By Peter Kennedy
Stockhouse
With roughly $200 million available, Sandstorm pushes for growth as the mining sector struggles to raise cash.
Seymour Schulich, the founder of Canadian gold royalty company Franco-Nevada Mining Corp., once described mining as a “mug’s game.” Not for him the risky process of raising hundreds of millions for mining projects that often struggle under the weight of cyclical commodity prices.
It is a sentiment that could easily be shared by Nolan Watson, the 33-year-old President and chief executive officer of Sandstorm Gold Ltd., and its sister company Sandstorm Metals & Energy Ltd. Like Franco-Nevada, Sandstorm doesn’t require its employees to don hard hats and dig metals out of the dirt.
Rather it earns its keep by providing mining companies with up front financing to fund the cost of exploration drilling or mine development. In return, Sandstorm gains the right through agreements known as streaming to buy a percentage of the metals over the life of the mine at a fixed price.