Mining Project Finance Modeling

Mining Course Content

Build a Mining project finance model from scratch.

Develop a best-practice financial model and optimize it for both debt and equity investors for a project finance mining deal.

Learn from industry leaders and ivy league professors either in-person at a public session, on-site at your offices or campus, online, or with blended learning – combining online and in-person sessions

Course Outcomes

Learn best practice modeling by doing

Understand project finance concepts and mining operations

Optimize a model to achieve requirements of all investors

Prepare professional outputs for decision making

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Course Previews

What is Project Finance

Requirements of DSRA

DSCR Sculpting

OUR BLENDED LEARNING COMBINING IN-CLASS AND ONLINE MATERIAL ENSURES WE TEACH MORE AND YOU LEARN MORE. 5 DAYS OF MATERIAL IS CONDENSED INTO 3 DAYS + ONLINE CONTENT.

Course Portfolio Region Course Delivery Start Date Price Register/Enquire
Mining Project Finance Modelling All Inhouse Tailored On Request Contact Us Request proposal

Contact us for on-site or on-campus pricing and options.

The cost of the online course will be credited to you if you join a public session within 12 months of purchase.

Discounts provided off the full course prices.

  • Students and non-profits are eligible for a discount of 50% (no other discounts may be added to this).  Online course price for students and non profits is $400
  • Other discounts
    • Group booking of 3 or more people – 15%  Price per person for online group bookings is $680 and public sessions $3,400
    • Early bird (public and live streaming sessions only ) if book 8 weeks before the course – 10%.
  • 12 months access to our online material, including concept videos with transcriptions, lecture slides, downloadable spreadsheet examples.
  • A complete step-by-step model walk-through, and access to discussion forums for ongoing questions’.
  • Subscription can be extended annually post the first 12 months for $100 per annum.
  • Lunch, tea & coffee at the venue (public session participants only).
  • Membership to the Pivotal180 alumni network.
  • Course completion certificate.

Due to the large volume of content available, the course is suitable for all-levels – there is something for everyone.

  • Analysts, associates & vice presidents at banks, funds, investors, developers, and operating entities looking to standardize approaches to modeling or solve new problems
  • More senior participants changing careers or looking to up their skill-set
  • Students wishing to enter the mining  sector or about to start new roles – get ahead of your competition now
Section Overview
Pre-course material
  • Course requirements and overview
  • Excel functions required
  • Shortcuts, named ranges, and data validation
  • Best practice principles
  • Best practice – flags and accounts
  • Impact of leverage on a project finance deal
Project finance introduction
  • Introduction to project finance
  • Typical investment structures
  • Tax and legal implications
  • Overall timeline and cashflow relationships
  • Major contracts and risk vs reward
  • Roles of different parties in the deal
Project finance term loans
  • Impact of leverage on a deal
  • Types of lenders and their mindset
  • Appropriate discount rates and interest repayments
  • Principal repayment options
  • Debt service cover ratio (DSCR)
  • Sculpting and sizing debt
  • Cash sweeps & mandatory repayments
  • Loan life cover ratio (LLCR)
  • Reserve life cover ratio (RLCR)
  • Understanding a Facility Agreement
Project operations
  • Project lifecycle from PFS to financial close
  • Common mining operations and various products including
    • Strip ratios, ore vs waste
    • Mine reserves
    • Mining and milling processes and financial calculations
    • Calculate grades, recoveries, and yields
    • Stockpiles for high and low-grade materials
  • Inflation calculations
  • Understanding:
    • Off-take Agreements
    • O&M Agreements
Project cashflows
  • Selling product
    • Spot markets
    • Hedging (forwards, puts, calls)
    • Off-take
  • Costs
    • Mining
    • Processing
    • General and administrative
    • Transport and insurance
    • Deferred costs
  • Working capital
  • Foreign exchange risk and exposure
Waterfall and cashflow summary
  • Typical waterfall structure vs cashflow statement
  • Accounting vs cash issues
  • Global differences in calculating the waterfall
  • Accounts required and the role of the administrative agent
  • Develop cashflow forecasts for different reserve levels and price forecasts or financial structure
  • Develop upside and downside scenarios and sensitivities with data tables
Debt service reserve account (DSRA)
  • Requirement of (and implementation of) a DSRA
  • Impact of the DSRA on debt ratios
  • The debt service facility as an alternative
  • Develop model checks to ensure compliance with loan documents
Construction phase
  • EPC vs EPCM contracts in mining
  • Review of construction term sheet
  • Completion testing required
  • Value added tax challenges and solutions
  • Sources and uses
  • Model construction costs and understand funding challenge
  • Calculate total funding required
  • Discuss alternative drawdown orders
Depreciation and tax
  • Straight line, reducing balance, life of mine, and MACRS depreciation
  • Model from EBITDA to EBT
  • Thin capitalization constraints on tax deductibility
  • Tax losses carried forward
  • State and local taxes
  • What happens when tax is ahead of CADS
  • International tax considerations (i.e. WHT, tax treaties)
  • Complete post tax valuations
Returns
  • Returns required for lenders, equity, and developers
  • Cap rate compression and the value in selling your project, calculating terminal values
  • Adding subordinated debt to increase returns (and risk) or for funding shortfalls
  • Valuation comparables
  • Real vs nominal valuations
Core outputs
  • Comparison of accounting and tax depreciation
  • Developing an income statement and balance sheet
  • Converting quarterly calculations to annual outputs
  • Calculating working capital and stockpile inventory
  • Add deferred taxes to your model
  • Outputs required for an investment decision
  • C1-C3 cash costs
Modeling quality checks
  • File structures, version control, sign-off protocols for a deal model
  • Data books
  • Tracking changes in Excel models
  • 15 model checks required
  • How do I review a model?
Optimizing a deal model
  • Solve the price required to achieve a hurdle rate
  • Size the debt required in operations and construction
  • Introduction to VBA for project finance
  • Running scenarios with VBA
  • Simplifying alternatives to avoid VBA
  • Summary of core risks with analysis

Pre-requisites

Basic knowledge of Excel only

Equipment Required

Area Items Needed
Online Course

Computer, 2 screens preferable, Microsoft Excel

Public Session

Laptop & Power cord

Public courses run from 9am – 5.30pm at a location to be confirmed post registration

Live streaming are 2.5 hour live sessions for 3 days a week (Tuesday-Thursday) over a 3 week period

Live streaming classes start at 11am New York time, so are accessible to most people in the Americas, Africa, and Europe

Online course not yet available

Range Amount
>4 weeks before the course Full Refund
1-4 weeks before the course 50% Refund
<1 week before the course No Refund

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