We recently hosted a conversation with Coeur Mining at RBC's 2025 Global Mining and Materials Conference. This article summarizes the highlights.
New asset boosts supply and liquidity
With Coeur Mining’s acquisition of SilverCrest earlier this year, the company added one of the world’s highest-grade and highest-margin silver and gold operations: the Las Chispas underground mine in Sonora, Mexico.1
For Mitchell Krebs, Coeur’s Chairman, President and CEO, the benefits of the transaction were twofold. Las Chispas will boost silver production levels when combined with Coeur’s recently-expanded Rochester mine in Nevada and its Palmarejo underground mine in northern Mexico. But it will also accelerate the company’s deleveraging drive.
Coeur is repairing its balance sheet after a period of heavy investment. From a position two years ago of $101m of EBITDA and $300m of negative free cash flow, the company expects to see EBITDA surpass $700m this year, with free cash flow of over $350m.
“The Las Chispas asset itself is truly unique in terms of its grade profile, the cash flow it generates, and the quality of ounces that are being produced there,” says Krebs.
“But SilverCrest also brought a pristine balance sheet with it, allowing us to immediately bolster our liquidity and further accelerate the deleveraging process.”
“The Las Chispas asset itself is truly unique in terms of its grade profile, the cash flow it generates, and the quality of ounces that are being produced there.”
Mitchell Krebs, Chairman, President and CEO, Coeur Mining
Anticipating a regulation rollback
In a complex and cyclical business, Coeur mitigates risk by diversifying across five mining operations and two materials – approximately 60% of its revenue comes from gold, the remainder from silver. Its presence in three jurisdictions – the U.S., Mexico, and Canada – is also a mitigator.
Krebs sees support for resource development from all three current governments. He is particularly optimistic that the U.S. administration will act to streamline what he sees as a cumbersome and duplicative permitting process.
As Krebs points out, minerals and metals are at the core of manufacturing supply chains. “There’s been a real awakening of how important it is to have a robust mining industry here in the United States,” he says.
“On the regulatory side, we’re already seeing some rollback of what have been some pretty unrealistic standards in mining and extractive businesses.”
“There’s been a real awakening of how important it is to have a robust mining industry here in the United States.”
Mitchell Krebs, Chairman, President and CEO, Coeur Mining
Discovery quest for new resources
Coeur’s focus remains on exploration. In the next few years, it will make an investment decision on its Silvertip project, a potential source of silver, zinc and lead in northern British Columbia – but that’s just the start.
“We’ve more than doubled our land holdings around our mines over the last decade, so that we can continue to reinvest back into the ground, add more reserves and resources, and take advantage of that existing infrastructure at our mines,” says Krebs.
In the past five years, Coeur has invested almost $300m in exploration. This has enabled it to extend mine life significantly, which in turn justifies investment in new technologies such as automation in its Nevada and South Dakota operations. “The company is becoming a lot more resilient and durable, so that we can withstand future price declines, and be in a position to be more opportunistic,” Krebs says.
