Grade and AISC comparison to peers indicate that PVG is already a significant and profitable gold mine, even at current numbers.
March results of 10.9 g/t place PVG it near the top 10 of underground gold mines worldwide, according to the following table from
https://www.mining.com/the-worlds-highest-grade-gold-mines/ PVG’s current AISC of about $US 900 is just a bit higher than the average of $US 865 presented in the 2 tables of GDXJ companies at
https://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article61892.html , which, contrary to expectations, also includes mid-tier miners. Beyond the data, he also provides insight into the relative valuation of the gold sector. Keep in mind that PVG AISC is still going to decrease as they refine the mining process.
Also, see where PVG would fall in the following figure 9 (if we moved the mine to Australia). Assuming the presented mines are profitable, PVG should have no issue with profitability, even at the current grades and AISC.
Analysis has also been performed on Australian mines to determine the relationship of gold grade to AISC. They also looked in to the effects of mineralisation type and mine geometry etc on AISC. I’ve included the links to the slide presentations below. If you are looking at where PVG would fit in, convert current rough PVG AISC of $US 900 to $AU 1160 today.
First Presentation/Study:
https://www.cet.edu.au/docs/default-source/training-courses-/gold-grades-and-gold-costs-exploding-the-high-grade-myth.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Followup Presentation/Study including 2016 data:
https://www.undergroundoperators.ausimm.com.au/Media/UndergroundOperators/presentations/1650_SamUlrich.pdf