the asset base. ‘Smart contracts’ – to which each transaction is executed through - create a level of capital discipline that does not exist in traditional early-stage mining project finance. This is both innovative and significant because it opens early-stage mining investment to a global investor base, with lower minimum commitments, and a fully liquid market. Anyone, anywhere, can invest or cash out whenever they like, meaning that soon, early-stage mining finance will be accessible to all. What’s more, rather than backing a single project or being tied down to specific commodities, vault tokens are tied to a portfolio of mining ventures across geographies and commodities, whilst transparent smart contracts remove uncertainty and ambiguity. This de-risks an investor’s portfolio by diluting the impact of an individual commodity down cycle. Power Metal Resources is itself a project ‘incubator’ that develops a diverse portfolio of early-stage projects internally and through strategic joint ventures, creating value through the sale or IPO of projects when advanced. The company has a strong, proven track-record of crystallisation success, recently selling its remaining stake in Guardian Metal Resources, realising 11.8 times return on its original investment. Power Metal Resources has also showcased its ability to deliver value through its joint venture agreement with UCAM, known as Fermi Exploration, progressing key exploration work across a portfolio of uranium licences. Founded by Marcel Nally – co-founder of Moxico Resources, now a billion-dollar copper producer in Zambia – Minestarters brings the operational credibility of a proven mine builder. Combined with Power Metal Resources’ expertise in project incubation, Minestarters is well placed to instigate and grow its project portfolio. Sharing a distinct synergy in project incubator business models, the two companies are well positioned as strategic partners, connecting Power Metal’s proven project pipeline with Minestarters’ digital capital engine, aligning traditional exploration success with new investor access. Power Metal Resources has made an initial investment of £1 million for 35% with the option to increase to 49% for a further £2 million, should certain milestones be hit. Commenting on the partnership, Power Metal Resources’ CEO, Sean Wade, reinforced that “this investment will provide greater opportunities for existing shareholders and potential token- holders to share in our crystallisation success, whilst giving us exposure to a more extensive pipeline of prospective assets than available through traditional financing methods.” The projects that are most likely to see benefits from this model are those that sit in overlooked or underexplored regions, where the right funding framework could help realise the full potential of the assets. Africa has seen a disproportionate amount of divestment and underinvestment due to factors such as wars, coups, political instability, and resource nationalism, diverting investment away from the continent even as evolving global demand trends have redirected capital towards previously underexplored regions. Over the past decade, exploration has fallen across Africa whilst historic exploration efforts have yielded some of the world’s best resource deposits, according to the Centre for Strategic & International Studies. And between 2012 and 2024, gold exploration in Africa’s top exploration destinations – Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania, and South Africa – fell
Minestarters is looking to reshape mining finance through RWA tokenisation.
by an average of 72.76%. This is not an isolated fact for gold exploration – diamond and other mineral exploration have also seen a similar decline across African jurisdictions. From an African perspective, a shift in how mining projects are financed, moving towards a more liquid tokenisation system, poses several potential advantages. As alluded to, traditional financiers have tended to overlook certain African regions, preferring jurisdictions that are determined to be more ‘stable’. By aggregating projects through a single, diversified treasury, Minestarters reduces jurisdictional concentration risks and attracts global investors back into frontier regions. Increased investment in early-stage projects should allow Africa, and indeed other parts of the world, to unlock a greater proportion of its abundant natural resources, which for years have remained underutilised, contributing to economic growth. “Minestarters is bringing liquidity to one of the last illiquid asset classes – mining exploration.” – Marcel Nally, Founder of Minestarters. The global RWA tokenisation market expanded from $8.6 billion at the start of 2025 to over $25 billion by mid-year – a 260% surge in six months. Standard Chartered forecasts that the market could reach $30 trillion by 2034. Minestarters and Power Metal Resources, as the first to bring this method of funding to the mining industry, are gaining a first-mover advantage to establish themselves at the forefront of this new financing frontier. It is their goal to target at least 1% of the $200 billion mining investment market within five years. Exploration remains the lifeblood of the mining industry. By merging real assets with digital liquidity, Minestarters and Power Metal Resources are redefining how capital flows into discovery. n
March 2026 | www.modernminingmagazine.co.za MODERN MINING 21
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker