Schaft Creek PEA: $842M NPV, 12.9% IRR
Copper Fox Metals Inc.'s Schaft Creek in British Columbia, Canada (60 km south of Telegraph Creek) has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an after-tax NPV of $842M, an after-tax IRR of 12.9%, and initial capital of $2.65B. The proposed mine plan runs 21 years.
Copper Fox Metals Inc.'s Schaft Creek has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the copper (cu-mo-au-ag) project in British Columbia, Canada (60 km south of Telegraph Creek). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $842M at a 8% discount rate. It reflects Copper Fox Metals Inc.'s (CUU.V) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $842M using a 8% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 12.9%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $2.65B, with life-of-mine sustaining capital of $849M. The study models a payback period of 4.8 years. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 1.18 USD/lb. Economics are based on Cu US$3.25/lb, Au US$1,500/oz.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 21 years. The open-pit strip ratio is 1:1.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 25% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Copper Fox Metals 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.
Our Analysis
The 12.9% after-tax IRR is the central weakness here. It sits in the bottom quartile of our tracked peer set and falls short of the ~15% threshold developers typically need to secure project financing. For a single-asset junior, the hurdle is even higher, making this return profile a clear financing challenge. The 8% discount rate used to calculate the $842M NPV is within standard reporting range but is low; a higher rate would compress that NPV significantly, underscoring that the project economics are not robust to modest changes in the cost of capital.
The $2.65B initial capex is 315% of NPV and 3.2x the company’s market cap, creating acute funding risk. The large NPV-to-market-cap gap cuts two ways: it could signal the market has not priced the asset, or more likely, that the market is skeptical about financing dilution, permitting timelines, and execution risk in British Columbia. The study’s copper price assumption of $3.25/lb sits well below the current spot of $6.13/lb, which provides a cushion—but the low IRR even at that spread suggests the project’s cost structure and capital intensity are the binding constraints, not the commodity price. The single most important watch-item is securing project financing given the combination of a sub-15% IRR and outsized capex relative to market cap.
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.