Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) said its definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Bowdens Silver Project in New South Wales has returned silver ore reserves of 47.9 million tonnes at 60.8 grams per tonne silver for 93.5 million ounces, with 91% of project revenue expected to be derived from silver, according to a Tuesday Australian bourse filing.
The company said the initial Stage 1 of the proposed development will focus on a subset of the life-of-mine plan containing 29.9 million tonnes at 68 grams per tonne silver for 65.4 million ounces over 16 years, with a low strip ratio of 1.47 to 1.
Economic results for the life-of-mine using a silver price of $45 per ounce and an exchange rate of AU$0.70 to the US dollar include a life-of-mine operating margin of AU$2.39 billion, the filing added.
The company's shares rose 2% in recent Tuesday trade.