Investigator SilverASX:IVR

They report a mine life of approximately 11 years (9 years mining, 2 years construction), with plant capacity of 1.5 million tons per annum. The company states a life-of-mine average headgrade of about 90 g/t, with the first two to three years averaging about 130 g/t and producing roughly 4.7 million ounces of silver annually. First-year stockpiles are said to contain approximately 1.3 million ounces of recoverable payable silver, with a net realizable value of about $120 million AUD after processing and sales costs, growing to roughly $500 million later in the mine life. On exploration upside, management points to a 15 km long mineralized corridor with modest drilling: 8 metres at 260 g/t 5 km north, and 20 metres at 160 g/t (including 5.5 metres at almost 500 g/t) 10 km south; they note current drilling is targeting expansion of the pit north, south and east into areas that are currently in the inferred category.

The company points to this jurisdiction when discussing the project's location and regulatory environment.

On metallurgy, the company reports two well-proven flow sheets: a chloride leach with conventional zinc precipitation, and a heap leach cyanide process with conventional mercury zinc precipitation to extract doré bar. The March 2026 DFS was stress-tested using a lower price, lower grade, higher costs, and a reduced ramp-up rate to satisfy lender debt service cover ratio requirements, according to management.

The company reports a pre-tax net present value of $1.2 billion at an $80 US/oz silver price and $618 million at $60 US/oz, with corresponding pre-tax internal rates of return of 93% and 61%, respectively. Payback periods are estimated at 11 months at the $80 US/oz scenario and 13 months at $60 US/oz. The DFS used $80 US/oz (spot at the time) and $60 US/oz (long-term consensus) as price assumptions, while the pit was designed using approximately $70 AUD/oz ($48 US/oz). Management describes the operation as a low-cost bulk mining shallow open pit (175 m depth) with a 1.5-million-tonne-per-annum plant, using a whole-ore cyanide leach with conventional Merrill-Crowe zinc precipitation, and notes a two-year construction period.

The company reports that the project's capital requirements are sized to be financeable, and the construction period is designed for two years.

They said they are moving toward a final investment decision (FID) and into the execution phase, and that a drill rig is heading out next week to expand pit drilling into currently inferred areas to the north, south and east. Management also plans a detailed, high-density drill-out—tightening spacing from 25 m to 12.5 m—in areas to be mined in the first three years, intended to support confidence around debt repayment. From financing, they anticipate a two-year construction period leading to first production.

March 2026. The next major milestone after that is the Final Investment Decision (FID), also expected in March 2026.

finishing around 2024. The company notes that Michael Wallace joined about seven to eight months ago as CEO and MD, having previously led Hilro Resources and overseen the same KMT progression. The broader team is described as small — management plus four geologists — with plans to add people who have a South Australian presence and operational experience from development through steady-state operations.