Troilus Mining (TSX: TLG; US-OTC: CHXMF) has opened an additional route to financing its Quebec gold-copper project after Finland's export credit agency offered potential support covering up to $132 million (C$183 million) of equipment and services.

Finnvera's non-binding letter of interest could cover as much as 85% of a proposed $155-million export transaction with Metso, the Finland-based mining technology and equipment supplier that Troilus selected this week for its first major process equipment procurement. An eligible commercial bank would provide the financing with Finnvera support, subject to due diligence and final approvals.

Export credit agencies such as Finnvera back loans tied to purchases from their domestic suppliers, and such government-backed support has become a common feature of large mine financings because it typically carries lower costs than commercial debt alone. "The potential for up to approximately $132 million in export credit support provides another attractive financing avenue as we continue advancing Troilus toward construction," CEO Justin Reid said in a Thursday release. "Finnvera is already participating in our broader project financing process, and we are very pleased to see the potential scope of that relationship expand alongside our advancing procurement program."

The $1.07-billion capex project, which Quebec selected for fast-tracking in July, would produce an average of 244,600 oz. gold, 17.3 million lb. copper and 446,700 oz. silver annually over 22 years, according to a 2024 feasibility study. It would be developed on the past-producing Troilus operation run by Inmet Mining from 1996 to 2010.

The letter builds on a senior secured project financing mandate of up to $1.2 billion led by Société Générale, KfW IPEX-Bank and Export Development Canada. Finnvera is already among the export credit agencies supporting that process, meaning the latest letter expands the potential Finnish involvement rather than necessarily adding $132 million on top of the existing mandate.

Equipment order

Shares in Troilus Mining gained 1.7% to C$2.35 apiece Thursday afternoon in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $1.3 billion. The shares were in all-time high territory as trading wound down, and have traded as low as 81¢ over the past year.

Troilus selected Metso on Tuesday for the first stage of major process equipment procurement. The planned order includes gyratory and cone crushers, feeders, wet and dry screens, high-pressure grinding rolls and ball mills.

Metso has already joined the project's detailed engineering work, with technical workshops covering equipment interfaces, plant layout, three-dimensional modelling and construction planning.

Linking equipment procurement to export credit financing is an important part of Troilus's funding strategy. The company has been seeking government-backed debt from Canada and Europe to reduce financing costs and limit the amount of equity needed to build the mine.

Troilus said last year it had attracted about $1.3 billion in financing interest from European and Canadian export credit agencies. It has also struck proposed concentrate offtake arrangements with Germany's Aurubis and Sweden's Boliden, while Glencore's Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., has been identified as another potential destination.

The company expects the senior debt package to provide most of the funding needed for construction.

Construction push

Troilus is advancing detailed engineering and permitting while preparing for a construction decision. The company submitted its environmental and social impact assessment to provincial and federal regulators in June 2025 and has been targeting permitting decisions as it moves toward construction. Troilus has also secured a 70-megawatt power allocation for the project.

The feasibility study outlined a 50,000-tonne-per-day open-pit operation. The study calculated an after-tax net present value of $885 million at a 5% discount rate and a 14% internal rate of return, using $1,975 per oz. gold, $4.05 per lb. copper and $23 per oz. silver.

Probable reserves total 380 million tonnes grading 0.49 gram gold per tonne, 0.058% copper and 1 gram silver, containing 6.02 million oz. gold, 484 million lb. copper and 12.2 million oz. silver. Assays this year show potential for growth.

The former Troilus mine, located in Quebec's Frôtet-Evans greenstone belt, produced more than 2 million oz. gold and nearly 70,000 tonnes of copper before closing as reserves dwindled. Troilus acquired the property in 2017 and has since outlined a much larger open-pit operation while continuing to explore satellite zones around the planned mine. Beyond the Finnvera letter and the broader debt mandate, the key milestones ahead for Troilus are regulatory permitting decisions and a final construction decision, with the senior debt package still subject to due diligence and lender approvals.