▶ Full Post Text
**Ecora Royalties PLC (LSE:ECOR) (TSX:ECOR)** issues the following trading update for the period 1 October to 31 December 2025.
**Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Portfolio Contribution**
FY 2025 base metals portfolio contribution up 150 percent at $28.5m (FY 2024: $11.4m). The base metals portfolio benefited from the ramp up of cobalt deliveries from Voisey's Bay, a maiden contribution from the Mimbula copper stream and record production levels from the Mantos Blancos copper mine. The 448t of attributable cobalt received from Voisey's Bay in FY 2025 was at the top end of upgraded guidance (FY 2024: 210t).
In Q4 2025, the base metals portfolio contribution of $9.9m was broadly flat on the prior quarter (Q3 2025: $9.9m; Q4 2024: $4.2m). A period of planned maintenance at the Voisey's Bay mine and the nearby Long Harbor Processing Plant resulted, as expected, in a lower volume of delivered cobalt in the quarter which was offset by increased copper contribution from Mimbula and Mantos Blancos.
Total portfolio contribution of $57.0m (2024: $63.2m) reflected an increased contribution from critical minerals which comprised 63 percent of the total, offset by a weaker year-on-year steelmaking coal price environment impacting Kestrel.
**Marc Bishop Lafleche, Chief Executive Officer of Ecora, commented:**
*"2025 represents an inflection point for Ecora with portfolio contribution from our critical minerals portfolio exceeding that from steelmaking coal for the first time. This has been achieved through a stellar performance within our base metals portfolio, with a combination of record operational performance, the acquisition of the Mimbula copper stream and strong pricing environment driving 150* *percent year-on-year growth.*
*"We have delivered strong deleveraging post the $50m Mimbula copper stream acquisition in Q1 2025, with closing net debt of $85.5m (YE 2024: $82.3m). We are well positioned to continue to deleverage and also fund further growth via royalty and stream acquisitions.*
*"2026 has the potential to be another significant year, with further volume growth expected from Voisey's Bay and Mimbula, and wider benefits from current commodity price tailwinds. In the development portfolio, we look forward to a number of key milestones that will de-risk our strong organic copper and other critical minerals growth profile."*
**Highlights:**
* $57.0m portfolio contribution for the year ended 31 December 2025 (2024: $63.2m)
* Total portfolio contribution of $14.3m in Q4 2025 (Q4 2024: $6.7m; Q3 2025: $25.0m)
* Net debt at 31 December 2025 of $85.5m (30 September 2025: $104.0m)
**Base Metals**
* $9.9m base metals portfolio contribution in Q4 2025 (Q3 2025: $9.9m) up 136 percent on Q4 2024 ($4.2m)
* FY 2025 base metals portfolio contribution increased 150 percent to $28.5m (FY 2024: $11.4m)
* Voisey's Bay
* Q4 2025 portfolio contribution of $5.3m (Q3 2025: $6.0m; Q4 2024 $2.3m) with an average realised price of $23.43/lb (Q3 2025: $18.13/lb)
* With planned maintenance being successfully completed during Q4 2025, the 126 tonnes of cobalt received was lower than 182 tonnes received in Q3 2025 and resulted in 448 tonnes of cobalt received in FY 2025, at the high end of guidance (434-448t)
* FY 2026 guidance is for 500-560t of attributable cobalt with the mine expected to reach steady state production
* Mimbula
* Portfolio contribution of $1.3m (Q3 2025: $1.1m) driven by the 175t of attributable production in Q3 2025
* Copper entitlement for Q4 2025 of 225t generating Q1 2026 portfolio contribution of $2.1m
* Brownfield expansion ongoing with 2025 exit production rate of 20ktpa; guidance for FY 2026 is for copper production of between 30 and 35ktpa.
* Mantos Blancos
* A quarterly record portfolio contribution of $3.1m benefiting from a strong copper price environment
* Santo Domingo
* Capstone Copper announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with entities managed by Orion Resource Partners LP to sell a 25 percent interest in the Santo Domingo Project, which clears a path to a Final Investment Decision to proceed with the construction of the Santo Domingo Project as early as H2 2026
* Nifty
* The Board of Cyprium Metals Limited ("Cyprium"), a copper developer focused on the phased restart of the Nifty Copper Complex, approved the Cathode Project restart plan with first production of copper cathode expected in mid-2026^((1))
* In January 2026, Cyprium announced that it has completed a A$41m equity raise, with part of the proceeds to be used for studies and early works on growth initiatives including the reactivation of the Nifty open pit, expansion of heap leach and SXEW capacity and concentrator refurbishment studies
* Cañariaco
* Alta Copper Corp. ("Alta"), the owner of the Cañariaco Copper Project, announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with Fortescue Ltd. ("Fortescue") under which Fortescue will acquire the remaining 64 percent of Alta's issued and outstanding shares not already owned by Fortescue. Assuming all conditions of the transaction are satisfied or waived, closing is expected to occur in March 2026.
**Specialty metals and uranium**
* Specialty metals and uranium portfolio generated $1.8m of portfolio contribution in Q4 2025 (Q3 2025: $1.9m)
* FY 2025 portfolio contribution of $7.6m (2024: $8.1m)
* Rainbow Rare Earths continued to make strong progress towards the release of the Phalaborwa Definitive Feasibility Study announcing:
* Yttrium had been added to the Mineral Resource Estimate at Phalaborwa which could add +$30m to the projects estimated EBITDA
* The selection of solvent extraction as the rare earth oxide separation route for the Phalaborwa project to produce separated NdPr oxide and the SEG+ Group at 99.5 percent purity
* NexGen Energy Ltd. announced that the 2025 drilling program on the Patterson Corridor East ("PCE") uranium discovery expanded the overall mineralised footprint to 700m (from 600m) of vertical extent and 620m of strike length (from 620m). Further, the high-grade subdomain vertical extent has grown materially to 412m from 335m with 210m of strike length. The 2026 drilling program will see 42,000m drilled including testing a repeating zone 600m to the southeast of PCE and with the same hydrothermal system.
**Bulks and other**
* Bulks and other portfolio generated $2.6m in Q4 2025 (Q3 2025: $13.2m)
* FY 2025 portfolio contribution of $20.9m (2024: $43.7m)
* Kestrel
* Mining was only in the Group's private royalty area for part of the quarter and generated a portfolio contribution of $1.7m (Q3 2025: $12.5m)
* 0.2mt of saleable production from the Group's private royalty area in Q4 2025 (Q3 2025: 1.6mt) taking total saleable volumes for FY 2025 to 2.2mt
* FY 2026 guidance is for between 1.0mt and 1.2mt of saleable production in the Group's private royalty area, which is expected to primarily occur during H2 2026
https://preview.redd.it/0kscuugn6agg1.png?width=925&format=png&auto=webp&s=a4f292610b7fb57fe5288071f5a1321801ba6f74
*^(1)**Includes ongoing metal purchase costs under stream agreements, for Q4 2025 these were: Voisey's Bay ($1.2m); Mimbula ($0.5m)*
*^(2)* *In Q4 2025, principal repayment totalled $0.4m and interest received totalled $0.3m*
*^(3)**Under IFRS 9, the royalties received from EVBC are reflected in the fair value movement of the underlying royalty rather than recorded as royalty income*