Kitco MINING · Sep 29, 2026 · 21m · 14m saved
With Paul Brink, President and CEO, Franco-Nevada
BHP, the lowest-cost-of-capital miner in the business, just signed a roughly $4 billion silver stream on its Antamina copper mine in Peru.
Streaming deals are usually pitched as financing of last resort, for miners that can't borrow cheaply anywhere else. The best-financed miner in the sector did one anyway, and Paul Brink, president and CEO of Franco-Nevada, says that changes the argument for the whole industry.
"BHP doing a stream deal is I think the best endorsement that the stream sector has ever had."
Paul is making that case with roughly $4.3 billion of Franco-Nevada's own capital on the table, built up specifically for a moment like this one.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 21 minutes of audio, 7 minutes of reading.
Here are the 6 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
Franco-Nevada expects to land in the top half of its 2026 guidance of roughly 550,000 gold-equivalent ounces
Renewed certainty on Cobre Panamá stockpile processing and a stronger-than-expected oil price are the two drivers
Paul is hopeful for a restart announcement by year-end on Cobre Panamá, followed by detailed contract talks
Franco-Nevada's $1 billion-plus Côté Gold royalty carries a buyback option Paul says would be a "win-win" at today's gold price
BHP's roughly $4 billion Antamina silver stream is, in Paul's words, the best endorsement streaming has ever gotten
Rising gold prices mean the industry's biggest deals keep getting bigger — the Cobre Panamá transaction alone is worth $1.35 billion more today on the gold-price move alone
Franco-Nevada now backs mine-building teams directly as a third growth avenue, alongside buying royalties and bidding in stream auctions
The company holds $4.3 billion in available capital and expects to deploy a good amount of it within six to twelve months
1. Guidance moves to top half
Paul Harris of Kitco Mining spoke with Paul at the 2026 Mining Forum Americas on September 29. Paul said Franco-Nevada now expects to land in the top half of its 2026 guidance of roughly 550,000 gold-equivalent ounces.
Two developments are pushing guidance toward the top of the range, Paul says
"Two things that really changed. One is Cobre Panamá, the processing of the stockpiles — we got greater certainty that that is going ahead. We actually got our first check on that today."
Franco-Nevada received its first payment under the renewed stockpile processing the same day as the interview. The second driver is unrelated to gold: stronger-than-expected oil prices are boosting the energy royalties Franco-Nevada holds alongside its precious-metals book.
