Independent • Rigorous • Trusted

Specialists in getting projects
approved, financed, and delivered.

We help mining and critical minerals projects achieve robust investment readiness by strengthening value, quantifying risk, and embedding ESG across the project lifecycle. This gives lenders, investors, and regulators the clarity to make confident decisions.
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Expert-led. Decision-grade. Aligned to what lenders, investors, and regulators require.
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About Minesmart partners
We are a specialist mining and critical minerals advisory practice providing senior investment advisory and technical-financial evaluation. We turn uncertain projects into clear investment cases that attract investor and lender capital and support regulatory approvals.
$500B+
Capital needed
New mining investment required globally by 2040.
(S&P Global Market Intelligence)
1 in 5
Deliver expected returns
Most projects fail to deliver their predicted financial returns.
(McKinsey & Company)
40%
Projected lithium shortfall
Projected lithium shortfall by 2035 under current policies.
(IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025)
6%
Advance to production
A fraction of copper discoveries advance to production.
(S&P Global Market Intelligence)
Hands pointing at investment readiness, gap analysis, value driver, stochastic, and risk assessment charts on paper.
Expertise

Translating mining complexity into informed investment decisions

Technical consultants produce world class feasibility studies. ESG specialists deliver compliance frameworks. Financial advisors structure capital. But no single firm integrates all three into a decision-ready investment case that investors and lenders can back, and regulators can approve, with confidence. Minesmart fills that gap by combining senior investment advisory and technical-financial evaluation through integrated advisory services. The result is one investment case built around what capital providers and regulators actually require.
One investment case that lenders, investors, and regulators trust.
Decision-grade financial models that hold under lender scrutiny.
Clarity on value drivers and the risks that matter most.
Explore out approach
The gaps we close
Filling the integraiton gap
5 → 1
Technical. Financial. Environmental. Social. Governance. One integrated investment case.
Three white overlapping circles forming a Venn diagram with a teal intersection on a dark blue background.
One Investment Case  
“Projects often reach investment committees with separate reports, separate vocabularies, and no one accountable for connecting them. Minesmart builds the integrated investment case that capital providers can actually use.”
Closing the quantification gap
NPV + DSCR
Every material risk, gap, and value driver translated into the two metrics lenders use to make decisions.
Bar chart with increasing columns and a circle showing a dollar sign symbolizing financial growth.
Financial Translation
“The industry gives investment committees risk matrices and qualified language. Capital providers make decisions on NPV and debt service capacity. Minesmart translates risks and value drivers into the metrics they require.”
Closing the confidence gap
<40%
Of BFS-stage projects include stochastic analysis. The rest present deterministic forecasts.
Diagram showing a solid arrow path and multiple dotted branching paths from one point.
Probabilistic Modelling
“Most projects present one NPV and one-at-a-time sensitivities. Lenders need to know whether the project still services debt when multiple risks hit together. That requires probabilistic modelling.”
Services

Three integrated tools. One decision-ready investment case.

Investment Readiness and Bankability Assessment

01
We assess the project across Technical, Financial, Environmental, Social, and Governance dimensions, identify the gaps blocking approvals and financing, and benchmark the investment case against lender requirements, DFI standards, and best practice frameworks.
Five-dimension readiness scorecard
Bankability gap assessment
Lender, DFI, and best practice benchmarking
Prioritised investment case roadmap
Learn more

Techno-Economic Modelling and Valuation

02
We build decision-grade techno-economic and financial models that translate mine plans, capital costs, operating assumptions, production schedules, risks, and scenarios into outputs lenders, investors, and investment committees can review with confidence.
Techno-economic and financial modelling
Scenario, risk, and sensitivity analysis
Validated inputs, assumptions, and outputs
Lender and investor review-ready models
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Integrated Investment Risk Assessment

03
We quantify material risks across all five dimensions, map cross-discipline interactions, and translate priority risks into investment consequences, including financial impact, risk ownership, mitigation actions, decision relevance, and debt service implications.
Risk quantification across five dimensions
Cross-discipline risk interactions mapped
Financial and debt service implications
Mitigation actions and ownership
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The Integrated Investment Case
Investment readiness findings, financial model outputs, and quantified risk assessment come together in one decision-ready document for debt providers, equity investors, and regulators.
Turn innovation into a fundable investment case.
A major diamond producer was evaluating a remote Arctic deposit using frontier technologies, including mine electrification, autonomous equipment, and hybrid energy systems. The investment committee had never seen these technologies modelled at scale. To support approval, the project needed a defensible techno-economic rebuild across the full system. The result was an NPV uplift from $122M to $445M and a supported internal investment approval.
Challenge
Frontier mining technologies with no established performance track record, and a conservative investment committee that needed convincing.
Solution
Innovation-led techno-economic scenario modelling integrating mine electrification, autonomous equipment, and hybrid energy systems into one defensible investment case.
Result
$323M
NPV uplift from $122M to $445M, supporting investment approval.
Stakeholders

Who we work with

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Project developers

We identify the gaps blocking your path to approvals and financing, clarify the value drivers that strengthen your investment case, and quantify the risks that could derail it. You know exactly where you stand and what to do next.

