Stormlands Mining has modelled Lode Gold Resources’ (TSXV: LOD) Fremont gold property in Mariposa County, California. The generated case study increases the net present value (NPV) to $511.5 million after applying current gold prices to public technical data.
Located about 240 kilometres from San Francisco, Fremont covers about 13.56 sq. km. A historical mine on the property graded 10.7 grams of gold per short ton, before it was suspended in the 1930s. Lode is currently conducting exploration drilling on the property in advance of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) expected in 2027.
“Fremont shows what becomes possible when we stop treating the technical report as the end product and start treating it as the raw material for decision intelligence,” Stormlands CEO Róisín O’Connell said in a news release.
Although Fremont has an official economic assessment, completed in 2023, Stormlands’ model instead uses the project’s 2026 technical report. Stormlands’ model demonstrates the project’s sensitivity to gold pricing, but it does not replace the engineering, cost work and risk analysis required for a full preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
Revenue lift
Stormlands’ base model produced an NPV of $254.7 million at a 5% discount rate before Stormlands applied a gold price of $4,245.22 per ounce, lifting the estimate by 101%.
The higher gold price raised projected life-of-mine revenue to $4.17 billion from $3.45 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) went to $2.47 billion from $1.77 billion.
The internal rate of return (IRR) increased to 16.66% from 11.16%, and the estimated payback period fell to five years and 11 months from eight and a half years in the base model.
The case study is part of the Stormlands’ library series, a set of resources for mining companies to predict and assess economic conditions. Previous studies examined the Odienné, MPD and Bralorne projects.
