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Meridian Mining feasibility study doubles Cabaçal project value
The updated economics assume higher gold, copper, and silver prices, lifting after-tax NPV to $2.09 billion and internal rate of return to 108%.
Meridian Mining says a new feasibility study for its Cabaçal gold-copper project in Brazil more than doubled the project’s estimated after-tax value, though it depends heavily on higher metal-price assumptions. The study sets Cabaçal’s after-tax net present value at $2.09 billion, with an internal rate of return of 108% and an about 11-month payback, based on $3,570 per ounce for gold, $5.03 per pound for copper, and $50.17 per ounce for silver, according to Mining.com.
Meridian Mining’s stock surged as the company highlighted the updated economics, with shares rising 18% to an all-time high of $2.21 apiece in Toronto, valuing the company at $1.07 billion. The feasibility update also increases initial capital to $322 million, up from $248 million in the March 2025 prefeasibility study.
The company compares the new plan with the earlier work, which used lower price assumptions, $2,119 per ounce for gold, $4.16 per pound for copper, and $26.89 per ounce for silver, and returned a $984 million NPV. Meridian’s staged open-pit approach targets about 10 years of mining and a total 13.9-year project life, with a final investment decision tied to construction financing, an installation licence, and land-access agreements, Mining.com reported.
Operationally, Meridian expects to recover 983,500 ounces of gold, 180,600 tonnes of copper, and 1.78 million ounces of silver over the mine life. It forecasts average annual production of 183,500 gold-equivalent ounces in the first five years at all-in sustaining costs of $715 per ounce, with life-of-mine output averaging 112,900 gold-equivalent ounces at $1,056 per ounce.
Latest closeGold $4,348.00 ▼0.7%|Silver $65.64 ▼0.4%|Copper $6.801 ▲0.6%