According to informed sources, Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Corp. is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) to fund the restart of a mine in Idaho. Amid rising metal prices attracting investor interest, the company has joined a queue of mining firms seeking public listings. The US-based company is reportedly working with Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal on the offering, which is expected to raise approximately $400 million. Peter Miller, Co-Head of Global Equity Capital Markets at Bank of Montreal, noted that the bank's Canadian IPO pipeline is the largest it has been since 2021, including several mining companies, though he declined to comment on specific deals. North American mining companies are preparing to test capital market appetite for new metal-related equity offerings. Other transactions in the pipeline include Lumina Metals Corp. advancing an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange aiming to raise around C$343.7 million; Barrick Mining Corp. considering a spin-off and separate listing of its North American gold operations; and McEwen Copper Inc. planning to raise about $300 million via an IPO for its Argentine project by year-end. Sunshine Silver is seeking to restart and expand a shuttered mine in Idaho's Silver Valley, historically one of the most significant silver-producing regions in the United States. The company has invested over $180 million in the project, expanding the mining area and upgrading infrastructure, with the goal of resuming production by 2028. Co-owned by natural resources-focused private equity firm Electrum Group, the company raised $75 million in a September funding round led by an affiliate of Electrum, according to a statement at the time. The IPO would offer public market investors a chance to invest in US silver assets—a relatively rare opportunity given the scarcity of mining IPOs—while also allowing existing shareholders to monetize their holdings amid surging demand for precious metals. Silver, which serves both industrial and investment purposes, saw its price surge over the past six months, briefly surpassing a record high of $121 per ounce in late January before retreating to current levels around $80 per ounce. The Silver Institute projects the global silver market will face a supply deficit for the sixth consecutive year, driven by robust demand for silver bars and coins coupled with declining supply.
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