With conventional debt and equity financing for junior miners all but dried up, London Mining has secured additional funding for its Marampa iron ore mine in Sierra Leone via an innovative $110m (£71m) royalty agreement with investment trust BlackRock World Mining Trust.
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BlackRock will make the upfront cash payment in exchange for a 2 per cent royalty on all iron ore sales over the mine's life. BlackRock's backing looks like a strong vote of confidence in London Mining's expansion plans for Marampa, where production is scheduled to ramp up from 1.5m tonnes this year to 5m tonnes a year by 2014.
