Taguas Project (Cerro Taguas Oxides) PEA: $57M NPV, 20.2% IRR
Orvana Minerals Corp.'s Taguas Project (Cerro Taguas Oxides) in San Juan Province, Argentina has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining a pre-tax NPV of $57M, a pre-tax IRR of 20.2%, and initial capital of $141M. The proposed mine plan runs 9.2 years.
Orvana Minerals Corp.'s Taguas Project (Cerro Taguas Oxides) has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the gold project in San Juan Province, Argentina. The study headlines a pre-tax net present value of $57M at a 8% discount rate. It reflects Orvana Minerals Corp.'s (ORV.TO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The pre-tax NPV is $57M using a 8% discount rate. Pre-tax IRR is 20.2%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $141M. The study models a payback period of 2.9 years. Economics are based on Gold 1,700 USD/oz; Silver 22 USD/oz.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 9.2 years. Average head grade is 0.35 g/t Au, 12.1 g/t Ag, 0.49 g/t AuEq. Metallurgical recovery averages 83%. The open-pit strip ratio is 0.69.
These figures are extracted from Orvana 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.
Reserves & Resources
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inferred | 55.0 Mt | 0.35 g/t Au, 12.1 g/t Ag, 0.49 g/t AuEq | 619 koz Au, 21,429 koz Ag |
Our Analysis
- IRR pre-tax
- 20.2%
higher than 7% of 116 projects we track
- NPV pre-tax
- $57M
higher than 8% of 165 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $141M
248% of NPV
costlier than 42% of 155 projects we track
- Payback
- 2.9yrs
slower than 77% of 97 projects we track
- Mine life
- 9.2yrs
- Discount rate
- 8%
- Study price assumption
- Gold 1,700 USD/oz; Silver 22 USD/oz
- Spot gold today
- $4,363.00/oz
This sits in the bottom quartile of the 116 gold projects we track on pre-tax IRR, higher than only 7% of them, and the NPV rank is weaker still: $57M pre-tax, ahead of just 8% of the 165 projects in our set. Payback of 2.9 years is the one relative bright spot, quicker than 23% of the 97 projects we track, but that is a modest distinction. Against the roughly 15% after-tax return developers typically need to clear project finance, a 20.2% pre-tax figure leaves little room once taxes, royalties and the usual execution slippage are applied. The 8% discount rate is a reporting convention, not a hurdle, and says nothing useful here.
The binding constraint is the build. Initial capex of $141M is 248% of NPV, so the capital required is roughly two and a half times the present value the study ascribes to the asset. That ratio is not unusual in this cohort (lower than 58% of the 155 projects we track), but it frames the financing question sharply: this is a project whose construction cost dominates its modelled value, and the equity or debt needed to fund it will be raised against a 9.2-year mine life and a scoping-level estimate.
San Juan is a genuine mining province with an established operating history, which is a quality signal rather than a red flag, but Argentina carries jurisdiction risk that investors will price into any funding package. The PEA stage matters too: this is preliminary work that may rest on inferred resources, and the capital estimate typically carries a plus or minus 50% band, so the $141M could move materially in either direction. The study assumes gold at $1,700/oz against a live spot of $4,363.00/oz, which is a wide gap and the clearest source of potential upside, though it also means the headline economics were not stress-tested at today's price. The question that decides this project is whether $141M of capital can be secured on terms that leave anything for shareholders.
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.