Cuajone Operations Feasibility Study: $1.79B NPV Over a 50.4-Year Mine Life
Southern Copper Corporation's Cuajone Operations in Moquegua Region, Peru has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $1.79B. The proposed mine plan runs 50.4 years.
Southern Copper Corporation's Cuajone Operations has reported Feasibility Study results for the copper project in Moquegua Region, Peru. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $1.79B at a 10% discount rate. It reflects Southern Copper Corporation's (SCCO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $1.79B using a 10% discount rate. Economics are based on Copper $3.30/lb reserves / $3.80/lb resources; Molybdenum $10.00/lb reserves / $11.50/lb resources.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 50.4 years. Average head grade is 0.51% Cu (oxide).
Resources and ownership. Royalties and streams: 1% NSR royalty applied to Cu and Mo.
These figures are extracted from Southern Copper Corporation's technical disclosures and reflect the most recent Feasibility Study on file. Compare this project against other developers and producers in our project economics database, and always verify the numbers against the original technical report before making any investment decision.
Reserves & Resources
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 62.0 | 0.35% Cu, 0.014% Mo | 471.9 Mlb Cu, 18.7 Mlb Mo |
| Indicated | 444.2 | 0.33% Cu, 0.012% Mo | 3,225.9 Mlb Cu, 116.1 Mlb Mo |
| Measured + Indicated | 506.2 | 0.33% Cu, 0.012% Mo | 3,697.7 Mlb Cu, 134.8 Mlb Mo |
| Inferred | 865.3 | 0.28% Cu, 0.008% Mo | 5,421.0 Mlb Cu, 160.2 Mlb Mo |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $1.79B
higher than 74% of 31 projects we track
- Mine life
- 50.4yrs
- Study price assumption
- Copper $3.30/lb reserves / $3.80/lb resources; Molybdenum $10.00/lb reserves / $11.50/lb resources
- Spot copper today
- $6.52/lb
The $1.79B after-tax NPV places this asset above 74% of the 31 copper projects we track, a solidly upper-quartile result but not a standout. That rank matters less than the context: this is a large-cap developer with a US$145.05B market cap and a portfolio of 12 tracked projects. The NPV sits well below that market cap, which cuts two ways. Either the market has already priced in the value of a long-life, feasibility-stage asset, or it is discounting the practical hurdles of moving a 50.4-year mine into production. For an investor, the rank is a quality signal, not a mispricing signal.
The constraint that matters most is funding, and here it is not a problem. A build cost that would strain a junior is immaterial to a company of this size. The feasibility study, with its typical plus or minus 15% band, carries real weight, and the 50.4-year mine life means the capital outlay is spread over a production horizon few peers can match. The Moquegua Region jurisdiction in Peru is a known mining district, which de-risks the permitting story relative to more frontier locations, though it does not eliminate it.
The study's copper price assumption of $3.30/lb for reserves and $3.80/lb for resources sits far below the current spot of $6.52/lb. That gap is the quiet upside in this profile: the returns are calculated on a conservative price deck, so the project has built-in headroom if prices hold anywhere near current levels. The single question that decides whether this works is not technical or financial, it is whether the company, with a dozen other projects competing for capital, chooses to advance this one on a timeline that matches the study's assumptions.
Our take, benchmarked against the project economics in the Mining Stocks database. Figures are estimates drawn from company technical reports — not investment advice; always verify against the source filing.