A mining company’s debt level is an important figure to keep in mind when analyzing its wellbeing. Although the industry as a whole requires large amounts of capital, excessive leverage can cause financial distress. The miners of gold and other metals included in this list all have debt levels as high as 9x revenue.
Imperial Metals Corp. (TSX: III) – $9.98
Diversified Mining
Imperial Metals Corporation is engaged in the exploration, development and production of base and precious metals from its mineral properties. The Company has five reportable segments each including related exploration and development activities; Mount Polley, Huckleberry, Red Chris, Sterling and Corporate. The Company owns 100% of the Mount Polley open pit copper/gold mine located 56 kilometers northeast of Williams Lake in British Columbia, and 50% of the Huckleberry open pit copper/molybdenum mine located 88 kilometers south-southwest of Houston in British Columbia. It also owns 100% interest in the Red Chris copper/gold deposit situated 18 kilometers southeast of the Iskut in British Columbia, and 100% of the Sterling gold mine near Beatty, Nevada.
- Market Cap: $601,810,347
- Revenues (LTM): $74,354,465
- Debt (LFQ): $651,217,878
- Debt/Revenues: 8.8x
HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX: HBM) – $11.70
Diversified Mining
HudBay Minerals Inc. (HudBay) is a Canada-based mining company engaged in the production of copper concentrate, which includes copper, gold and silver, and zinc metal. The Company is focused on the discovery, production and marketing of base and precious metals in North and South America. Hudbay owns copper/zinc/gold mines, ore concentrators and a zinc production facility in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and copper projects in Cusco (Peru) and Arizona (United States) through its subsidiaries. The Company owns the 777 mine, as well as an ore concentrator and zinc production facilities in Flin Flon. The 777 mine covers an area of approximately 4,400 hectares, which produces zinc, copper, gold and silver. Hudbay also owns a 70% interest in the Reed project, which is a copper deposit located in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt and covers an area of approximately 917 hectares.
- Market Cap: $2,126,953,355
- Revenues (LTM): $533,409,431
- Debt (LFQ): $1,106,407,063
- Debt/Revenues: 2.1x
New Gold Inc. (TSXV: NGD) – $4.03
Diversified Mining
New Gold Inc. (New Gold) is a Canada-based intermediate gold mining company with a portfolio of over four producing assets and over three development projects. The Company’s operating assets include the New Afton Mine in Canada, the Mesquite Mine in the United States, the Peak Mines in Australia and the Cerro San Pedro Mine in Mexico. In addition, New Gold owns 100% of the Rainy River and Blackwater projects, both in Canada, as well as 30% of the El Morro project located in Chile. Rainy River is an advanced-stage gold project situated in Richardson Township, approximately 65 kilometers northwest of Fort Frances in northwestern Ontario. Blackwater is an exploration/development project located in south-central British Columbia, Canada. The Company’s Rio Figueroa project is an exploration project located approximately 80 kilometers south east of Copiapo in northern Chile.
- Market Cap: $1,638,530,583
- Revenues (LTM): $704,400,000
- Debt (LFQ): $876,900,000
- Debt/Revenues: 1.2x
Banro Corp. (TSX: BAA) – $0.40
Gold
Banro Corporation (Banro) is a Canada-based gold mining company focused on production from the Twangiza gold mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which began commercial production, and completion of its second gold mine at Namoya located in the DRC approximately 200 kilometers southwest of the Twangiza gold mine. The Company holds a 100% interest in its said four gold properties (Twangiza, Namoya, Lugushwa and Kamituga) through four DRC subsidiaries. These properties, totaling approximately 2,612 square kilometers, are covered by a total of 13 exploitation permits (or mining licenses) and cover all the major, historical producing areas of the gold belt. The Company also holds, through its fifth DRC subsidiary, 14 exploration permits covering an aggregate of 2,638 square kilometers.
- Market Cap: $81,028,742
- Revenues (LTM): $136,000,000
- Debt (LFQ): $225,056,000
- Debt/Revenues: 1.7x
