Mining Project Economics Database Guide: How to Compare PEA, PFS, and DFS Data

> Key takeaway: A mine study database is useful only if you compare like with like.

Last Updated: 2026-03-02 | Reading Time: 8 min | Data Source: Mining Terminal live project economics snapshot

Quick summary

• Mining Terminal currently tracks 11,181 project economics rows.
• Study data should be filtered by stage, timestamp quality, linkage quality, and capex context.
• Extreme IRR values and missing project linkage are not edge cases. They are part of the workflow problem.

What the live economics dataset already tells us

| Signal | Count |
| --- | --- |
| Total economics rows | 11,181 |
| Rows missing company linkage | 3,187 |
| Rows missing project linkage | 3,822 |
| Rows with IRR above 100% | 166 |
| Rows with IRR above 500% | 20 |
| Rows with future effective dates | 1 |

Four rules for comparing mine studies

1. Do not mix PEA, PFS, and DFS without context

Later-stage studies are usually more decision-useful than early conceptual studies. Ranking them together without a stage adjustment is lazy analysis.

2. Capex burden matters as much as NPV

A large NPV can still be unattractive if capital intensity is too high for the issuer or financing window.

3. Linkage quality is part of valuation quality

If a study row is not clearly tied to a company and a project, it should not be treated as benchmark-grade output.

4. Extreme IRR values need validation

IRR can be real, but it can also be a strong outlier signal that the assumptions, timestamps, or extracted values need review.

Largest economics rows in the current snapshot

| Company | Study type | After-tax NPV | IRR | Initial capex | Effective date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. | PFS | USD 19,062m | n/a | n/a | 2022-12-31 |
| Seabridge Gold Inc. | PEA | USD 16,700m | 16.7% | USD 5,489m | 2016-10-06 |
| Sigma Lithium Resources Corporation | PFS | USD 15,300m | n/a | n/a | 2023-01-16 |
| Sigma Lithium Resources Corporation | PFS | USD 15,300m | n/a | USD 155m | 2022-12-04 |
| Sigma Lithium Resources Corporation | PEA | USD 15,300m | 1273% | USD 155m | 2022-12-06 |
| Unknown company | DFS | USD 15,289m | 1273% | USD 131m | 2024-01-18 |
| Unknown company | LOM_Plan | USD 14,307m | n/a | USD 6,300m | 2018-12-31 |
| MEC Resources Ltd | Unknown | AUD 12,000m | n/a | n/a | 2009-04-07 |

What premium buyers actually want

They do not want a giant CSV. They want:

• a benchmark book with consistent stage filters
• a linkage confidence layer
• capex and NPV context
• an outlier review before the numbers hit a deck

FAQ

Is a higher NPV always better?

No. NPV has to be viewed with study stage, capex, mine life, and financing realism.

Why are very high IRRs a problem?

Because they can be valid, but they can also point to extraction, timestamp, or comparability issues.

What makes a mine study database premium?

A premium database is filtered, benchmarked, and explicit about study quality. It is not just scraped numbers.

Bottom line

The mining project economics opportunity is real, but the commercial product is the benchmark layer, not the raw extraction layer by itself.