Diablillos Ag-Au Project Feasibility Study: $3.00B NPV, 41.9% IRR
AbraSilver Resource Corp.'s Diablillos Ag-Au Project in Salta/Catamarca, Argentina 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 Ag-Au Project has reported Feasibility Study results for the silver-gold project in Salta/Catamarca, Argentina. 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 and US$3,650/oz Au; Spot case: US$70.69/oz Ag and 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 0.70 g/t Au, 73 g/t Ag, 129 g/t AgEq. 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured & Indicated - Tank Leach | 102 Mt | 65 g/t Ag, 0.62 g/t Au | — |
| Measured & Indicated - Heap Leach | 130 Mt | 8 g/t Ag, 0.12 g/t Au | — |
| Measured & Indicated - Total | 248 Mt | — | 248 Moz Ag & 2.5 Moz Au (454 Moz AgEq) |
Our Analysis
- IRR after-tax
- 41.9%
higher than 72% of 379 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $3.00B
higher than 89% of 545 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $722M
24% of NPV
costlier than 69% of 518 projects we track
- Payback
- 1.7yrs
slower than 20% of 308 projects we track
- Mine life
- 25yrs
- Discount rate
- 5%
- Study price assumption
- Base Case: US$50.00/oz Ag and US$3,650/oz Au; Spot case: US$70.69/oz Ag and US$4,338/oz Au
- Spot silver today
- $61.05/oz
An after-tax net present value of US$3.00B against a US$1.40B market capitalisation is the whole story here: the study values this Salta/Catamarca silver-gold development at roughly 2.1 times the entire company. Read one way, the market has not caught up with a feasibility-level asset that ranks above 89% of the 545 projects we track. Read another, the gap is the market's verdict on whether a build of this scale gets financed and permitted in Argentina, and on what dilution the equity holders absorb to get there. Both readings are live, and the inputs do not settle which is right.
The returns argue for the first reading. A 41.9% after-tax IRR sits above 72% of the 379 projects we track, comfortably clear of the roughly 15% after-tax hurdle developers typically need to attract project finance, and payback of 1.7 years is faster than 80% of the 308 projects we track. The 5% discount rate is a reporting convention, not an investment test, and should not be read as a margin of safety. The study is a feasibility estimate, the build-ready class carrying the most weight, and it assumes US$50.00/oz silver and US$3,650/oz gold against a live silver spot of US$61.05/oz, so the base case is not leaning on a stretched price deck.
Funding is where the two readings collide. Initial capex of US$722M is 24% of NPV, below the 31% average across the 518 projects we track, but that same build is about half the company's entire market capitalisation. A US$1.40B small-cap cannot quietly fund a US$722M construction from cash flow and balance sheet alone; the equity component of that package, and the price it clears at, is what determines whether the NPV gap closes in shareholders' favour or gets arbitraged away by dilution. The question that decides this project is not the IRR. It is how the US$722M gets funded.
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.