Minnova Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the PL Gold Mine Restart: After-Tax NPV5% of US$181 Million and 111% IRR at US$3,000/oz Gold, Rising to US$439 Million at US$4,000/oz

Minnova's PEA projects US$181M NPV for PL Gold Mine, but production remains uncommitted.

What the company is saying

Minnova Corp. is presenting the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment for restarting its 100%-owned PL Gold Mine in central Manitoba. The company emphasizes a combined open-pit and underground operation, leveraging an existing processing plant and targeting a ramp-up from 492,000 tonnes processed in 2028 to 720,000 tonnes per year from 2029. Management, led by President and CEO Gord Glenn, frames the project as offering strong returns and a short payback at a conservative US$3,000/oz gold price, citing after-tax NPVs of US$181 million (base case) and US$439 million at US$4,000/oz. The announcement highlights ongoing drilling to expand resources and aligns the project with provincial goals to triple mine production. The company claims significant long-term economic opportunities for local communities and broader Canadian regions. Despite this, Minnova is clear that no production decision has been made, and further feasibility work, financing, and permitting are prerequisites.

What the data suggests

The PEA provides scenario-based after-tax NPVs of US$181 million at a US$3,000/oz gold price and US$439 million at US$4,000/oz, using a 5% real discount rate. Processing throughput is projected to increase from 492,000 tonnes in 2028 to 720,000 tonnes per year (about 2,000 tonnes per day) from 2029, with initial production from high-grade open pits before transitioning underground. The company has 124.65 million shares outstanding and 163.78 million fully diluted, indicating a tight capital structure. All economic and physical assumptions are based on the 2026 Mineral Resource Estimate, but no detailed resource, reserve, capital, or operating cost figures are disclosed in this release. The PEA is a technical milestone but not a production commitment; all financial projections are contingent on successful completion of a feasibility study, permitting, and financing. No historical financials, actual production, or realized cash flows are presented, and the economic impact claims remain unquantified. The data is credible for a PEA but incomplete for a full investment case.

Analysis

The announcement presents the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which is a standard technical milestone for a pre-production mining project. While the PEA provides scenario-based after-tax NPV figures and outlines a production ramp-up beginning in 2028, no production decision has been made and the project remains subject to further drilling, feasibility studies, permitting, and financing. The majority of key claims—such as production rates, economic impact, and alignment with government goals—are forward-looking and contingent on future events. The language describing 'significant long-term economic opportunities' and 'strong returns' is aspirational, as no actual production, revenue, or profit has been realised. The capital intensity flag is triggered because the project will require substantial investment before any earnings are possible, and the stated benefits are long-dated and uncertain. The gap between narrative and evidence is moderate: the technical disclosure is credible for this stage, but the positive tone and economic projections are not yet underpinned by binding commitments or realised results.

Risk flags

• ●No production decision has been made, and the project is still subject to completion of a feasibility study, permitting, and financing. This means all projected economic benefits are contingent and may never materialize if these hurdles are not cleared.
• ●The PEA's economic projections rely on gold price scenarios (US$3,000–US$4,000/oz) that may not be realized in future market conditions, exposing the project to commodity price risk.
• ●Key capital cost, operating cost, and resource/reserve details are not disclosed in this announcement, limiting the ability to independently assess project economics or compare against peers.
• ●The timeline to production is long-dated, with first processing not projected until 2028 at the earliest, increasing exposure to permitting, financing, and market risks over several years.
• ●Ongoing drilling to expand the resource is cited as a value driver, but no new resource figures or drill results are disclosed, making the implied upside speculative at this stage.

Bottom line

Minnova's announcement delivers a credible PEA for the PL Gold Mine, projecting after-tax NPVs of US$181 million at US$3,000/oz and US$439 million at US$4,000/oz, but all figures are scenario-based and not yet supported by a production decision or binding commitments. The project leverages existing infrastructure and plans a production ramp-up beginning in 2028, but faces substantial execution risk from required feasibility work, permitting, and financing. While management highlights alignment with provincial mining goals and potential economic benefits, these remain unquantified and contingent. The absence of detailed capital, operating, and resource figures limits independent assessment of project viability. Investors should treat the PEA as an early technical milestone; the most important next steps are completion of a feasibility study and securing funding. The main takeaway is that Minnova's PL Gold Mine remains a high-potential but high-risk pre-production asset with a long runway to value realization.

Announcement summary

(TSXV:MCI) Minnova Corp. announced the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the restart of its 100%-owned PL Gold Mine in central Manitoba. The PEA was prepared by A&B Global Mining (Pty) Ltd. under the supervision of Nicholas Ross King, BSc (Hons) Geology, GDE (Mining Engineering), Pr.Sci Nat., in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 and based on the 2026 Mineral Resource Estimate announced on September 10, 2026. The PEA outlines a combined open-pit and underground operation that will reuse the existing processing plant at the past-producing PL mine site. Initial production will be sourced from high-grade open pits, with processing increasing from 492,000 tonnes in 2028 to 720,000 tonnes per year (approximately 2,000 tonnes per day) from 2029, followed by a transition to underground mining. All results are stated after tax at a 5% real discount rate and in United States dollars unless otherwise noted. The PEA base case uses a gold price of US$3,000 per ounce, resulting in an after-tax NPV of US$181 million, and at US$4,000 per ounce, the after-tax NPV rises to US$439 million. The company has 124.65 million shares outstanding and 163.78 million shares fully diluted. The PEA demonstrates the project's value proposition, with a short payback and strong returns at a conservative gold price. Drilling is ongoing to grow the resource beneath the pits and at the satellite Nokomis deposit. The restart of the PL Gold Mine is aligned with Premiere Wab Kinew's goals to triple mine production in Manitoba. The company believes the planned restart will create significant long-term economic opportunities for local communities, the Northwest Territories, and Canada. No production decision has been made, and any such decision will depend on further work, including the completion of a feasibility study, as well as financing and permitting.

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