500,000 to 600,000 oz. of payable silver in 2026.

Under the terms of the transaction, LunR will buy all of FDN’s payable silver production until 12.2 million oz. have been delivered. After that, it will buy half of FDN’s payable silver until an additional 7.8 million oz. have been delivered. Thereafter, the company will purchase 7.5% of the payable silver for the remaining life of mine, currently estimated at 12 years. The silver stream is expected to be effective on March 1.

In exchange, Lundin will receive approximately 50.5 million shares of LunR, priced at the stock’s 20-day volume-weighted average price as of Feb. 20, 2026, totalling about C$670 million.

“By converting a small byproduct into an equity interest in a rapidly emerging royalty company, we are crystallizing value now and creating a new avenue of long-term value for our shareholders,” stated Brendan Creaney, VP of corporate development and investor relations at Lundin Gold. “LunR’s participation in this transaction underscores their confidence in FDN’s exceptional quality and its exploration potential to continue delivering silver for many years to come.”

Located in southeast Ecuador, FDN represents one of the highest-grade, lowest-cost operating gold mines in the world. Lundin Gold acquired the asset in late 2014 and brought it into commercial production in February 2020, ahead of schedule.

The company is currently implementing a major near-mine expansion program, including a $100 million investment this year, to build on its existing reserve base, which is estimated at 5.8 million oz. of gold and 8.9 million oz. of silver.

‘Sixth-largest’ royalties company

For LunR, the FDN stream would transform it into a precious metals weighted company, with added scale and cash flow that will increase its competitiveness, the company said in a separate release.

“Life-of-mine, uncapped streams on premier operations are rare, and this transaction establishes LunR as a leading competitor in the space. FDN has significant exploration upside, and the stream structure will allow LunR to surface value from Lundin Gold’s continued success for years to come,” Adam Lundin said.

He added that based on today’s prices, LunR would be “the sixth-largest precious metals royalty and streaming company globally” upon closing, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2026.