Tantahuatay Resource Estimate: $157M NPV Over a 6-Year Mine Life
Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.'s Tantahuatay in Peru, Department of Cajamarca has a Mineral Resource Estimate outlining an after-tax NPV of $157M. The proposed mine plan runs 6 years.
Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.'s Tantahuatay has reported Mineral Resource Estimate results for the gold project in Peru, Department of Cajamarca. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $157M at a 7.01% discount rate. It reflects Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.'s (BVN) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $157M using a 7.01% discount rate. Economics are based on US$25/oz for silver and US$1,600/oz for gold (resource/metal prices). Gold 1,600 US$/oz, silver 25.00 US$/oz (reserves)..
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 6 years.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 40.1% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.'s technical disclosures and reflect the most recent Resource Estimate 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Probable | 65,455 kt | 0.23 g/t Au, 7.72 g/t Ag | — |
| Probable | 12,275 kt | 0.20 g/t Au, 16.40 g/t Ag | — |
| Probable | 3,511 kt | 0.49 g/t Au, 2.06 g/t Ag | — |
| Probable | 29,157 kt | 0.29 g/t Au, 11.02 g/t Ag | — |
| Probable | 20,512 kt | 0.34 g/t Au, 1.04 g/t Ag | — |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 30,79 Mt | 0.23 g/t Au, 16.31 g/t Ag | — |
| Inferred | 3,17 Mt | 0.17 g/t Au, 12.63 g/t Ag | — |
| Indicated | 1,38 Mt | 0.46 g/t Au, 1.60 g/t Ag | — |
| Inferred | 1,10 Mt | 0.37 g/t Au, 0.51 g/t Ag | — |
| Indicated | 5,92 Mt | 0.29 g/t Au, 2.70 g/t Ag | — |
| Inferred | 8,81 Mt | 0.29 g/t Au, 5.95 g/t Ag | — |
| Total | 51,16 Mt | 0.25 g/t Au, 11.99 g/t Ag | — |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $157M
higher than 23% of 124 projects we track
- Mine life
- 6yrs
- Study price assumption
- US$25/oz for silver and US$1,600/oz for gold (resource/metal prices). Gold 1,600 US$/oz, silver 25.00 US$/oz (reserves).
- Spot gold today
- $4,139.10/oz
Ranked against the 124 gold projects we track, this asset lands in the bottom quartile, with an after-tax NPV of $157M that sits higher than only 23% of its peers. That placement is the first and most important read on this project: nothing about the scale, grade profile, or economics makes it an outlier in either direction. For an investor, that means the project is not a standalone value creator so much as one line item in a diversified portfolio, one of 16 projects this company tracks. The return profile is what it is, and the question is whether the jurisdiction and the company's broader position justify holding it at all.
The constraint that matters most here is stage, not grade. This is a resource-stage project with a Resource Estimate only, which means there is no economic study behind the numbers. Any economics attached to it are indicative at best, and the 6-year mine life should be read with that caveat in mind. Peru's Cajamarca region is a known gold jurisdiction, but it carries the operational and permitting friction typical of the Andes, which is precisely the kind of risk that a resource estimate cannot quantify. The study's gold price assumption of US$1,600/oz is dramatically below today's spot of $4,139.10/oz, which flatters the NPV on paper, but that gap is also a reminder that the project was never designed around current prices.
The single question that decides whether this works is whether the company can move this from resource estimate to a defined, economic mine plan without the market penalizing it for the gap between the study's price deck and reality. At this stage, with this rank, the upside is real but unproven, and the downside is that the project remains a marginal, jurisdiction-heavy asset in a portfolio that can absorb it but cannot be defined by it.
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.