Montauban Gold-Silver Project (Tailings) PEA: C$44M NPV, 105% IRR
ESGold Corp.'s Montauban Gold-Silver Project (Tailings) in Montauban Township, Québec, Canada has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining a pre-tax NPV of C$44M and a pre-tax IRR of 105%.
ESGold Corp.'s Montauban Gold-Silver Project (Tailings) has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the gold project in Montauban Township, Québec, Canada. The study headlines a pre-tax net present value of C$44M at a 5% discount rate. It reflects ESGold Corp.'s (ESAU.CN) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The pre-tax NPV is C$44M using a 5% discount rate. Pre-tax IRR is 105%. The study models a payback period of 2 years. Economics are based on Gold price used in the PEA: US$2,900/oz; Silver price used in the PEA: US$32/oz.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions a tailings reprocessing (surface, open-pit style) operation. Average head grade is 0.40 g/t Au & 31.45 g/t Ag (Indicated); 0.41 g/t Au & 36.93 g/t Ag (Inferred). Metallurgical recovery averages 89.3%.
These figures are extracted from ESGold 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 603,700 tonnes | 0.40 g/t Au, 31.45 g/t Ag | 6,950 oz Au, 470,050 oz Ag |
| Inferred | 319,300 tonnes | 0.41 g/t Au, 36.93 g/t Ag | 3,800 oz Au, 291,200 oz Ag |
Our Analysis
- IRR pre-tax
- 105%
higher than 92% of 118 projects we track
- NPV pre-tax
- C$44M
higher than 6% of 179 projects we track
- Payback
- 2yrs
slower than 51% of 100 projects we track
- Discount rate
- 5%
- Study price assumption
- Gold price used in the PEA: US$2,900/oz; Silver price used in the PEA: US$32/oz
- Spot gold today
- $4,189.00/oz
Montauban sits in the top decile of the 118 gold projects we track on pre-tax IRR, at 105%, but that ranking is where the good news largely stops. On pre-tax NPV of C$44M it ranks above only 6% of the 179 projects we track, and its two-year payback beats just 49% of the 100 projects we track. High percentage returns on a small absolute base are a familiar pattern in nano-cap development stories: the ratio is doing the work, not the scale. For a company of this size, the practical financing hurdle is the higher end of the range, 20%-plus after-tax, because a junior with little else in the portfolio has to compensate lenders for concentration risk. The headline figure clears that bar comfortably, but it is a pre-tax number from a scoping-level study, and the gap between a PEA and a feasibility study is exactly where IRR rankings like this tend to erode.
Québec is the strongest single point in the asset's favour. It is a mining-friendly jurisdiction with established permitting pathways and grid infrastructure, which lowers the political and execution risk that discounts comparable returns elsewhere. That matters more than usual here, because the study is a PEA: it may rest on inferred resources, and its capital estimate carries a plus or minus 50% band. A build cost that could move by half in either direction is not a number a nano-cap can plan around with confidence.
The constraint that decides this is funding. The company's market cap is roughly US$39M, and NPV is about 0.8x that, so the asset and the equity are of similar size: a build of any consequence cannot be financed quietly, and equity issuance at these levels would be dilutive. The PEA assumes US$2,900/oz gold against a live spot of $4,189.00/oz, so the study's economics sit well below the current market, which is genuine upside if the price holds and the resource converts. The question is whether a scoping-level, single-asset story can be advanced to a bankable study and funded without gutting the share register.
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.
Get the next one first
Be the first to know about new mining results, and how they compare to other projects.