Investors & lenders

We independently validate every key assumption and stress-test the financial model under scenarios that matter, giving your investment committee the independent, decision-grade analysis it needs to act with confidence.

DFIs & multilaterals

We provide independent investment analysis and technical-financial evaluation for mining projects and critical minerals investment programmes, quantifying risks and validating evidence to the standards your investment committee and board require before capital is deployed.

Mine operators

We help mine operators build the investment case for expansion projects and responsible closure programmes, providing the technical-financial evaluation and independent validation that lenders, regulators, and communities require before capital is committed.
See our assessment framework
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"The investment case is where approvals and financing are won or lost. We make sure yours wins."
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Pieter du Plessis
Co-Founder and Principal,Minesmart Partners
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Our approach
Every engagement follows the same integrated pathway. We assess, validate, optimise, and package the evidence needed to approve, finance, and deliver with confidence.
01
Assess
We assess the project across all five dimensions of investment readiness, identifying the gaps, value drivers, and risks that shape approvals, financing, and delivery.
02
Validate
We validate key inputs, assumptions, risks, and model outputs through rigorous technical-financial evaluation, so the investment case holds under lender, investor, and regulator scrutiny.
03
Optimise
We identify and sequence the actions required to close priority gaps, strengthen value, reduce risk, and align the project with the expectations of capital providers and regulators.
04
Package
We bring the evidence together into one integrated, decision-ready investment case designed for debt providers, equity investors, regulators, and internal decision makers.
insights

From the field

Investment analysis and advisory intelligence on what separates successful mining projects from those that stall.
Explore insights

Why Most Feasibility Studies Fail at the Financing Stage

The feasibility study is done. The feasibility study is done. The financing is stalled. Here is exactly what lenders need to see across all five dimensions of a project investment case that most BFS reports do not deliver.
Insights
June 1, 2026

What Lenders Evaluate That Your BFS Does Not Show

Lenders evaluate five dimensions simultaneously, but most feasibility studies speak clearly to only two. Here is what the other three need to demonstrate before capital can be committed.
Insights
June 1, 2026

Why Single-Number Financial Models Cost Mining Projects Their Financing

Every lender stress-tests your numbers against their own assumptions. Here is why financial models that capture the full range of outcomes, not just the base case, change the investment conversation and what lenders actually trust.
Insights
June 1, 2026
FAQ

Questions we hear every time

Developers at the financing stage have specific, urgent questions. Here are the ones we hear most often, answered directly and without jargon.
What kinds of projects do you typically work with?

We work with mining and critical minerals projects from PEA to BFS stage, typically seeking institutional financing, DFI support, or government programme funding. Our clients include junior and mid-tier developers, project sponsors, lenders, and multilaterals. The common thread is projects where the technical work is substantially complete, but the investment case is not yet closing capital.

What exactly does Minesmart deliver?

We deliver one integrated programme: three services, one investment case. The Investment Readiness Assessment identifies what is blocking approvals and financing. The Techno-Economic and Financial Model converts technical plans into decision-grade investment analysis. The Integrated Risk Assessment quantifies risks in financial terms and embeds them directly in the model. Together, they produce one decision-ready document for lenders, investors, and regulators.

Can individual modules be engaged separately or together?

Both. The Investment Readiness Assessment is the natural entry point for earlier-stage projects or for those needing a rapid diagnostic before approaching lenders. The full programme is designed for BFS-stage projects with a financing window open, where a phased approach would create unacceptable delay. Each module stacks, so you can start with one and build as the project advances.

How long does a typical engagement actually take?

An Investment Readiness Assessment delivers in three to six weeks, while the full programme typically runs eight to sixteen weeks depending on project complexity and data availability. We can mobilise within two weeks of engagement confirmation. If your financing window is tight, tell us and we will design the scope to meet your timeline.

Is Minesmart the right fit for our project?

If your project is between PEA and BFS stage and you are seeking institutional financing, DFI support, or government programme funding, the answer is almost certainly yes. If your financing process is stalled and the reason is unclear, that is precisely the situation we exist to resolve. A 30-minute conversation will confirm whether there is a fit.

How do you maintain independence of assessment?

Independence is structural, not just stated. We do not execute project work, manage construction, or hold undisclosed positions in the projects we assess. Our commercial arrangements, including any success fee component, are disclosed to all parties at the outset, and every lender or DFI relying on our work is informed of those arrangements. Transparency protects the integrity of the assessment.

Get Started

Get your project approved, financed, and delivered.

Tell us about your project. We will identify the gaps blocking approvals and financing, surface the value drivers that strengthen your investment case, and quantify the risks that could derail it, so you can move forward with confidence.
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