Ausenco collaborated with Vizsla Silver to achieve its vision for the Panuco Silver-Gold Project by advancing the selected business case from the previous scoping study and optimizing the mine plan, process plant and infrastructure design with a focus on shortest pathway to cashflow and a phased project approach. Working with the mandate to minimize initial capital and maximize the rate of return, the PEA achieved a post-tax NPV(5%) of US $1.137 billion and post-tax IRR of 85.7%, exceeding Vizsla's targets.
The challenge
Vizsla Silver’s Panuco Project is a silver and gold project to be developed in the newly consolidated Panuco silver-gold district near Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. One of the highest-grade silver primary discoveries in the world, the deposit has over 7.5 Mt of indicated resources at 243 g/t of silver and 2.12 g/t of gold and 7.2 Mt of inferred resource at 304 g/t of silver and 2.14 g/t of gold (MRE released January 8, 2024). Vizsla’s goal is to become the world’s largest single asset primary silver producer.
For the PEA, Vizsla sought a partner with extensive experience in similar projects in Mexico, capable of delivering a high-quality technical outcome that met their economic goals—keeping CAPEX to a minimum while achieving a post-tax NPV of USD $1 billion—all within an accelerated timeline.
In addition to meeting the above criteria, Ausenco’s team, through existing work on a scoping study and managing the metallurgical test work for Panuco, brought a solid foundation for advancing the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
The better way
Leveraging our previous scoping work and benchmarking against our financial model, we applied our capital efficient design philosophies to optimize the mine plan, plant and infrastructure layout.
To meet Vizsla’s goal of paying back the project capital within the first two years of operation, we refined our initial projections with a phased project expansion approach. This plan targeted the high-grade Copala deposit in years 1–3 at 3,300 t/d and the Napoleon deposit in year 4 at 4,000 t/d.
Our phased plant expansion minimized upfront capital while achieving economic targets. We optimized the process plant layout, footprint, and equipment and modified the flowsheet to include a flotation and concentrate leaching circuit to boost recoveries in year 4.
The outcome
Effective and consistent communication with Vizsla was critical to achieving success. Our work not only met, but exceeded Vizsla's economic targets, resulting in a final projected CAPEX of USD $224 million, delivering a post-tax NPV of USD $1.137 billion and post-tax IRR of 85.7%. The PEA highlighted the project’s remarkable potential as a long-life, high-margin mine with low upfront capital requirements, laying a strong foundation for future studies and supporting Vizsla’s permitting efforts.
The PEA establishes a robust framework to advance the project on an accelerated timeline, with the Feasibility Study commencing in early 2025 and production targeted in H2 2027.