- First Mining announced a Pre-Feasibility Study for its Springpole Project in Northern Ontario, with an After-Tax NPV (5%) of nearly $1 billion.
- While the project has an impressive production profile and industry-leading costs, it's a nightmare to finance with upfront capex requirements of over $700 million.
- Unfortunately, in a market where the largest producers seem more interested in cleaning up their balance sheets than chasing down high-capex projects, finding a partner won't be easy.
- Given the massive upfront capex requirements which make Springpole difficult to move into production, I continue to see much more attractive opportunities elsewhere in the junior sector.
For further details see:
First Mining: A Tricky Project To Finance Without A Partner