El Domo Feasibility Study: $571M NPV, 46% IRR
Silvercorp Metals Inc.'s El Domo in Ecuador has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $571M, an after-tax IRR of 46%, and initial capital of $284M. The mine plan runs 11.5 years at about 24 Mlb Cu per year.
Silvercorp Metals Inc.'s El Domo has reported Feasibility Study results for the copper-gold project in Ecuador. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $571M at a 8% discount rate. It reflects Silvercorp Metals Inc.'s (SVM.TO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $571M using a 8% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 46%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $284M. The study models a payback period of 3 years. Economics are based on Long-term: $4.40/lb Cu, $3,000/oz Au, $1.27/lb Zn, $0.91/lb Pb, US$32.5/oz Ag; 2027: $4.72/lb Cu, $3,670/oz Au, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.88/lb Pb, US$66.5/oz Ag; 2028: $4.74/lb Cu, $3,390/oz Au, $1.18/lb Zn, $0.88/lb Pb, US$42.0/oz Ag; 2029: $4.69/lb Cu, $3,160/oz Au, $1.18/lb Zn, $0.86/lb Pb, US$40.0/oz Ag; 2030: $4.67/lb Cu, $3,020/oz Au, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.88/lb Pb, US$37.5/oz Ag.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 11.5 years. Average annual production is approximately 24 Mlb Cu.
Resources and ownership. Royalties and streams: Altius acquired a 2% NSR on El Domo for $10M in Jan 2019; Ecuador Government royalty: 4%.
These figures are extracted from Silvercorp Metals Inc.'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.
Our Analysis
- IRR after-tax
- 46%
higher than 75% of 345 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $571M
higher than 88% of 8 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $284M
50% of NPV
costlier than 52% of 444 projects we track
- Payback
- 3yrs
slower than 61% of 281 projects we track
- Mine life
- 11.5yrs
- Discount rate
- 8%
- Study price assumption
- Long-term: $4.40/lb Cu, $3,000/oz Au, $1.27/lb Zn, $0.91/lb Pb, US$32.5/oz Ag; 2027: $4.72/lb Cu, $3,670/oz Au, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.88/lb Pb, US$66.5/oz Ag; 2028: $4.74/lb Cu, $3,390/oz Au, $1.18/lb Zn, $0.88/lb Pb, US$42.0/oz Ag; 2029: $4.69/lb Cu, $3,160/oz Au, $1.18/lb Zn, $0.86/lb Pb, US$40.0/oz Ag; 2030: $4.67/lb Cu, $3,020/oz Au, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.88/lb Pb, US$37.5/oz Ag
- Spot copper today
- $6.68/lb
The project sits comfortably in the upper tier of what we track: a 46% after-tax IRR ranks it ahead of three-quarters of the 345 projects in our database, and the $571M NPV beats 88% of the eight copper-gold peers we follow. That is not a marginal asset, but the rank matters less than what it says about financing. A mid-cap developer with a US$2.78B market cap and 29 projects in its portfolio is not a single-asset story, so the relevant hurdle is the ~15% after-tax IRR that project finance lenders demand. This clears that bar by a wide margin, and the payback of 3 years is moderate, not exceptional.
The constraint that matters most is scale, and here the math is unusually forgiving. Initial capex of $284M is roughly 0.1x the company's entire market cap, a build it could fund without breaking the equity story. That is the sharpest signal in the file: a feasibility-stage project, with the usual plus or minus 15% confidence band, whose construction cost is trivial relative to the balance sheet behind it. The capex also runs at 50% of NPV, which is capital-light by any standard, and the NPV sits at about 0.2x market cap, a gap that cuts both ways. It could mean the market has not priced the asset, or that it is discounting Ecuador jurisdiction risk and the 11.5-year mine life. Given the company's diversification, the more likely read is that this is one option in a portfolio, not the whole thesis.
The study assumes long-term copper at $4.40/lb against a live spot of $6.68/lb, so the returns are not built on a stretched price deck; if anything, they carry embedded upside on the metal price. That is a genuine positive, but it does not answer the question that decides whether this works: can construction in Ecuador, at feasibility-level confidence, stay within a $284M envelope that is small enough to be absorbed without drama? If yes, the peer rank is deserved. If not, the 46% IRR compresses quickly, and the market's apparent indifference starts to look rational.
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.