A volumetric production payment (VPP) deal is a means of financing that has been used in the oil and gas industry for several decades. [1] A VPP involves the owner of an oil and gas property selling a percentage of their production in exchange for an upfront cash payment. [2] Typically, smaller exploration and production companies are seen utilizing VPP agreements as it allows them to raise capital while retaining full ownership of their property and not diluting their company’s equity position. [3]
In 2004, mining entrepreneur Ian Telfer created Silver Wheaton which aimed to apply volumetric production payment transactions to the mining sector. [4] The business model came to be known as metal streaming and structures VPP transactions in such a way that an upfront payment is exchanged for a percentage of metal production, with a fixed payment being made for each ounce of metal delivered. The model has proven to be wildly successful as Silver Wheaton became a multibillion-dollar company within a few years of operation. [5] Franco Nevada Corp., Royal Gold Inc. and Sandstorm Gold Ltd. are other companies that have deployed the metal streaming business model.
In the oil and gas industry Chesapeake Energy is the most visible user of VPPs, having raised around $5 billion in operating capital since 2008 without creating debt on its books or diluting shareholders by issuing more stock. Under a VPP a bank or hedge fund actually purchases and receives title to a portion of the mineral reserves in an oil and gas lease or group of leases. This raises legal issues when the VPP seller (usually the operator of the lease(s) and subject to a joint operating agreement with its co tenants) sells and conveys a portion of the mineral reserves in place in which it owns an undivided interest and then retains for itself all of the upfront VPP cash payment without sharing it with its co tenants (other working interest owners).
VPPs are carefully structured as sales of real property interests to satisfy IRS and FASB rules and standards to defer taxable gains to the VPP seller and protect the VPP buyer in the event of the seller's bankruptcy. The mineral reserves are conveyed by the VPP seller to the VPP purchaser in legal instruments that are recorded in the counties where the mineral reserves are located.
Mining law is the branch of law relating to the legal requirements affecting minerals and mining. Mining law covers several basic topics, including the ownership of the mineral resource and who can work them. Mining is also affected by various regulations regarding the health and safety of miners, as well as the environmental impact of mining.
Real estate investing involves the purchase, ownership, management, rental and/or sale of real estate for profit. Improvement of realty property as part of a real estate investment strategy is generally considered to be a sub-specialty of real estate investing called real estate development. Real estate is an asset form with limited liquidity relative to other investments, it is also capital intensive and is highly cash flow dependent. If these factors are not well understood and managed by the investor, real estate becomes a risky investment. The primary cause of investment failure for real estate is that the investor goes into negative cash flow for a period of time that is not sustainable, often forcing them to resell the property at a loss or go into insolvency. A similar practice known as flipping is another reason for failure as the nature of the investment is often associated with short term profit with less effort.
Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership.
Depletion is an accounting and tax concept used most often in mining, timber, petroleum, or other similar industries.
Oil and gas law in the United States is the branch of law that pertains to the acquisition and ownership rights in oil and gas both under the soil before discovery and after its capture, and adjudication regarding those rights.
Coeur Mining, Inc. is a precious metals mining company listed on the New York Stock exchange. It operates five mines located in North America. Coeur employs 2,200 people and in 2012 it was the world's 9th largest silver producer. In 2013 the company changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. from Coeur d'Alene Mines and moved its head office to Chicago, Illinois from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Mining in Afghanistan is controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, which is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$3 trillion of untapped minerals.
The mineral industry is one of the main sectors of the Armenian economy and in 2017 accounted for 30.1% of its exports.
The mineral industry of Kazakhstan is one of the most competitive and fastest growing sectors of the country. Kazakhstan ranks second to Russia among the countries of the CIS in its quantity of mineral production. It is endowed with large reserves of a wide range of metallic ores, industrial minerals, and fuels, and its metallurgical sector is a major producer of a large number of metals from domestic and imported raw materials. In 2005, its metal mining sector produced bauxite, chromite, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc ores, and its metallurgical sector produced such metals as beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, copper, ferroalloys, lead, magnesium, rhenium, steel, titanium, and zinc. The country produced significant amounts of other nonferrous and industrial mineral products, such as alumina, arsenic, barite, gold, molybdenum, phosphate rock, and tungsten. The country was a large producer of mineral fuels, including coal, natural gas, oil, and uranium. The country's economy is heavily dependent on the production of minerals. Output from Kazakhstan's mineral and natural resources sector for 2004 accounted for 74.1% of the value of industrial production, of which 43.1% came from the oil and gas condensate extraction. In 2004, the mineral extraction sector accounted for 32% of the GDP, employed 191,000 employees, and accounted for 33.1% of capital investment and 64.5% of direct foreign investment, of which 63.5% was in the oil sector. Kazakhstan's mining industry is estimated at US$29.5 billion by 2017.
