Mineral Resources’ debt is trading at widening discount as investors fear for the diversified mining group’s ability to repay billions of dollars in loans as it grapples with higher costs and difficult economic conditions.

Shares in MinRes, the West Australian-headquartered lithium and iron ore miner founded by prominent mining executive Chris Ellison, have lost one-third of their value since last week, dragging its market capitalisation to $3.3 billion – well below the value of the company’s $5.8 billion debt pile.