Highlights

Wheaton Precious Metals paid BHP $4.3 billion upfront for a silver stream at Peru’s Antamina mine, lifting its share of the mine’s silver to 67.5% from April 1, 2026.
Harmony Gold priced a US$500 million, 1.5% convertible bond due 2031 on September 22; Caledonia Mining raised US$150 million in 5.875% convertible notes in January.
Spot gold fell about 3.3% on September 28 to roughly $4,146 an ounce, well below the record near $5,600 set in January.

Gold is still trading near historic highs. Paying to dig more of it up is getting more inventive.

Some of the sector’s largest names have funded growth this year with tools that sit between a bank loan and a share sale. Streams. Royalties. Convertible bonds. Options that put a floor under the gold price. Filings from Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE: WPM), OR Royalties (NYSE: OR), Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY) and Caledonia Mining (NYSE American: CMCL) show the shift plainly. Figures here come from those filings and World Gold Council data, linked below.

A Strong Price, a Shaky Week

The backdrop helps. The London afternoon gold benchmark averaged $4,506 an ounce in the second quarter, 37% above a year earlier, according to the World Gold Council. Central banks bought a net 288.9 tonnes over those three months, the most for any second quarter in the council’s records.

Then came Monday. Spot gold fell about 3.3% on September 28 to roughly $4,146 as Treasury yields rose and traders priced in more Federal Reserve rate hikes, CNBC reported.

Swings like that make financing that shares price risk with the lender easier to sell to a board.

Streams: Cash Now, Metal Later

A stream is essentially a prepayment. A financier hands a miner a large upfront sum, then buys a fixed share of future metal at a low, contracted price.

Wheaton shows the scale. On April 1 it paid BHP $4.3 billion upfront for BHP’s 33.75% share of silver from the Antamina mine in Peru. Added to an existing Glencore stream, Wheaton now takes 67.5% of Antamina’s silver.

It borrowed to get there. Wheaton drew a new $1.5 billion two-year term loan and finished June with $1.9 billion in net debt. Its 2026 guidance of 860,000 to 940,000 gold equivalent ounces stayed put. Those ounces are calculated at fixed assumptions of $4,800 gold and $80 silver, both above where the metals traded this week, so the figure is not a spot-price measure and may not match other companies’ methods.

Royalties are the lighter cousin. Instead of taking delivery of metal, the holder collects a percentage of a mine’s revenue. OR Royalties closed $335 million in acquisitions in the second quarter, lifting its royalty, stream and other interests to $1.48 billion from $1.14 billion at the end of 2025. Quarterly revenue jumped 62% from a year earlier.

Convertibles and Price Floors

A convertible bond is debt that can turn into shares if the stock climbs past a set price. Investors accept a lower coupon for that upside. Existing shareholders carry the dilution risk.

Harmony priced a US$500 million convertible due 2031 on September 22. The coupon is 1.5%. The conversion price of R418.60 is a 40% premium to the reference share price, and Harmony says the bonds could convert into about 19.4 million shares, roughly 3% of its share capital. Proceeds go to general corporate purposes.

Caledonia went further, stacking several tools for Bilboes, its planned second gold mine in Zimbabwe. In January it raised US$150 million in 5.875% convertible notes due 2033. It also bought put options, a form of price insurance, guaranteeing at least $3,500 an ounce on 3,000 ounces a month from January 2026 through December 2028.

The package is still being assembled. In August, Caledonia said Zimbabwean bank approvals covered more than half of a targeted US$150 million interim facility, with due diligence continuing on a US$300 million project finance facility. It also cut 2026 capital spending guidance to $103.3 million from $178.9 million, citing the timing of Bilboes equipment deposits rather than any change in schedule or cost.

What It Means for Investors

Each of these structures moves risk around. Streams and royalties trade a slice of future production for cash today, with no new shares issued. Convertibles keep interest costs low and push the dilution question down the road. Put options cost money upfront and only pay off if gold drops hard.

None of these deals predicts where gold goes next. They do suggest capital providers are still writing large checks at current prices. When comparing companies, the headline size of a raise says less than the terms underneath it: coupon, conversion price, stream percentage and how long the commitment runs.

Sources

Editorial Disclosure

This market outlook is based on public filings and announcements by Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., OR Royalties Inc., Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, and Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc, together with World Gold Council data and market reporting dated September 28, 2026. Securities discussed: Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE | TSX | LSE: WPM), OR Royalties Inc. (NYSE | TSX: OR), Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (JSE: HAR | NYSE: HMY), Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (NYSE American | AIM | VFEX: CMCL). Mining Markets Report has not received compensation from any of these companies, their management, investor relations representatives, or any third party for the creation of this specific coverage. A paid third-party commentary distributed via PR Newswire on September 30, 2026 discussed similar financing trends; Mining Markets Report did not rely on it for any figures, verified every number in this article against the primary sources listed above, and is not a participant in or beneficiary of that promotion. No staff member, principal, or affiliate of Mining Markets Report holds a position, option, or interest in any security mentioned as of the publication date. Statements regarding production guidance, capital spending, project financing, construction timelines, and future gold prices are forward-looking statements. They are subject to market, operational, financing, and regulatory risks; actual outcomes and timing may differ materially. Mining equities carry a high degree of financial risk, and convertible securities can dilute existing shareholders if converted. This overview is published strictly for informational, news-reporting, and educational market context purposes only. It does not constitute an investment recommendation, endorsement, or professional financial, legal, or tax advice.

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