Highlander Silver Announces $330M Senior Secured Project Finance Facility Mandate with Natixis CIB

Highlander Silver Corp. (HSLV) has executed a mandate letter with Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking to lead a fully underwritten, seven-year senior secured structured project finance facility valued at US$330 million. The financing is designated to fund the development and construction of the Corani Silver Project in Peru. This transaction is a financing mandate rather than an earnings release, resource update, or construction decision; any references to production, margins, or reserves in prior communications serve only as historical context.

The facility includes a cost overrun layer of up to $100 million, which must be established prior to the first draw and is provided by the Company. Highlander retains full responsibility for this overrun provision, which is not an obligation of the lenders. Final facility amounts remain subject to due diligence.

According to the release, Highlander held a cash balance of approximately $100 million with no debt as of June 30. The company’s as-reported balance sheet lists US$99.304 million in cash and zero total debt, a difference of roughly $0.7 million.

Closing is expected in the first quarter of 2027, contingent upon definitive documentation, customary project finance terms, fees, and conditions, credit approvals, and the completion of ongoing detailed technical, financial, environmental, and social due diligence. Highlander has retained 100% of the offtake rights to preserve optionality. Management has positioned the facility as non-dilutive, covenant-light capital, contrasting it with recent peer financings in the high-yield and convertible debt markets.

The release does not disclose the interest rate, spread, fees, tenor amortization profile, debt service coverage ratio (DSCR), covenant package, security package details, the total Corani capital expenditure the facility is intended to fund, the drawdown schedule, or whether interest is capitalized during construction. A mandate letter is not a credit agreement, and the funds are not committed at this time.

Highlander Silver Corp. (HSLV) has released details regarding the funding structure for its Corani project, addressing a primary uncertainty in the company’s equity story. The announcement outlines a 7-year senior secured facility arranged by a top-tier lender with A+/A1 rated parentage, explicitly positioning the debt against high-yield and convertible markets. This approach avoids the expensive junk debt or additional dilutive equity raises that would have otherwise been necessary for the pre-revenue, large-capex build. The company previously issued 23 million shares at C$3.75 in September 2025 and 8.06 million shares at C$6.80 in January 2026.

The agreement retains 100% of offtake, a decision that preserves margin and avoids compounding the existing royalty burden that would have resulted from streaming or concentrate prepayment structures. However, the release includes a cost-overrun facility of up to US$100 million to be provided by the company. This represents a potential call on Highlander’s treasury that is approximately equal to its entire current cash balance, against management’s forecast of year-end cash falling to roughly US$60 million. If Corani experiences cost overruns, which are a live probability in a staged-development build in Peru, the funding gap would be met with equity rather than debt.

The current mandate letter is non-binding, lacking specific details on rates, spreads, covenants, total capex, or definitive documentation. Closing is scheduled for Q1 2027, and the release lists several failure modes, including the possibility that due diligence may not be satisfied, conditions precedent may not be met, or the cost overrun facility may not be established on acceptable terms or at all.

The stock closed at C$7.15 on September 16 and C$8.19 on September 22, rising 14.5% in four sessions immediately prior to the release and up 22% from the C$6.71 close on July 7, 2026. No price was provided for September 23, leaving the actual market reaction unmeasured.

Highlander Silver Corp. (TSX, NYSE American: HSLV), headquartered in Toronto, is a Peru- and Mexico-focused precious metals company that transitioned from developer to producer-plus-developer with the Bear Creek acquisition in Feb 2026.

The company’s portfolio includes the San Luis gold-silver project in Ancash, Peru, which holds underground indicated resources of 356,000 oz gold at 24.4 g/t and 8.4 million oz silver at 579 g/t. The Bonita open-pit zone has returned exceptional near-surface intercepts, including BOD-023 with 23.9 m at 20.8 g/t Au and 31.5 g/t Ag, and BOD-021 with 23.6 m at 15.6 g/t Au and 74.5 g/t Ag. Community and regulatory permitting is underway, with an updated feasibility study guided for Q4 2026.

In Puno, Peru, the Corani silver project is described as the largest silver deposit in development globally and one of the largest permitted primary silver deposits globally per earlier management commentary. First exploration drilling in over a decade is now underway with six rigs. Geophysical work suggests the mineralised system extends well beyond the drilled footprint under shallow post-mineral cover, identifying three new targets: Corani West, Corani East Extension, and Corani South. Corani is a core asset of today’s financing, with an updated feasibility study also guided for Q4 2026.

The Mercedes gold-silver mine in Sonora, Mexico, serves as the operating cash generator. Acquired via Bear Creek, the excessive gold stream was extinguished and legacy debt settled, restoring 100% economic exposure. The mine reported 2025 gold production of approximately 30,000 oz.

Leadership includes President & CEO Daniel Earle, CFO Sunny Lowe, VP Exploration Sergio Gelcich, VP & GM Corani Carlos Ojeda, VP & GM Mercedes Orlando Chumpitaz, and GM San Luis Fernando Valdez. The board is chaired by Richard Warke. The corporate profile cites a management track record of over C$4.7 billion in exit transactions since 2011.