Diablillos Feasibility Study: $3.00B NPV, 41.9% IRR
AbraSilver Resource Corp.'s Diablillos in Argentina (Salta/Catamarca) has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $3.00B, an after-tax IRR of 41.9%, and initial capital of $722M. The mine plan runs 25 years at about 10.3 Moz AgEq per year.
AbraSilver Resource Corp.'s Diablillos has reported Feasibility Study results for the silver project in Argentina (Salta/Catamarca). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $3.00B at a 5% discount rate. It reflects AbraSilver Resource Corp.'s (ABRA.TO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $3.00B using a 5% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 41.9%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $722M, with life-of-mine sustaining capital of $520M. The study models a payback period of 1.7 years. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 19.98 USD/oz AgEq. Economics are based on Base Case US$50.00/oz Ag | US$3,650/oz Au; Spot US$70.69/oz Ag | US$4,338/oz Au.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 25 years. Average annual production is approximately 10.3 Moz AgEq. Average head grade is 129 g/t AgEq (73 g/t Ag, 0.70 g/t Au). Metallurgical recovery averages 80.3%. The open-pit strip ratio is 5.9:1.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 100% interest in the project. Royalties and streams: Maximum royalty of 5% for provinces adhering to the RIGI.
These figures are extracted from AbraSilver Resource Corp.'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 & Probable | 78 Mt (LOM material mined) | 73 g/t Ag, 0.70 g/t Au, 129 g/t AgEq | 183.5 Moz Ag + 1.8 Moz Au (365.9 Moz AgEq) |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured & Indicated | — | — | 212.7 Moz Ag + 2.0 Moz Au (389.4 Moz AgEq) |
| Measured & Indicated | 102 Mt | 65 g/t Ag & 0.62 g/t Au (Tank Leach) | — |
| Measured & Indicated | 130 Mt | 8 g/t Ag & 0.12 g/t Au (Heap Leach) | — |
| Total | 232 Mt (Tank + Heap) | — | 248 Moz Ag & 2.5 Moz Au (454 Moz AgEq) |
| Inferred | — | — | 11.5 Moz Ag + 0.3 Moz Au (34.2 Moz AgEq) |
| Additional heap leach Mineral resource | — | — | 80.9 Moz AgEq |
Our Analysis
- IRR after-tax
- 41.9%
higher than 58% of 24 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $3.00B
higher than 100% of 27 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $722M
24% of NPV
costlier than 94% of 31 projects we track
- Payback
- 1.7yrs
slower than 43% of 14 projects we track
- Mine life
- 25yrs
- Discount rate
- 5%
- Study price assumption
- Base Case US$50.00/oz Ag | US$3,650/oz Au; Spot US$70.69/oz Ag | US$4,338/oz Au
- Spot silver today
- $65.19/oz
This sits in the upper half of the 24 silver projects we track on after-tax IRR, at 41.9%, and above every one of the 27 on NPV. That combination is worth pausing on: a project can rank well on returns without ranking first on them, and here the headline number is doing more work than the percentile suggests. The practical test is the roughly 15% after-tax IRR developers need to attract project finance, and at 41.9% this clears it with room, so the returns themselves are not the constraint. The 5% study discount rate is a reporting convention rather than an investment hurdle, and nearly every study clears its own rate, so it tells you little about whether this gets built.
The constraint is the build. Initial capex of $722M is 24% of NPV, which looks capital-light on that measure and sits below 94% of the 31 silver projects we track. But measured against the company itself, the same $722M is about 0.4x an entire US$1.71B market cap. That is the number that matters: a build of that size relative to equity cannot be financed quietly, and it puts the funding decision, not the geology, at the centre of the story. The NPV of $3.00B sits at roughly 1.7x market cap, which cuts both ways. It can mean the asset is unrecognised, or that the market is discounting financing, dilution or Argentine jurisdiction risk. Both readings are live.
Two things temper the confidence the numbers invite. This is a feasibility study, so the estimates carry a plus-or-minus 15% band and deserve more weight than a scoping exercise would, but the filing shows no movement at all against the 2026 FS on NPV, capex, mine life or IRR, which suggests a confirmation rather than a step change. And the study assumes US$50.00/oz silver against a live spot of $65.19/oz, so the economics are not leaning on an optimistic price. The question that decides this project is whether $722M can be raised without diluting a US$1.71B equity base into irrelevance.
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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