Kinterra Capital receives $220M in indicative EXIM support for Pumpkin Hollow restart

[Ben Graham]

Kinterra Capital and its operating subsidiary, Southwest Critical Materials LLC, announced Tuesday the receipt of a Non-Binding Letter of Interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) indicating potential debt financing of up to $200 million under EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative. 

The letter outlines $180 million in potential funding to complete the fully financed restart of the Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mine in Nevada, and $20 million to advance technical work related to the Southwest Open Pit project.  

The company acquired Pumpkin Hollow last October through a $128 million stalking horse bid for its previous owner Nevada Copper, which had briefly brought the mine into production before encountering operational setbacks and subsequently went bankrupt. 

“With EXIM’s support, the restart of Pumpkin Hollow is now fully financed,” Ian McMullan, project director for Pumpkin Hollow said in a news release. “The underground mine’s existing infrastructure allows us to efficiently bring the operation back online and contribute to strengthening secure, resilient supply chains for copper.” 

The United States currently relies on imports for roughly 40–45% of its annual copper consumption, underscoring copper’s status as a critical material for national security and the transition to an electricfied economy. 

“Our focus is on building geopolitically de-risked critical materials supply chains that strengthen industrial and economic security while creating significant local employment,” said Laura Fernandez, Partner at Kinterra. “We value EXIM and the strong partnership we’ve developed with the U.S. government, and we look forward to finalizing this financing.” 

EXIM’s letter also notes that the proposed financing may qualify for consideration under Section 402 of EXIM’s 2019 Reauthorization, a program that prioritizes projects strengthening U.S. industrial leadership and reducing reliance on foreign supply chains.

If approved under Section 402, the transaction could benefit from accelerated review, enhanced support, and flexible financing terms, reflecting the U.S. government’s recognition of copper as a material vital to national and economic security. 

With more than $1 billion of installed infrastructure, Kinterra expects Pumpkin Hollow to restart underground mining activities in Q2 2026, which starts the process of bringing approximately 60 million pounds of domestic supply online.

The project is fully-financed and permitted and carries no debt or stream obligations, the company said.