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Discovery Silver Reports Preliminary Economic Assessment on Cordero with After-Tax NPV of US$1.2 B, IRR of 38% and Payback of 2.0 Years
TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Discovery Silver Corp. (TSX-V: DSV, OTCQX: DSVSF) (“Discovery” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce results from
About this update from Discovery Silver Corp
[{"type":"text","content":" TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Discovery Silver Corp. (TSX-V: DSV, OTCQX: DSVSF) (“Discovery” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce results from its Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA” or “the Study”) on its 100%-owned Cordero silver project (“Cordero” or “the Project”) located in Chihuahua State, Mexico. Study highlights include (all figures are in USD unless otherwise noted): Excellent project economics: Base Case after-tax NPV5% of $1.2 B (C$1.5 B) and IRR of 38% (Ag - $22.00/oz, Au - $1,600/oz, Pb - $1.00/lb and Zn - $1.20/lb). Exceptional silver price leverage: Upside Case after-tax NPV5% of $1.9 B (C$2.4 B) and IRR of 55% (Ag - $27.50/oz, Au - $1,880/oz, Pb - $1.10/lb and Zn - $1.45/lb based on one-year trailing 90th percentile prices). Large-scale, high-margin, long mine life asset: 16-year mine life with average annual production of 26 Moz AgEq at an AISC of $12.35/oz AgEq. Low capital intensity: initial development capex of $368 M; attractive NPV-to-capex ratio of 3.2x. Rapid payback: post-tax payback of 2.0 years for Base Case and 1.4 years for Upside Case. Technically robust study: 99% of tonnes processed in the PEA mine plan are in the Measured & Indicated category; process design and metallurgical recovery estimates are based on the Company’s comprehensive 2021 metallurgical testwork program. Silver-dominant revenues: silver represents +60% of the net smelter return in the first five years of the mine life and +50% of the net smelter return over the life of mine, in-line with the senior/mid-tier silver producer group. Taj Singh, President and CEO, states: “With annual AgEq production averaging more than 26 Moz over a +15-year mine life we believe this PEA clearly positions Cordero as a Tier 1 silver asset. This impressive scale of production is achieved through modest development capex of $368 M and returns excellent margins with AISC averaging less than $12.50/AgEq oz over the life of the mine. These costs highlight the benefits of existing local infrastructure, excellent metallurgy, and a straight-forward open pit mine with excellent grades and a low strip ratio. “Importantly, the outstanding metrics demonstrated in the PEA are supported by a mine plan with more than 99% of tonnes in the Measured and Indicated category, and a simple and conventional process design based on our detailed metal...