Raleigh Lake Project (Zone 1) PEA: C$343M NPV, 44.3% IRR
ILC Critical Minerals Corp.'s Raleigh Lake Project (Zone 1) in Ontario, Canada (20km west of Ignace) has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an after-tax NPV of C$343M, an after-tax IRR of 44.3%, and initial capital of C$112M. The mine plan runs 9 years at about 56000 tpy SC6 (6% Li2O spodumene concentrate) per year.
ILC Critical Minerals Corp.'s Raleigh Lake Project (Zone 1) has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the lithium project in Ontario, Canada (20km west of Ignace). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of C$343M at a 8% discount rate. It reflects ILC Critical Minerals Corp.'s (ILC.V) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is C$343M using a 8% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 44.3%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at C$112M. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 993 CAD/t SC6. Economics are based on Price/tonne SC6: US$2,325 at USD=CAD 1.35.
Production and mine plan. Life of mine is 9 years. Average annual production is approximately 56000 tpy SC6 (6% Li2O spodumene concentrate).
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 100% interest in the project. Royalties and streams: 100% ownership, no royalties or off-takes.
These figures are extracted from ILC Critical Minerals 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.
Our Analysis
- IRR after-tax
- 44.3%
higher than 78% of 18 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- C$343M
higher than 0% of 21 projects we track
- Initial capex
- C$112M
33% of NPV
costlier than 0% of 20 projects we track
- Mine life
- 9yrs
- Discount rate
- 8%
- Study price assumption
- Price/tonne SC6: US$2,325 at USD=CAD 1.35
The number that decides this project is not the 44.3% after-tax IRR. It is the C$112M initial capex set against a company worth roughly US$4M. The build costs about 19.2x the entire equity value. No nano-cap writes that cheque from its own balance sheet, so the realistic paths are a heavily dilutive equity raise, a partner or offtaker carrying the construction, a streaming or royalty package, or a sale of the asset outright. Each of those transfers value away from today's holders. Existing shareholders are effectively holding an option on someone else's willingness to fund a mine.
The economics themselves are respectable on paper. The after-tax IRR ranks above 78% of the 18 lithium projects we track, and C$343M of after-tax NPV against a US$4M market cap implies the study numbers sit far above what the equity currently reflects. That gap cuts both ways: it can mean the asset is unrecognised, or that investors are discounting financing, dilution and execution risk at a scoping level of confidence. The NPV ranks above 0% of the 21 projects we track, a useful reminder that a headline figure in the hundreds of millions means little when the equity is this small.
Two caveats temper the return. This is a PEA, preliminary by definition, potentially built on inferred material, with a capital estimate that typically carries a plus or minus 50% band. And the study's US$2,325 per tonne SC6 assumption is a sensitivity, not a floor: the returns move with it, and nothing in the inputs anchors it to a realised price. Ontario is a favourable, mining-friendly jurisdiction, and capex at 33% of NPV is genuinely capital-light relative to the 20 lithium projects we track. The single question that decides this: who funds C$112M, and on what terms for the people who own the stock today.
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.