Fox Complex Expansion Case Excluding Inferred Mineral Resources PEA: $100M NPV, 31.4% IRR
McEwen Mining Inc.'s Fox Complex Expansion Case Excluding Inferred Mineral Resources in Timmins, Northeastern Ontario, Canada has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an after-tax NPV of $100M and an after-tax IRR of 31.4%. The mine plan runs 6.1 years at about 64420 oz Au/year per year.
McEwen Mining Inc.'s Fox Complex Expansion Case Excluding Inferred Mineral Resources has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the gold project in Timmins, Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $100M at a 5% discount rate. It reflects McEwen Mining Inc.'s (MUX.TO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $100M using a 5% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 31.4%. The study models a payback period of 4.2 years. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 1238 USD/oz. Economics are based on US$1,650/oz Au base case; downside $1,500/oz, upside $1,800/oz; exchange rate C$1.22:US$1.00.
Production and mine plan. Life of mine is 6.1 years. Average annual production is approximately 64420 oz Au/year.
These figures are extracted from McEwen Mining Inc.'s technical disclosures and reflect the most recent PEA 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
- 31.4%
higher than 36% of 110 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $100M
higher than 13% of 145 projects we track
- Payback
- 4.2yrs
slower than 94% of 90 projects we track
- Mine life
- 6.1yrs
- Discount rate
- 5%
- Study price assumption
- US$1,650/oz Au base case; downside $1,500/oz, upside $1,800/oz; exchange rate C$1.22:US$1.00
- Spot gold today
- $4,470.30/oz
This sits in the lower half of the gold projects we track: a 31.4% after-tax IRR ranks above only 36% of the 110 projects in our database, the $100M after-tax NPV ranks above just 13% of 145, and payback of 4.2 years beats only 6% of 90. Against the roughly 15% after-tax return developers typically need to attract project finance, the IRR clears the bar with room, so this is not a marginal economics problem. It is a scale problem. The NPV is modest, the mine life is 6.1 years, and nothing in the return profile distinguishes the asset from the middle of the pack.
The constraint that matters more than any of those numbers is what the company is being asked to build relative to its own size. This is a US$1.25B small-cap, and the NPV sits well below that market cap on a rough currency-adjusted basis. That relationship cuts both ways. It can mean the market has yet to recognise the asset, or that it is discounting something: dilution, permitting, execution, or the commodity. With 22 projects in the portfolio, this is one asset among many rather than a bet-the-company proposition, which softens the funding question but also means it may not command the company's full attention or capital.
Two caveats deserve weight. This is a scoping-level PEA, so the capital estimate carries a plus or minus 50% band and the resource may include inferred material: the numbers will move. And the study's US$1,650/oz base case sits far below today's $4,470.30/oz spot, so the returns are not relying on a generous price deck. Timmins is a mining-friendly jurisdiction, which helps. The question that decides this: can a US$1.25B company advance a project whose value sits below its own market cap without diluting shareholders to get there?
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.