Minera Don Nicolas PEA: $111M NPV, $0M Capex
Cerrado Gold Inc.'s Minera Don Nicolas in Argentina, Santa Cruz Province has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an after-tax NPV of $111M and initial capital of $0M. The mine plan runs 5 years at about 55.869 koz AuEq per year.
Cerrado Gold Inc.'s Minera Don Nicolas has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the gold project in Argentina, Santa Cruz Province. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $111M at a 5% discount rate. It reflects Cerrado Gold Inc.'s (CERT.V) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $111M using a 5% discount rate. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $0M, with life-of-mine sustaining capital of $10M. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 1146 USD/oz. Economics are based on $2,100/oz Au, $25.00/oz Ag.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit (heap leach/cil) & underground operation. Life of mine is 5 years. Average annual production is approximately 55.869 koz AuEq.
Resources and ownership. Royalties and streams: Sprott Streaming Agreement (excluded from PEA analysis).
These figures are extracted from Cerrado Gold 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.
Reserves & Resources
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured & Indicated | 13,438.50 kt | 1.13 g/t Au, 15.26 g/t Ag | 490.34 koz Au, 6,592.92 koz Ag |
| Inferred | 3,598.83 kt | 1.05 g/t Au, 3.20 g/t Ag | 121.15 koz Au, 369.77 koz Ag |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $111M
higher than 15% of 197 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $0M
0% of NPV
costlier than 1% of 185 projects we track
- Mine life
- 5yrs
- Study price assumption
- $2,100/oz Au, $25.00/oz Ag
- Spot gold today
- $4,136.00/oz
Argentina's Santa Cruz Province is a well-established gold and silver address, and that matters for how this asset's numbers should be read. The after-tax NPV of $111M ranks higher than only 15% of the 197 gold projects we track, so this is a bottom-tier asset on absolute value. Santa Cruz offers a known mining jurisdiction with real operating precedent, but Argentina as a whole carries higher-risk characteristics around currency, capital controls and fiscal stability. Those are reasons to haircut any projected cash flow, not to take it at face value. The project is already listed at the Production stage, which helps, but the study behind it is a PEA, and that deserves caution.
The capital picture is unusual. Initial capex is shown as $0M, which is 0% of NPV and lower than 99% of the 185 gold projects we track. In practice that reads as an operating asset where no meaningful new build is required, so the usual funding-risk and dilution concerns are largely absent. Against a micro-cap market value of US$216M, the build cost is trivial, and this is the cleanest feature of the story. The NPV is about 0.5x the company's market cap, roughly in line with it. That cuts both ways: the market may be pricing the asset sensibly, or it may be applying a discount for jurisdiction and a short life that the study does not capture. This is one of 3 projects we track for the company, so the equity is not a pure bet on this asset.
The study assumes $2,100/oz gold and $25.00/oz silver, well below the live spot of $4,136.00/oz. If spot held, returns would sit well above the study case, which is real upside. But a 5-year mine life limits how much of that upside can accrue, and a scoping-level PEA may include inferred resources, so the production profile itself is soft. The question that decides whether this works is whether the operation can replace or extend its short reserve life at a reasonable cost inside Argentina's fiscal and currency regime. If it can, the low capital need and price cushion matter. If not, that cushion simply funds a wind-down.
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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