Does anyone here have any examples of interest rates charged to junior explorers for mine financing?

According to BoA Merrill Lynch index data, rates on U.S. high yield corporate bonds fell below 7% last week. Is the yield on junk bonds comparable to the interest rate we might expect for Tyhee's mine financing?

As an aside, the Federal Reserve buying up MBS and buying more short-term Treasuries after the end of the year to reload the Operation Twist gun may push more and more institutional investors further out on the risk curve in search of yield. (Insitutional investors like pension funds are in a bind because they have a duration problem and a yield problem.) That search may increase the demand for junk bonds, driving down yields well below where they are now. That could bode well for the interest rate Tyhee is charged.

With best regards.

Old School