Thacker Pass (Lithium Americas) — comparable Feasibility Study: $5.90B NPV, 19.8% IRR
Peloton Minerals Corp.'s Thacker Pass (Lithium Americas) — comparable in Nevada, USA has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $5.90B, an after-tax IRR of 19.8%, and initial capital of $2.93B. The mine plan runs 85 years at about 160000 t/LCE per year per year.
Peloton Minerals Corp.'s Thacker Pass (Lithium Americas) — comparable has reported Feasibility Study results for the lithium project in Nevada, USA. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $5.90B at a 8% discount rate. It reflects Peloton Minerals Corp.'s (PMC.CN) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $5.90B using a 8% discount rate. After-tax IRR is 19.8%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $2.93B. The study models a payback period of 5.4 years. All-in sustaining costs are pegged at 6238 USD/t LCE. Economics are based on LCE Price Forecast $24,000 p/t.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open pit, acid leach operation. Life of mine is 85 years. Average annual production is approximately 160000 t/LCE per year. Average head grade is 2,230 ppm Li. Metallurgical recovery averages 82.1%.
These figures are extracted from Peloton Minerals Corp.'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 & Probable | — | 2,230 ppm Li | 14.5 Mt LCE |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured & Indicated | — | 2,540 ppm Li | 44.3 Mt LCE |
Our Analysis
- IRR after-tax
- 19.8%
higher than 19% of 21 projects we track
- NPV after-tax
- $5.90B
higher than 92% of 24 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $2.93B
50% of NPV
costlier than 100% of 23 projects we track
- Payback
- 5.4yrs
slower than 100% of 15 projects we track
- Mine life
- 85yrs
- Discount rate
- 8%
- Study price assumption
- LCE Price Forecast $24,000 p/t
The build cost is the whole story. This company carries a market capitalisation of roughly US$10M and is proposing to spend US$2.93B on a lithium project in Nevada. That is not a financing task, it is a mismatch of orders of magnitude: the initial capex is about 297.6 times the entire equity value of the business, and the company has two other projects we track competing for whatever attention and capital it can raise. No conventional project-finance syndicate writes a cheque of that size against a nano-cap balance sheet without either a partner taking the asset, a streaming or offtake prepayment, or an equity issuance so dilutive that existing holders are along for the ride rather than the outcome. Whatever the study says the mine is worth, the practical question is who funds it and on what terms.
The economics are genuinely large on paper: an after-tax NPV of US$5.90B, ranking higher than 92% of the 24 lithium projects we track, over an 85-year mine life, with capex at 50% of NPV. That NPV figure is what makes the financing conceivable at all, since a partner is buying into a defined, feasibility-level asset rather than a concept. The study is an FS, the build-ready estimate with the tightest confidence band, which is the strongest argument the company has.
The returns are where the pitch weakens. A 19.8% after-tax IRR ranks higher than only 19% of the 21 lithium projects we track, bottom quartile, and the 5.4-year payback is longer than every one of the 15 projects we compare it against. Developers typically need around 15% to attract project finance and 20%+ where the developer is a higher-risk junior with little else in the portfolio, which describes this company precisely. The 8% discount rate is a reporting convention, not a hurdle. Everything therefore turns on the US$24,000 per tonne LCE assumption: at that price the NPV justifies the hunt for capital, and below it the case for anyone to write the cheque erodes quickly.
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.