Insights

Chile remains one of the most attractive jurisdictions for gold exploration and investment in 2025. Its geological continuity, robust mining laws, and political openness to foreign capital create an ideal environment for early-stage gold projects — particularly high-grade veins often overlooked by major operators.

Projects located in the Atacama and Coquimbo regions, for example, benefit from existing infrastructure, trained labor, and access to processing hubs. This reduces capital intensity (CAPEX) and improves potential return on investment (ROI) for exploration-stage ventures.

At ARMECY, we’ve curated projects like Augustin (282 g/t Au) and Nitrate (multi-million tonne vein) that align perfectly with what royalty funds and family offices are seeking:

• Strong margins
• Technical simplicity
• Scalable upside

For investors seeking asymmetric return profiles in gold, Chile offers strategic timing. The shift from majors to junior developers, combined with increased demand for precious metals, creates a rare window of opportunity.

2. How Royalty Funds Evaluate Early-Stage Exploration Projects

Royalty and streaming funds like Franco-Nevada, EMX Royalty, and Sandstorm Gold play a growing role in financing exploration-stage mining projects. But what exactly do they look for when selecting deals?

Based on interviews and past deal history, here are the top criteria:

• High-grade assets (typically above 5 g/t Au for veins)
• Low-CAPEX path to cashflow — concentrate sales, pilot production
• No complex metallurgy or infrastructure risk
• ESG compliance and community alignment
• Ownership clarity and permits underway

ARMECY’s projects, including Augustin and Ojos, have already attracted attention due to their grade, simplicity and land status. With concentrate sales already completed, the path to first returns is fast and clear.

Royalty funds are not passive — they co-create value. To attract them, explorers must speak their language, offer technical transparency and be deal-ready.

While Chile is widely recognized in mining circles, Brazil is rising fast as a hub for underexplored gold assets — especially in states like Pará, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Rondônia and Mato Grosso.

Several family-owned assets and cooperatives hold high-grade mineral rights but lack international exposure or funding. ARMECY acts as a trusted facilitator to identify and connect these local assets with international capital.

Key investor advantages in Brazil include:

• Legal security for foreign investors (ANM regulation)
• Large unexplored land packages
• Access to skilled labor and logistics

Our Brazil projects are currently off-market and shared only upon request. They include vein-hosted gold systems, small-scale open-pit opportunities and polymetallic assets.

Brazil is a natural complement to Chile in a diversified mining strategy. Together, they offer jurisdictional balance and long-term upside.

In a market saturated with overexposed assets, investors are increasingly turning to off-market mining deals — private, curated opportunities that are not publicly listed or mass-advertised.

These deals offer several advantages:

• Less competition, better valuation
• Direct negotiation with owners or operators
• Increased control over due diligence and terms
• Faster deal cycles and exclusivity clauses

ARMECY specializes in precisely this format. Instead of listing dozens of random assets, we select 2–3 high-grade, early-stage projects and present them discreetly to a small circle of trusted investors, royalty funds and family offices.

Projects like Nitrate and Ojos exemplify this approach. They’re technically sound, but not publicly promoted. Investors gain access through our private investor briefing process, under NDA if required.

Discretion builds trust — and in 2025, that’s the true premium.

5. The Return of Gold: Why Strategic Capital is Pivoting Back to Precious Metals

Gold is back on the radar of strategic investors — and not just because of macro instability. With inflationary pressures, rising geopolitical risk, and tightening capital in tech, many private equity firms and family offices are reallocating to real assets — led by gold and copper.

Why?

• Tangible value & long-term demand
• Safe haven with upside in uncertain markets
• Excellent hedge against fiat devaluation

What’s changing is how capital is deployed. Rather than entering through majors, investors now look for:

• High-grade early-stage projects (especially <US$5M CAPEX)
• Concentrate-ready or royalty-compatible deals
• Low environmental complexity (leaching > smelting)

ARMECY’s focus on selective, early-stage exploration in Chile and Brazil offers the perfect match for this shift. Our projects are small in footprint, big in potential, and built for strategic exits.

 2025 isn’t just the return of gold — it’s the rise of smarter mining capital.