Glossary

Terms as they appear in technical reports and offer documents, with the French equivalent in italics.

Accretionrelution: An increase in a per-share metric after a deal. The opposite is dilution.
AICcoût complet: AISC plus growth capex.
AISCcoût complet de maintien: All-in sustaining cost per ounce: operating costs, royalties, sustaining capex, G&A and sustaining exploration.
Annuityannuité: A series of equal payments at regular intervals for a fixed period, such as loan repayments or bond coupons.
Backwardationdéport: Forward prices below the spot price, a sign of tightness.
Betabêta: A share’s sensitivity to movements in the whole market. A beta of 1.5 moves 50% more than the market.
Bookbuildingconstitution du livre d’ordres: Collecting investor orders to set the price and allocation of a share or bond offering.
Break feeindemnité de rupture: Paid if the target walks away from the deal, for example for a rival bid.
Brownfieldbrownfield: Exploration near an existing mine or infrastructure.
By-product creditscrédits de sous-produits: Revenue from secondary metals, deducted from the primary metal’s costs.
C1 cash costcoût direct C1: Direct mining, processing and freight costs, net of by-products. The copper benchmark.
CAPMMEDAF: Capital asset pricing model: cost of equity = risk-free rate + beta × equity risk premium.
Collartunnel: A hedge combining a bought put option and a sold call option.
Competent Personpersonne compétente: A qualified professional who signs resource and reserve estimates and is accountable for them. Qualified Person in Canada and the US.
Completion testtest d’achèvement: Production and cost conditions to be met before a loan becomes non-recourse.
Contangocontango: Forward prices above the spot price.
Control premiumprime de contrôle: The gap between the offer price and the target’s undisturbed price.
Core shedcarothèque: Where drill core is stored and inspected on site visits.
Covenantcovenant: A condition in a loan or bond that protects lenders, such as a maximum net leverage ratio.
Credit spreadspread de crédit: The extra yield a borrower pays over a government bond of the same maturity, for default risk.
CRIRSCO: The international committee that maintains the template shared by reporting codes.
Cut-off gradeteneur de coupure: The minimum grade for a block to be treated as ore.
CVRdroit à valeur conditionnelle: Contingent value right: an extra payment if a future event happens.
Data roomsalle de données: Where the target makes its documents available to bidders.
Deferred tax liabilityimpôt différé passif: Tax expensed in the accounts but paid later, usually because tax depreciation runs faster than book depreciation.
Diluted sharesactions diluées: Shares outstanding plus those that options, restricted stock units and convertibles could create.
Dilutiondilution: Waste mixed with ore during mining, which lowers the grade milled.
Discount ratetaux d’actualisation: The rate used to bring future cash flows back to today. It reflects the opportunity cost of capital and the risk.
DSCRratio de couverture: Debt service coverage ratio: cash flow available divided by debt service.
Durationduration: How sensitive a bond’s price is to interest rates. Modified duration gives the approximate % price change for a one-point move in yield.
EBIT: Earnings before interest and taxes, or operating income.
EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation: a proxy for operating cash flow before investment.
Enterprise valuevaleur d’entreprise: The value of the operating business to all capital providers: equity value plus debt, preferred stock and noncontrolling interest, minus cash.
Equity risk premiumprime de risque actions: The extra return investors expect from equities over the risk-free rate, often taken at around 5% to 6%.
Equity valuevaleur des fonds propres: The value of the shareholders’ claim: diluted shares times the share price.
EV per ounceVE par once: Enterprise value divided by ounces in resource or reserve.
Feasibility studyétude de faisabilité: Detailed engineering study, accuracy of about ±10 to 15%, the basis for bank finance.
FIRB: Foreign Investment Review Board, which screens foreign investment in Australia.
Flow-through sharesactions accréditives: In Canada, shares whose exploration tax deductions pass to investors.
Free cash flowflux de trésorerie disponible: Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
GISTM: Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, adopted in 2020.
Greenfieldgreenfield: Exploration in an area with no existing mine.
Gross marginmarge brute: Revenue minus cost of goods sold, divided by revenue.
Gross revenue royaltyredevance sur revenu brut: A royalty on gross revenue.
Indicated resourceressource indiquée: Enough confidence for mine planning; can become a probable reserve.
Inferred resourceressource présumée: The lowest confidence level. Never converted to a reserve.
Initial capexcapex initial: Investment needed to build the mine up to commercial production.
Investment Canada Act: Canadian law that subjects some foreign investments to net-benefit and national-security reviews.
IRRTRI: The discount rate at which NPV equals zero.
JORCcode JORC: The Australian code for reporting exploration results, resources and reserves.
Lassonde curvecourbe de Lassonde: The typical path of a mining company’s value from concept to depletion.
LBMA: London Bullion Market Association, which oversees the London gold and silver markets and their benchmark prices.
LBO: Leveraged buyout: an acquisition funded largely with debt that the target’s own cash flows repay.
Leverage ratioratio de levier: Debt divided by EBITDA, often net of cash.
LME: London Metal Exchange, the benchmark exchange for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel.
LTM: Last twelve months of reported results.
Matching rightdroit d’alignement: The first bidder’s right to match a rival offer.

