Franco-Nevada Corporation chief operating officer Paul Brink said it wasn't the level of due diligence that separated equity investors and the alternative financing sector but the ability to embark on the process in the first place.

 

"The fact we do due diligence at all is a huge differentiator," he said.

 

Brink said the complete access allowed to his firm, and others like his, before signing off on a deal meant the level of understanding around the project and its challenges reached heights well beyond those attainable by equity investors.

 

It is that level of understanding ahead of an investment, he said, that largely explained the returns seen from royalty/streaming firms.

 

Fellow panellist and president of Cobalt 27, Justin Cochrane, agreed, saying the performance of equities immediately following the announcement of deals with PE or royalty/streaming deals was, in the most part, exceptionally positive for the equities involved.