Most exploration projects never become mines; that is the nature of the business. Lode Exchange classifies early-stage mining projects on one stage scale and opens verified data rooms to qualified investors, so the risk can be shared and managed.
New to mining? Start with the basics
The problem
Between a first resource and a pre-feasibility study, projects fall between two kinds of capital: speculative money that wants discoveries and development money that wants reserves. The odds keep improving and the cheques keep growing, but the money thins out.
| Stage | Stage 1: Grassroots | Stage 2: Discovery drilling | Stage 3: Maiden resource | Stage 4: Resource upgrade | Stage 5: Pre-development | Stage 6: Development and production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funder appetiteConceptual | ||||||
| Cost of the stage | $3M | $7M | $10M | $20M | $80M | $880M |
| Chance of a mineAt the start of the stage | 0.1% | 3% | 15% | 30% | 45% | 85% |
| Typical funders | Prospectors, junior explorers | Junior explorers | Few natural funders (the gap) | Few natural funders (the gap) | Mid-tier miners, strategic partners | Majors, banks, streaming and royalty companies |
| Stage | Cost | Chance of a mine |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1: GrassrootsProspectors, junior explorers | $3M | 0.1% |
| Stage 2: Discovery drillingJunior explorers | $7M | 3% |
| Stage 3: Maiden resourceFew natural funders (the gap) | $10M | 15% |
| Stage 4: Resource upgradeFew natural funders (the gap) | $20M | 30% |
| Stage 5: Pre-developmentMid-tier miners, strategic partners | $80M | 45% |
| Stage 6: Development and productionMajors, banks, streaming and royalty companies | $880M | 85% |
The energy transition and the build-out of AI and data centres run on copper, lithium, nickel and rare earths. Every new mine starts as an exploration project.
Major miners buy proven deposits, and small explorers struggle to fund the drilling that finds them. A discovery takes many years to become a mine, so projects left unfunded today are supply missing later.
Most projects fail and a few succeed. Investors who understand the stages and hold a spread of projects can manage that risk instead of avoiding it.
The platform
Projects are shown by code name. Full details open only to approved investors, under a signed NDA.
Projects
Every project shown is an invented, illustrative example and not a real project. Listings are teasers, not offers.
Northern Cape, South Africa · Sediment-hosted
Western Mongolia, Mongolia · Porphyry
Ontario, Canada · Orogenic gold
Start here
Six steps for people who understand valuation, risk and portfolios but not geology. Five short articles take you from how a junior explorer works to how a mine is paid for. The last step is the stage guide, where it all comes together.
Learn
The junior mining world
Exploration as an option on a discovery: binary outcomes, power-law returns, dilution and where royalties sit between bonds and equity.
5 min read
Exploration
A drill result such as 42.0 m at 2.31 g/t gold is a length, a grade and a position. This article shows what each part means, what the headline leaves out, and which questions to ask.
4 min read
Mining finance
A royalty is a right to a share of a mine's revenue, paid for its whole life. It is a common way to fund exploration and development without selling shares.
3 min read
Investor playbook
The questions to work through before committing capital, from title and geology to environment, community, the company, the deal and the exit. Organised by topic, with what matters most at each stage.
5 min read
Browse projects by stage, sign a project’s NDA and open its data room once approved.
Submit your project with its licence and data. We screen it and, if it fits, list it by code name only.
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