TMCR expands into iron ore with $133M Minnesota deal

• •This expansion into a more traditional commodity like iron ore, especially in the US, is definitely a pivot.
• •On one hand, it diversifies their portfolio away from what can be a pretty volatile and environmentally sensitive sector.
• •Iron ore is a foundational commodity, not nearly as exotic, but incredibly essential, especially with infrastructure pushes.

Hey everyone, just read this interesting piece about The Metals Royalty (TMCR) buying into Minnesota iron ore: https://www.mining.com/tmcr-expands-into-iron-ore-with-133m-minnesota-deal/

My first thought was, "Minnesota? Iron ore? That's a bit of a curveball from their usual deep-sea stuff." I've been following TMCR for a bit, actually bought a small position last year when they were still pretty new to Nasdaq, thinking their deep-sea plays were a good long-term bet for future tech metals. This expansion into a more traditional commodity like iron ore, especially in the US, is definitely a pivot. On one hand, it diversifies their portfolio away from what can be a pretty volatile and environmentally sensitive sector. Iron ore is a foundational commodity, not nearly as exotic, but incredibly essential, especially with infrastructure pushes. My dad actually used to work in a related industry in the Midwest, so I have a soft spot for these kinds of domestic resource plays.

I'm torn on what this means for my own small holding. Part of me likes the stability it might bring, potentially smoothing out some of the wilder swings that more speculative "future metal" plays can have. The other part wonders if this dilutes the original investment thesis I had for them. Are they becoming a generalist metals royalty company, or is this a strategic move to build cash flow for more deep-sea projects down the line? For those of you who've been in the metals royalty space longer than me (been investing seriously for about 10 years, mostly in tech and some renewables, but dabbling in commodities for retirement diversification), what are your thoughts? Is this a smart move for TMCR, or does it signal a potential shift in their core strategy that might make you reconsider?