British tin developer Cornish Metals (AIM: TIN) has announced a placement of US$210 million of six-year bonds, securing the debt portion of the South Crofty development financing.
The bonds pay a fixed 13.5% per annum coupon rate and the company said it was met with strong investor demand across European, North American, and other international markets.
Cornish Metals CEO Don Turvey highlighted the company’s successful bond fundraising and said they “expect to be fully funded and to announce the final investment decision for the South Crofty tin project this summer”.
Turvey reiterated the company’s aim to see first tin concentrate production in mid-2028.
The South Crofty mine, which closed in 1998 following the tin price crash in the mid-1980s, is the highest-grade tin project in the pipeline and the company anticipates average production post-ramp up of 4,700 t tin-in-concentrate per year according to the October 2025 PEA.
Cost benchmarking work by the International Tin Association for Cornish Metals shows that the operation will be in the lowest quartile for mining costs, with an AISC of US$14,461 per tonne tin produced.
Cornish Metals estimates a pre-production capex of £198 million (approximately US$270 million) for the South Crofty project.
The issuance of the bonds is expected around 21 May 2026, subject to certain conditions, including the completion of an equity raise of no less than US$161 million.
In February, the company received a non-binding letter of interest from the US government-backed Export Import Bank for up to US$225 million in return for exporting tin concentrate to the United States, likely to Nathan Trotter.
Our view: This is a major milestone for Cornish Metals and marks one of the final steps towards bringing the historic South Crofty mine back into production. ITA is pleased to see the strong progress made to advance the project to production.
Cornish Metals is a member of ITA’s Explorers & Developer Group.