The mineral industry of Russia is one of the world's leading mineral industries and accounts for a large percentage of the Commonwealth of Independent States' production of a range of mineral products, including metals, industrial minerals, and mineral fuels. In 2005, Russia ranked among the leading world producers or was a significant producer of a vast range of mineral commodities, including aluminum, arsenic, cement, copper, magnesium compounds and metals, nitrogen, palladium, silicon, nickel and vanadium.
The mineral industry provides a major source of economic growth in Peru's national development. In 2006, Peru occupied a leading position in the global production of the following mineral commodities: fourth in arsenic trioxide, third in bismuth, third in copper, fifth in gold, fourth in lead, fourth in molybdenum, fourth in rhenium, first in silver, third in tin, and third in zinc. In Latin America, Peru was the first ranked producer of, in order of value, gold, silver, zinc, lead, tin, and tellurium and the second ranked producer of copper, molybdenum, and bismuth.
Mining in the United Kingdom produces a wide variety of fossil fuels, metals, and industrial minerals due to its complex geology. In 2013, there were over 2,000 active mines, quarries, and offshore drilling sites on the continental land mass of the United Kingdom producing £34bn of minerals and employing 36,000 people.
Silver streaming is the term often used when a company makes an agreement with a mining company to purchase all or part of their silver production at a low, fixed, predetermined price to which both parties agree. The silver is usually a by-product of the mineral the mining company's business is based on. The arrangement can be made through silver purchase agreements or precious metals agreements. The transaction is considered mutually beneficial. The mining company gets much needed capital by immediately monetizing the non-core silver, while the company receiving the silver gets it without having to invest in exploration, development, maintenance. Silver streaming companies have no control over the mines that produce their silver, meaning that when production falls short of expectations or is affected by political instability it must incur the losses itself; because of the lack of control over production, earnings are based entirely on the market price of silver.
Nolan Watson is a Canadian businessman, humanitarian, and philanthropist. He is known for his contribution to finance innovation in the mining industry. Watson began working in mine finance with Silver Wheaton Corp., where he was named the Chief Financial Officer in 2006 and was the youngest CFO of a New York Stock Exchange listed company. Watson helped develop the silver streaming business model and raise over $1 billion in debt and equity to fund Silver Wheaton’s growth into the largest streaming company in the world.
Sandstorm Gold Ltd. provides financing for precious metal mining companies in the form of a 'gold streaming' transaction whereby an upfront cash payment is exchanged for a percentage of gold production from the mine. The finance model has also been called a volumetric production payment transaction and originated in the oil and gas sector.
Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. was a full cycle mining company with acquisition, exploration, development, and operation in North America. The corporate office was located in Denver, Colorado. The company primarily produced copper, gold, and molybdenum. Over its history, the Company evolved from being a major primary molybdenum producer to becoming a copper and gold mining company with the construction and development of the Mount Milligan mine and concentrator in British Columbia, Canada. Mount Milligan was Thompson Creek Metals principal operation and the company owned 100% of this property. The company also owned 100% of its Thompson Creek Mine in Idaho. Thompson Creek Metals owned 75% joint venture interest in two other properties, including its Endako Mine in British Columbia, and its Langeloth Metallurgical Facility (roaster) in Pennsylvania. Thompson Creek Metals had additional development projects, including the Berg property in British Columbia.
The El Indio Gold Belt is a mineral-rich region spanning the border between Chile and Argentina that contains large quantities of gold, silver and copper. On both sides of the border the belt is located within the Andes. The El Indio mine within the district was the first modern mine in Chile to produce gold as its main product. In Chile the main precious metal containing mineral is enargite. The El Indio belt is bordered in the north by another gold-silver mining district known as the Frontera District. Rodalquilarite, alunite and poughite are some of the minerals present in the area. The deposits of the belt formed during the Late Miocene period.
Mining in Taiwan used to be a great industry, especially for sulfur, clay, gold and coal. Nowadays, Taiwan lacks natural resources for mining and relies on imports to meet its demand for minerals. The current mining industries in Taiwan are of small and medium size in terms of exploited minerals and the scale of mining, mainly focusing on marble and limestone for cement, stone and craft industries and sand and gravel for construction industries. Mining activities in Taiwan are regulated by the Bureau of Mines of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The mining industry of Yemen is at present dominated by fossil mineral of petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and to a limited extent by extraction of dimension stone, gypsum, and refined petroleum. Reserves of metals like cobalt, copper, gold, iron ore, nickel, niobium, platinum-group metals, silver, tantalum, and zinc are awaiting exploration. Industrial minerals with identified reserves include black sands with ilmenite, monazite, rutile, and zirconium, celestine, clays, dimension stone, dolomite, feldspar, fluorite, gypsum, limestone, magnesite, perlite, pure limestone, quartz, salt, sandstone, scoria, talc, and zeolites; some of these are under exploitation.