Roughrider Project PEA: $1.00B NPV, 42% IRR
Uranium Energy Corp.'s Roughrider Project in Saskatchewan, Canada (Athabasca Basin) has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an after-tax NPV of $1.00B, an after-tax IRR of 42%, and initial capital of $545M. The mine plan runs 9 years at about 6.8 M lbs U3O8 per year.
Uranium Energy Corp.'s Roughrider Project has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the uranium (u3o8) project in Saskatchewan, Canada (Athabasca Basin). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $1.00B at a 8% discount rate. It reflects Uranium Energy Corp.'s (UEC) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $1.00B using a 8% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 42%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $545M. The study models a payback period of 1.4 years. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 20.48 USD/lb U3O8. Economics are based on $90/lb U3O8 (presentation headline); sensitivity table at $50, $85, $90, $100, $150/lb U3O8.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an underground operation. Life of mine is 9 years. Average annual production is approximately 6.8 M lbs U3O8. Average head grade is 2.36 %U3O8. Metallurgical recovery averages 97.5%.
These figures are extracted from Uranium Energy 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
- 42%
higher than 72% of 371 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $1.00B
higher than 63% of 518 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $545M
55% of NPV
costlier than 64% of 487 projects we track
- Payback
- 1.4yrs
slower than 17% of 300 projects we track
- Mine life
- 9yrs
- Discount rate
- 8%
- Study price assumption
- $90/lb U3O8 (presentation headline); sensitivity table at $50, $85, $90, $100, $150/lb U3O8
A 42% after-tax IRR puts this project ahead of 72% of the 371 projects we track, and its 1.4-year payback beats 83% of the 300 we hold payback data on. That is a genuinely strong combination, but the rank is where the analysis starts, not where it ends. The returns sit in the upper half of a large peer set, not at its head, and the after-tax NPV of $1.00B ranks higher than only 63% of 518 projects. For an investor, the message is that this is a competitive development asset within a well-populated field, not a standout that re-rates on its numbers alone.
The constraint that matters most is not the returns, it is the confidence behind them. These figures come from a PEA, a scoping-level study that may lean on inferred resources and whose capital estimate typically carries a plus or minus 50% band. The 42% IRR and $1.00B NPV are indicative, not bankable, and the gap between a PEA and a feasibility study is where most of the risk in this profile lives. The 8% discount rate is a reporting convention, not a hurdle, and says nothing either way.
Funding risk, by contrast, is mild. Initial capex of $545M is about 0.1x the company's US$4.68B market cap, and the build is one of 45 projects in a diversified portfolio, so the balance sheet can absorb it. The study assumes $90/lb U3O8, with sensitivities from $50 to $150/lb. The decisive question is whether a feasibility study can hold the resource and capital assumptions together at that price.
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.