Kilbourne Graphite Project PEA: $513M NPV, 37% IRR
Titan Mining Corp.'s Kilbourne Graphite Project in Empire State Mine complex, upstate New York, USA has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an after-tax NPV of $513M, an after-tax IRR of 37%, and initial capital of $156M. The mine plan runs 13 years at about 40000 t graphite per year.
Titan Mining Corp.'s Kilbourne Graphite Project has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the graphite project in Empire State Mine complex, upstate New York, USA. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $513M at a 7% discount rate. It reflects Titan Mining Corp.'s (TI.TO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $513M using a 7% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 37%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $156M, with life-of-mine sustaining capital of $276M. The study models a payback period of 2.7 years. Economics are based on Base case pricing based on current landed U.S prices (no policy incentives). Blended ASP base case US$5,148/t graphite..
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 13 years. Average annual production is approximately 40000 t graphite. Average head grade is 2.84% Cg (LOM average processed grade). Metallurgical recovery averages 90%. The open-pit strip ratio is 2.15:1.
These figures are extracted from Titan Mining Corp.'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.
Reserves & Resources
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inferred | 22,423 '000 Ton | 2.91% Cg | 653 '000 Ton |
Our Analysis
- IRR after-tax
- 37%
higher than 75% of 12 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $513M
higher than 50% of 12 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $156M
30% of NPV
costlier than 57% of 14 projects we track
- Payback
- 2.7yrs
slower than 22% of 9 projects we track
- Mine life
- 13yrs
- Discount rate
- 7%
- Study price assumption
- Base case pricing based on current landed U.S prices (no policy incentives). Blended ASP base case US$5,148/t graphite.
The outlier here is the combination of a 37% after-tax IRR with an initial capex of just $156M, a build cost that ranks as capital-light against the graphite peer set and sits at only 0.6x the company's entire market cap. That is a rare profile: most projects with top-quartile returns carry a price tag that forces a financing overhang. This one screens well on the numbers, and the payback of 2.7 years reinforces the point. The question is what the numbers are not telling you.
The first caveat is study stage. This is a PEA, scoping-level, which means the capital estimate carries a wide band and the resource base may include inferred material. A 37% IRR at PEA often compresses meaningfully by the time a feasibility study re-prices the build. The second caveat is durability: a 13-year mine life is respectable but not exceptional, and for a single-asset graphite developer in upstate New York, the entire equity story rests on that one deposit performing through the build and into ramp-up. The jurisdiction is a genuine positive, a mining-friendly U.S. location that should ease permitting and offtake discussions, but the company is a micro-cap at US$265M, and the $156M build is a large fraction of that equity base. Financing will likely require meaningful dilution or a strategic partner.
The NPV of $513M, at roughly 1.9x the market cap, can be read two ways: either the market has not yet credited the project's economics, or it is discounting the gap between a PEA and a financed, permitted mine. The study's blended ASP of US$5,148/t is the key sensitivity, and with no policy incentives in the base case, the returns are already premised on current landed U.S. prices. The single question that decides this project is whether the PEA's cost and grade assumptions survive a feasibility-level drill-out, because at this scale there is no second asset to absorb the miss.
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.