Orion Resource Partners

Orion uses streaming agreements and royalties rather than equity. In a streaming deal, Orion provides an upfront cash payment to a mining operator in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future production at a fixed, below-market price. The operator uses the capital to build or expand the mine, and Orion receives physical metal it can sell at the prevailing spot price. The return depends on production volumes and metal prices, not the operator's share price. Royalties work similarly but convey a percentage of revenue or profits without an ongoing purchase obligation.

Oskar Lewnowski serves as Chief Investment Officer and leads the investment committee. He built the mine finance group at Red Kite prior to founding Orion in 2013, giving him over two decades of specialized structuring experience in the metals sector. The broader investment team includes geologists, mine engineers, and structured-finance professionals split across London, Denver, and New York.

Orion operates exclusively through direct, bilateral transactions with mining companies. The firm does not invest in third-party managed funds or act as a limited partner in other vehicles. Each investment is structured in-house by Orion's technical and financial teams, typically as a bespoke streaming agreement, royalty, or secured debt facility.

Orion's portfolio spans precious metals — primarily gold and silver — alongside base metals such as copper and zinc, and an increasing allocation to battery metals including lithium and nickel. The firm publicly states it avoids bulk commodities like iron ore and thermal coal, preferring metals with strong industrial demand drivers and limited substitution risk.

Orion operates as a private investment manager raising closed-end funds and separately managed accounts, whereas Franco-Nevada and Wheaton are publicly traded royalty companies. Orion can structure more bespoke, credit-like instruments — including mezzanine debt and structured equity — that a public royalty company balance sheet typically cannot accommodate. Orion also deploys capital into development-stage assets more readily than the public royalty majors.

Orion focuses on producing or near-producing mines that require expansion capital, equipment financing, or balance-sheet restructuring. The firm generally avoids greenfield exploration due to the extended timeline and binary technical risk, though it will consider development-stage projects with a clear path to production and proven reserves. Its typical transaction size of $50–$200 million targets middle-market operators underserved by bank project-finance desks and too small for major-equity underwriters.

Orion integrates ESG criteria into its underwriting process and requires operators to adhere to International Finance Corporation performance standards. However, the firm does not maintain a standalone philanthropic foundation or an explicit impact-investing mandate. Environmental and social compliance functions as a deal-screening requirement rather than a separate vehicle or allocation.