Franco-Nevada Corp. announced that, through a wholly owned Australian subsidiary, it has agreed to acquire approximately $121.5 million (A$170 million) gross royalty from Minerals 260 Ltd. to further support its development of the Bullabulling gold project. Additionally, Franco-Nevada has agreed to subscribe for approximately $21.4 million (A$30 million) of Minerals 260’s ordinary shares as a lead order in a future equity raise.
The royalty acquisition will be in addition to Franco-Nevada’s Australian subsidiary’s existing 2.45% gross royalty interest over the project, increasing its interest to a 3.9% gross royalty over Bullabulling, plus an expanded area of interest and enhanced royalty profile. The investment in Minerals 260 shares will build upon Franco-Nevada’s existing ownership of Minerals 260 shares. This financing package increases Franco-Nevada’s support for Minerals 260 to develop Bullabulling to an aggregate $299 million (A$420 million) and follows the $157 million (A$220 million) financing package that Franco-Nevada provided Minerals 260 in February 2026, which has supported considerable resource growth and development progress at Bullabulling.
“Both the team at Minerals 260 and the Bullabulling orebody continue to surpass our expectations. Minerals 260 is ahead of schedule on project development and financing and has rapidly grown its resource endowment. We are delighted to take this next step in building our partnership with the company and firmly believe that our financial backing can play a lynchpin role in generating value for Minerals 260 shareholders,” said Paul Brink, president and CEO of Franco-Nevada.
Bullabulling is one of Australia’s largest near-term gold projects, located in Western Australia, in the Eastern Goldfields. The project is located on existing mining leases and has a straightforward pathway to meaningful near-term production from conventional open-pit and CIL processing. A pre-feasibility study was completed by Minerals 260 in July 2026, with a definitive feasibility study and final investment decision expected in early 2027, and first gold production potentially as soon as H2 2028.
Minerals 260’s intended strategy is to incrementally develop and expand Bullabulling to accelerate and optimize production. The pre-feasibility study was based on the maiden reserve and Stage 1 throughput of 5 metric tons per year (mt/y), with additional capacity and design provisions incorporated to support future throughput expansion to 7.5 mt/y. The pre-feasibility study confirmed Franco-Nevada’s assessment that Bullabulling will be a scaled, long life mine, with planned annual average gold production of approximately 150 koz per year for the first 10 years and total mine life of 19 years. Based on Franco-Nevada’s review and current resources, Franco-Nevada says it sees strong potential for throughput expanding in phases to 7 to 8 mt/y.
“We are thrilled with the partnership we have established with Franco-Nevada and Franco-Nevada’s decision to invest an additional A$200 million supports what both parties believe Bullabulling will become – a near-term, large scale, long-life, expandable gold asset in one of the world’s best mining jurisdictions. This is a partnership built on focus and determination to bring Bullabulling into production and supports mutually beneficial outcomes for each company. This additional funding materially strengthens our balance sheet and our path to a final investment decision in early 2027,” said Luke McFadyen, managing director of Minerals 260.
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