Silver State miner Blackrock Silver Corp. (CVE: BRC) (OTCMKTS: BKRRF) just released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Tonopah West precious metals project. It shows that the operation’s net present value exceeds its initial costs by 83 per cent.
The site is valued at about US$326 million and initial costs are expected to total US$178 million. Blackrock Silver’s chief executive, Andrew Pollard, claims that the project will increase U.S. silver output by more than 12 per cent. It is located only 1 kilometre from the historic mining town of Tonopah.
“The PEA outlines substantial silver-gold production of 66.8 million silver equivalent ounces over an initial 7.8-year mine life,” Pollard said, “averaging 8.6 million silver equivalent ounces annually [approximately 4.1 million ounces of silver and 54.6 thousand ounces of gold] providing for exceptional free cash flow.”
This assessment represents one of the most recent efforts to restart silver production in a past-producing jurisdiction. The Tonopah District produced 174 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces gold over three decades beginning at the dawn of the 20th century. Some of the best years yielded up to 14 million ounces of silver equivalent (AgEq).
Today, Tonopah only has about 2,200 residents. But in 1920, more than 25,000 miners set up camp there hoping to line their pockets.
Nearly a century since commercial operations shutdown Blackrock Silver has picked up right where the historic miners left off, drilling out 100M silver equivalent ounces (#silver & #gold), establishing our Tonopah West project in Nevada as one of the highest-grade undeveloped… pic.twitter.com/pHWlWQLWFA
— Blackrock Silver Corp (@BRCSilver) August 22, 2024
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Other miners take fancy to Tonopah
Summa Silver Corp. (CVE :SSVR) (OTCMKTS: SSVRF) is another one of the precious metal mining companies active in the jurisdiction and the Walker Lane trend. In December, Summa reported core assays from Tonopah’s Hughes project with up to 392 grams per tonne AgEq.
Meanwhile, the junior miner Allegiant Gold Ltd. (CVE: AUAU) just started a 5,000 metre drill program at its flagship Eastside property in the area.
Tonopah sits southwest of major producing precious metal assets. Calibre Mining Corp’s (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) Pan Mine and the recently inaugurated Goldrush operation held by Nevada Gold Mines are two of the most notable.
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