Darling Range Bauxite Mines (Huntly & Willowdale) Feasibility Study: $122M NPV Over a 9-Year Mine Life
Alcoa Corporation's Darling Range Bauxite Mines (Huntly & Willowdale) in Western Australia, Australia (southwest, near Pinjarra and Waroona) has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $122M. The proposed mine plan runs 9 years.
Alcoa Corporation's Darling Range Bauxite Mines (Huntly & Willowdale) has reported Feasibility Study results for the bauxite project in Western Australia, Australia (southwest, near Pinjarra and Waroona). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $122M at a 12% discount rate. It reflects Alcoa Corporation's (AA) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $122M using a 12% discount rate. Economics are based on Average LOM Price Assumption $21.46/t bauxite.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 9 years. Average head grade is 29.1% AL and 1.65% SI (Proven); 31.9% AL and 1.27% SI (Probable); product average 33% AL.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 60% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Alcoa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proven | 48.0 Mt | 29.1% AL, 1.65% SI | — |
| Probable | 296.0 Mt | 31.9% AL, 1.27% SI | — |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 93.0 Mt | 30.44% AL, 1.52% SI | — |
| Indicated | 105.4 Mt | 30.75% AL, 1.34% SI | — |
| Inferred | 106.9 Mt | 32.32% AL, 1.22% SI | — |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $122M
higher than 16% of 497 projects we track
- Mine life
- 9yrs
- Study price assumption
- Average LOM Price Assumption $21.46/t bauxite
Among the 497 projects we track across all commodities, this bauxite asset's after-tax NPV of $122M ranks above only 16% of them. That is the fact that should frame everything else. A feasibility study normally carries weight (the build-ready estimate, typically a plus or minus 15% band), but a top-line number sitting in the bottom fifth of our coverage means the study's precision does not translate into scale. For an investor, this is not a project that moves a portfolio on its own merits.
The reason it does not move anything is structural, not technical. The company carries a US$11.26B market cap and holds this as one of 14 projects we track, a diversified portfolio in which a single $122M NPV is immaterial to the whole. The NPV also sits well below the market cap on a rough currency-adjusted basis, so the asset is a rounding error against the enterprise rather than a value driver. That cuts both ways: it can mean the market has not bothered to price a small asset, or simply that a large diversified miner's investors correctly treat it as marginal either way.
What decides this project is the price assumption. The study runs on an average life-of-mine bauxite price of $21.46/t, and with a 9-year mine life there is little room to absorb a weaker realised price. That single input carries the whole case, and the sensitivity runs one way: below it, a short mine life leaves little to work with. Western Australia is a mining-friendly jurisdiction, which lowers execution risk, but it cannot rescue a thin margin. The question that settles it: does $21.46/t hold through the mine's nine years?
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.