HOTTER ON METALS: Mine finance requests step up amid Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up financing opportunities for metals and mining-focused investment firms. It's also created a problem.

The one-two punch demand and supply shock that the virus has created is putting the mining sector under extreme pressure. With banks even more reluctant than before to provide capital to the mining sector amid the tumultuous global financial backdrop, corporates are desperately seeking alternative sources of funding. 
Enter mine finance specialists, who say they are now getting dozens of requests for help from miners seeking capital. 
These cash-strapped companies typically don't want to sell equity in their projects, even though this has been a key source of capital for miners, namely through private equity funds, in recent years. 

Instead, miners are asking for debt financing in the form of short-term or even longer-term loans. Some miners are also offering to place inventory with mine finance teams in exchange for access...

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