Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSXV: SSV) has released the results of its Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for its Cerro Las Minitas project. This PEA highlights robust project economics, with a base case after-tax NPV5% of $501 million and an IRR of 21.2%, along with excellent silver and zinc price leverage.
The PEA features a large-scale underground mining operation with a 17-year mine life and an annual average plant feed of 14.3 million ounces AgEq (including 5.8 million ounces of silver). The project is expected to generate gross revenues totaling $4.47 billion, with silver and gold representing 45% of revenues and zinc representing 35%.
The updated PEA has shown significant improvements over the 2022 economic model, including a 20% increase in Life of Mine production, an 18% increase in daily mine production capacity, and a 45% increase in after-tax NPV5%.
Lawrence Page, President of Southern Silver, commented on the milestone achievement of the Cerro Las Minitas project and emphasized the potential for additional value creation through further exploration and development work.
The project is well-located in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with excellent infrastructure in southeast Durango state, Mexico. The PEA was completed by Kirkham Geosystems Ltd., Ausenco Engineering USA South Inc, and Ausenco Sustainability ULC, and MPC Metallurgical Process Consultants Limited.
Overall, the PEA demonstrates the potential for the Cerro Las Minitas project to become a premier, high-grade silver-lead-zinc mine, further solidifying Southern Silver’s position in the exploration and development space. For more information on this exciting project, visit Southern Silver’s website.