Velardeña Project (MI Plan) PEA: $48M NPV, 101% IRR
Golden Minerals Company's Velardeña Project (MI Plan) in Durango State, Mexico has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining a pre-tax NPV of $48M, a pre-tax IRR of 101%, and initial capital of $18M. The proposed mine plan runs 4 years.
Golden Minerals Company's Velardeña Project (MI Plan) has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the silver-gold-lead-zinc (polymetallic) project in Durango State, Mexico. The study headlines a pre-tax net present value of $48M at a 8% discount rate. It reflects Golden Minerals Company's (AUMN) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The pre-tax NPV is $48M using a 8% discount rate. Pre-tax IRR is 101%. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $18M. Economics are based on NSR cutoff metal prices: US$23.70/troy ounce Ag, US$1,744/troy ounce Au, US$0.97/lb Pb, and US$1.15/lb Zn.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an underground operation. Life of mine is 4 years.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 100% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Golden Minerals Company'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
- IRR pre-tax
- 101%
higher than 94% of 358 projects we track
- NPV pre-tax
- $48M
higher than 6% of 465 projects we track
- Initial capex
- $18M
38% of NPV
costlier than 8% of 457 projects we track
- Mine life
- 4yrs
- Discount rate
- 8%
- Study price assumption
- NSR cutoff metal prices: US$23.70/troy ounce Ag, US$1,744/troy ounce Au, US$0.97/lb Pb, and US$1.15/lb Zn
- Spot silver today
- $67.15/oz
A US$4M nano-cap is being asked to build an US$18M mine. That single relationship is the whole investment case: the initial capex is roughly 4.5 times the company's entire market value, so the question is not whether the project works on paper but who writes the cheque, and on what terms. The company is diversified across six projects, which cuts both ways: it is not a one-asset story, but it also means this build competes for attention and capital against five others. There is no realistic path where existing holders escape without either a partner, a stream, or heavy dilution. Any of those routes transfers a large share of the upside away from the current register.
The economics themselves are not the constraint. A 101% pre-tax IRR ranks above 94% of the 358 projects we track, and the pre-tax NPV of US$48M sits at roughly 12 times market cap. The capex-to-NPV ratio of 38% is genuinely light, lower than 92% of the 457 projects we track, which is a real point in its favour: this is not a capital-devouring monster, it is a small mine with a small bill. The practical hurdle for a junior with little else in the portfolio is 20%-plus after-tax IRR, and on the study's numbers the project clears that comfortably. Note the study prices silver at US$23.70/oz against a live spot of US$67.15/oz, so the headline return is built on a metal price far below today's market. That gap is the most interesting thing in the file.
Two things temper it. This is a PEA, scoping-level, potentially carrying inferred material and a capital estimate with a plus or minus 50% band, so the US$18M could move materially. And the mine life is four years: a short, sharp cash generator, not a durable franchise. Durango is a established mining jurisdiction, which helps permitting but does not solve the funding gap. The question that decides this: can a US$4M company finance an US$18M build without handing the project to whoever funds 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.