Silver Elephant Mining Corp. [ELEF-TSX; SILEF-OTCQX; 1P2N-FSEW] announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Gibellini vanadium project that demonstrates an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 25.4%, and after-tax cumulative cash flow of $260.8 million, assuming an average vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) price of $10.00 per pound. All dollar values are expressed in US dollars.
The Gibellini project is designed to be an open pit, heap leach operation in Nevada’s Battle Mountain region (25 km south of Eureka) with initial capital cost of $147 million, average annual production is 10.2 million pounds of V2O5 , at an all-in sustaining cost of $6.04 per pound with strip ratio of 0.18 to 1 (waste rock:leach material).
Payback period is 2.49 years. Life-of-mine is 11.1 years with the total V2O5 recovered totalling 114.6 million pounds. Cash operating costs is $4.70/lb V2O5 with all-in sustaining costs at $6.04/lb V2O5. Production would be 9,700 tons per day with average V2O5 recovery through direct heap leaching at 63.4%. Total Measured and Indicated Resources stand at 21,136,000 tons grading 0.294% V2O5 for 124,156,000 pounds V2O5.
As of August 27, 2021, the European price of vanadium pentoxide (98%) was $9.60 per pound. The 2021 PEA was prepared by Wood Group USA, Inc. and Mine Technical Services Ltd. The technical report that summarizes the 2021 PEA will be filed under the company’s SEDAR profile and available within 45 days.
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