Triple Flag sets $550 million agreement for gold and silver from Australian-based mine

Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. announced Sunday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Triple Flag Mining Finance Bermuda Ltd. has entered into a stream agreement with certain subsidiaries of China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (CMOC), to receive gold and silver from the Northparkes copper-gold mine located in New South Wales, Australia. Northparkes is operated by CMOC on behalf of the Northparkes Joint Venture, an unincorporated joint venture between CMOC (80 percent), SC Mineral Resources Pty Ltd. (6.7 percent) and Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania Pty Limited (13.3 percent). Triple Flag Bermuda will make an upfront cash payment of $550 million and on-going payments equal to 10 percent of the spot gold price and spot silver price at the time of delivery for gold and silver equal to 54 percent of the gold and 80 percent of the silver produced at Northparkes.

Northparkes is a well-established producing copper and gold mine located in central New South Wales, Australia, approximately 27 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Parkes.  Discovered in 1976, the mine has been operating since 1993 and is one of the lowest cost copper mines in the world.

“This is a globally recognized mine with an excellent track record of safety, operations, reserve replacement and community involvement further bolstering and diversifying our portfolio," commented Shaun Usmar, founder and CEO of Triple Flag.

On Friday, the gold spot price closed at $1,798.60 an ounce with silver closing at $18.68 an ounce.

Precious metals market estimated to witness substantial growth in coming years

The global precious metals market is complex and its value is dependent on various global and local economic variables. Precious metals are rare in nature and possess unique characteristics such as high conductivity, corrosion resistance, and catalytic capabilities, which make them suitable for various industrial applications. The four major precious metals - gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are also used for investment purposes. According to Grand View Research, the global precious metals market is estimated to witness a substantial growth in coming years. The stable Indian bullion market and stronger global growth are also expected to drive demand for gold jewelry in coming years. On top of that, increasing industrial demand for sliver, specifically from solar energy, is expected to boost the market growth. In the meantime, palladium is widely used for industrial purposes and its demand is directly proportional to growth of automobiles and electronics. Other industrial applications of precious metals include nuclear energy, photography, cutlery, antibiotics, computer parts, oil refining, space travel vehicles, bushings, and decorative.

Earlier in 2019, palladium had become the most valuable of the four major precious metals, with an acute shortage driving prices to a new record. According to Bloomberg, the metal is a key component in pollution-control devices for cars and trucks, and the metal's price doubled in little more than a year, making it more expensive than gold. Then, earlier this week, palladium prices broke records once again; This Wednesday, March palladium futures jumped 8.1 percent on the day, trading at approximately $2,504 an ounce. The increase is influenced by the supply-demand outlook, which continued to boost prices to new highs. Spot prices hit record highs of $2,590 an ounce earlier in the session. "At the start of the year, we were looking for upside risk for the palladium market, but prices have rallied further than we thought they would. Given how tight the market is, it is likely that we are going to continue to see further upside risk," Standard Chartered precious metals analyst Suki Cooper told Kitco News.