Measured resourceressource mesurée: The highest confidence; can become a proved reserve.
Merger of equalsfusion entre égaux: Two comparable companies combining, usually all-share with a small premium.
Modifying factorsfacteurs modificateurs: Mining, metallurgical, economic, legal, environmental and social assumptions that turn a resource into a reserve.
MOICmultiple du capital investi: Multiple of invested capital: equity value at exit divided by equity invested.
NAVactif net réévalué: Net asset value: the sum of asset NPVs plus cash, minus debt and the present value of corporate costs.
Net profit interestintérêt sur bénéfice net: A royalty on a contractually defined net profit.
NI 43-101: The Canadian instrument governing disclosure on mineral projects.
No-shopnon-sollicitation: Bars the target from actively seeking other offers.
Noncontrolling interestintérêts minoritaires: The share of a consolidated subsidiary owned by outside shareholders.
NOPAT: Net operating profit after tax: EBIT × (1 − tax rate).
NPVVAN: Net present value of future cash flows.
NSR royaltyredevance NSR: A royalty on revenue net of smelting and freight costs.
NTM: Next twelve months, based on forecasts.
Offtakecontrat d’enlèvement: A commitment to buy production, sometimes with a prepayment.
Orphan periodpériode orpheline: The valuation trough between discovery and production, a common window for acquisitions.
P/E ratioPER: Share price divided by diluted earnings per share.
P/NAV: Market capitalisation divided by NAV. The main measure of how expensive a mining stock is.
Payablesmétal payable: The share of metal in a concentrate that the buyer actually pays for.
Paybackdélai de récupération: Time after start-up needed to recover the initial capex.
Perpetuityrente perpétuelle: A payment that continues forever, worth C ÷ r, or C₁ ÷ (r − g) when it grows.
Plan of arrangementplan d’arrangement: Canadian procedure approved by shareholders, usually at 66⅔%, and by the court.
Pre-feasibility studyétude de préfaisabilité: Selects the development case, accuracy of about ±20 to 25%.
Precedent transactionstransactions comparables: Valuation from the multiples paid in past acquisitions of similar companies, including a control premium.
Present valuevaleur actuelle: What a future cash flow is worth today once discounted.
Price deckjeu de prix: The year-by-year price assumptions in a model, ending with a long-term price.
Probable reserveréserve probable: The economically mineable part of an indicated resource, or of a measured one with uncertainty.
Project financedette de projet: Non-recourse or limited-recourse lending repaid from the project’s cash flows.
Proved reserveréserve prouvée: The economically mineable part of a measured resource.
QA/QCcontrôle qualité: Checking assay reliability with blanks, certified standards and duplicates.
Real termstermes réels: Prices and costs stated without inflation and discounted at a real rate.
Reconciliationréconciliation: Comparing what the model predicted with what the plant actually processed.
Recoveryrécupération: The share of contained metal that the plant actually recovers.
Resource nationalismnationalisme des ressources: State policies aimed at capturing a larger share of mining value.
S-K 1300: US SEC rules for disclosure of mining properties, in force since 2021.
Scheme of arrangementscheme of arrangement: Australian or UK procedure: 75% of votes cast and a majority by number, then court sanction.
Scoping studyétude d’envergure: First economic assessment, low accuracy, may include inferred resources. Called a PEA in Canada.
Sources and usesemplois et ressources: The table showing where the money for a transaction comes from and where it goes. Both columns must balance.
Standstillstandstill: A commitment not to buy shares or launch a bid for a period.
Stock-based compensationrémunération en actions: Paying employees in shares or options. A non-cash expense that dilutes shareholders.
Streamstream: Buying part of future production at a low price in exchange for an upfront deposit.
Strip ratiotaux de découverture: Tonnes of waste moved per tonne of ore in an open pit.
Sustaining capexcapex de maintien: Recurring investment to keep production going: fleet, tailings lifts, underground development.
Synergiessynergies: The extra value from combining two companies, through lower costs or higher revenue.
Tailingsrésidus: Fine waste from ore processing, stored behind dams.
TC/RCfrais de traitement et d’affinage: Treatment and refining charges paid to smelters by concentrate sellers.
Terminal valuevaleur terminale: In a DCF, the value of all cash flows after the forecast period, from a perpetuity growth rate or an exit multiple.
Tier-one assetactif de premier rang: A large, long-life, low-cost mine in a stable jurisdiction.
Time value of moneyvaleur temps de l’argent: Money available today is worth more than the same amount later, because it can be invested in the meantime.
Toeholdparticipation préalable: A stake bought before a bid.
Trading comparablescomparables boursiers: Valuation from the multiples of similar listed companies.
Treasury stock methodméthode du rachat d’actions: Counts in-the-money options as new shares, net of the shares the company could buy back with the exercise proceeds.
Troy ounceonce troy: The unit of mass for precious metals: 31.1035 grams.
Undisturbed pricecours non affecté: The target’s price before any rumour, used to measure the premium.
Unlevered free cash flowflux disponible avant dette: Cash flow before interest that belongs to all capital providers: EBIT × (1 − tax rate) + D&A − capex − increase in working capital.
WACCCMPC: Weighted average cost of capital: the blended after-tax return lenders and shareholders require, used to discount unlevered free cash flow.
Working capitalbesoin en fonds de roulement: Operating current assets minus operating current liabilities, excluding cash and debt. An increase uses cash.
Yield to maturityrendement à l’échéance: The single rate that makes the present value of a bond’s payments equal its price: the bond’s IRR.