Sandy K Silver Tailings Project Feasibility Study: C$5M Capex Over a 7-Year Mine Life
Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.'s Sandy K Silver Tailings Project in Gowganda, Ontario, Canada has a Feasibility Study outlining initial capital of C$5M. The mine plan runs 7 years at about 293.6 koz Ag per year.
Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.'s Sandy K Silver Tailings Project has reported Feasibility Study results for the silver project in Gowganda, Ontario, Canada. It reflects Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.'s (NTH.V) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at C$5M. Economics are based on Base case silver price US$8.00/oz; sensitivities at US$6.00, $10.00 and $12.00/oz.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions a tailings remilling (reclaim) operation. Life of mine is 7 years. Average annual production is approximately 293.6 koz Ag. Average head grade is 1.43 oz Ag/ton (average tailings grade). Metallurgical recovery averages 90%.
Resources and ownership. Royalties and streams: NPI to Siscoe; royalty to Sandy K; property payment of $900,000.
These figures are extracted from Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.'s technical disclosures and reflect the most recent Feasibility Study 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proven | 1,827,000 tons | 1.43 oz Ag/ton | — |
Our Analysis
- Initial capex
- C$5M
costlier than 18% of 34 projects we track
- Mine life
- 7yrs
- Study price assumption
- Base case silver price US$8.00/oz; sensitivities at US$6.00, $10.00 and $12.00/oz
- Spot silver today
- $60.80/oz
Among the 34 silver projects we track, this one sits in the middle of the pack: a C$5M initial build, smaller than 82% of its peers, a seven-year feasibility-level mine at Gowganda, Ontario. Nothing here is an outlier, and that is the point. A mid-table asset in a tier-one jurisdiction is a specific kind of proposition: the Ontario address lowers permitting and political risk relative to most silver development stories, but it does not by itself make a marginal project work. The feasibility study is the build-ready estimate (typically a plus or minus 15% band), so these numbers deserve more weight than a scoping-level PEA would, and the seven-year life gives little room to recover from a bad start.
The constraint that matters most is not capital. A C$5M build against a US$15M market cap is roughly 0.2x equity, which is small enough that funding is unlikely to be the binding issue. The real question is what that capital buys. This is one of 22 projects in the company's portfolio, so management attention and any future financing are spread thin, and a nano-cap with this many moving parts rarely gets the market's full focus on any single asset.
Then there is the price deck. The study's base case assumes US$8.00/oz silver, with sensitivities out to US$12.00/oz, against a live spot of US$60.80/oz. That gap is enormous, and it cuts both ways: the study may be leaving real upside unmodelled, or it may signal that the economics only work at prices the company did not feel able to underwrite. The deciding question is whether this asset can be built and run at the prices the study actually assumed, not the ones the market is quoting 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.