Darling Range Bauxite Operations (Huntly & Willowdale) Feasibility Study: $55M NPV Over a 9-Year Mine Life
Alcoa Corporation's Darling Range Bauxite Operations (Huntly & Willowdale) in Western Australia, Australia has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $55M. The proposed mine plan runs 9 years.
Alcoa Corporation's Darling Range Bauxite Operations (Huntly & Willowdale) has reported Feasibility Study results for the bauxite project in Western Australia, Australia. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $55M at a 9.5% discount rate. It reflects Alcoa Corporation's (AA) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $55M using a 9.5% discount rate. Economics are based on Average LOM Price Assumption $23.19/t bauxite.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 9 years. Average head grade is 33% AL (product grade 2010-2024).
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 | 26.1 Mt | 29.2% AL, 1.61% SI | — |
| Probable | 397.6 Mt | 30.8% AL, 1.56% SI | — |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 139.6 Mt | 30.4% AL, 1.77% SI | — |
| Indicated | 48.7 Mt | 30.3% AL, 1.42% SI | — |
| Inferred | 101.4 Mt | 32.4% AL, 1.20% SI | — |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $55M
higher than 7% of 512 projects we track
- Mine life
- 9yrs
- Study price assumption
- Average LOM Price Assumption $23.19/t bauxite
This is a large-cap producer with a US$11.15B market capitalisation and 15 projects in our tracked portfolio, so a single feasibility study on a bauxite operation in Western Australia is a marginal event for the equity, not a transformative one. The after-tax NPV of $55M ranks above only 7% of the 512 projects we track across all commodities. That percentile is the honest headline: against the peer set, this asset sits near the bottom on absolute value creation, and an investor should read the ranking as a statement about scale rather than a verdict on execution.
The constraint that matters is arithmetic. The NPV is well below the company's market cap on a rough currency-adjusted basis, which cuts both ways. It can mean the market has not ascribed much value to this particular study, or it can mean the market is discounting something else: bauxite price realisation, capital discipline across a 15-asset portfolio, or the simple fact that a nine-year mine life offers limited terminal value. A diversified major does not need this project to work, and that indifference is precisely why the NPV has not moved the needle.
The study itself is feasibility-level, a build-ready estimate with a typical plus or minus 15% band, so these numbers deserve more weight than a scoping exercise would. Yet the comparison to the previous 2024 filing is flat: after-tax NPV up 0% and mine life up 0%. Two years of work have refined the estimate without changing the outcome. The LOM price assumption of $23.19/t bauxite is the swing variable, and the returns rest entirely on that figure holding through the mine plan. The question that decides this project is whether a nine-year, $55M NPV asset can justify the capital and management attention it will consume inside a US$11.15B portfolio.
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.
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