Allied Critical Metals has released additional economic and technical details from the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of its Borralha tungsten project in northern Portugal, highlighting strong cash flow potential, rapid capital recovery and capital-efficient development.
The company confirmed that the previously announced project economics remain unchanged, including an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $473.4 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 48.8% based on a tungsten price of $1,000 per metric tonne unit (mtu) of WO₃.
Under this scenario, the project is expected to achieve payback in approximately 2.2 years from the start of commercial production, equivalent to about 4.2 years from the beginning of construction.
The underground tungsten project requires initial capital investment of about $124.2 million (US$91 million). The development plan incorporates a compact infrastructure layout designed to support efficient underground mining and processing operations.
According to the PEA, the project could generate average annual revenue of approximately $184.9 million and average annual EBITDA of about $104.1 million over the initial mine plan at the $1,000/mtu WO₃ price assumption. Average annual free cash flow is estimated at roughly $70.5 million.
The economic outlook strengthens significantly at higher tungsten prices. At $1,500/mtu WO₃, the project’s after-tax IRR increases to 78.4% and NPV rises to $963.8 million.
The current mine plan is based on an initial production period of 11 years with average annual output of about 1,708 tonnes of WO₃ concentrate. Processing capacity is expected to reach approximately 1.4 million tonnes of ore per year with an average grade of about 0.20% WO₃.
Tungsten accounts for around 96% of the project’s economic value, with minor contributions from copper and tin.
Infrastructure for the project includes a planned connection to Portugal’s national power grid through a 60 kV line, water supply and recycling systems, road access, and a paste backfill facility designed to support underground operations while minimizing environmental impact.
The project will produce tungsten concentrate grading about 65% WO₃ using a gravity-dominant processing flowsheet, which reduces metallurgical complexity and operating costs.
The current resource estimate for the Santa Helena Breccia deposit includes 13.0 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources at 0.21% WO₃, along with 7.7 million tonnes of inferred resources at 0.18% WO₃.
Allied Critical Metals is currently conducting a fully funded 20,000-metre drilling program aimed at expanding the mineral resource, upgrading inferred resources to higher confidence categories and potentially extending the mine life beyond the initial 11-year production plan.
