Blackrock Silver's Updated PEA Extends Tonopah West to 11.2 Years at $1,744 AISC, With 2027 Groundbreaking in Sight

Blackrock Silver (TSXV: BRC; OTC: BKRRF) used a late-April interview on Investor TV to argue that its Tonopah West project in Nevada has crossed from exploration story to development story. CEO Andrew Pollard walked hosts Don Durrett and John Feneck through the updated PEA released March 31, the permit path to a 2027 groundbreaking, and the institutional interest building around the stock. One disclosure up front: the video description states the interview is disseminated on behalf of Blackrock Silver, and producer Global One Media discloses it may receive compensation from the featured company. Everything below is what the participants said.

## What the new PEA changes

A PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early-stage study of whether a deposit can be mined at a profit) is less certain than a feasibility study. Pollard called the company's 2024 PEA a roadmap: it set the site layout, and the next year of drilling focused on expanding the mine plan and upgrading resources. He said the payoff shows in the new study.

- Mine life rose 42%, from 7.8 to 11.2 years, even though planned mill throughput increased from 1,500 to 1,800 tonnes per day. - About a third of mine-plan ounces are now indicated resources (drilled densely enough to support mine planning), up from zero — the 2024 PEA was 100% inferred, the lowest-confidence resource category. - The plan targets more than 7.1 million silver-equivalent ounces per year (output counted as if it were all silver, with the gold converted at metal prices) over 11 years, at an AISC of about $1,744 per ounce. AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost) is what it really costs to produce an ounce, including sustaining spending. - Initial capital is $190 million including a large contingency; about $90 million of that covers the mill and process plant.

Metallurgy also improved between the two studies, per Pollard: 91.5% silver recovery and 96–97% gold recovery, with no base metals in the ore — the silver-equivalent figure is silver and gold only. Average grade runs about three times the cutoff grade (the lowest grade that covers its own cost). And while permits are pending, the company is drilling step-outs (holes testing for extensions beyond known mineralization) of up to 800 meters along the vein sets. Pollard said the current footprint could support roughly 200 million silver-equivalent ounces without any step-out success, and hits to the northwest would push that materially higher.

## Permitting and the timeline to production

Tonopah West sits entirely on private land in Esmeralda and Nye Counties, so the project bypasses the federal NEPA process and the BLM; approvals come from the county and state. Pollard said the first of three key permits arrived in March, environmental data collection has been running for the better part of a year, and the company expects to be permitted to break ground in the second half of 2027.

From there, a commercial-grade decline (a sloping tunnel) ramps down roughly 800 meters to ore that starts about 200 meters below surface — about six months to reach the mineralized zone. Test mining and a bulk sample of roughly 100,000 tonnes follow, with toll milling (paying another operator's mill to process your ore) a possible source of revenue in 2028. Pollard placed the mill construction decision in mid-to-late 2028, followed by about a year of building, and nameplate output around 2030, perhaps 2031 at the latest. He also noted silver's addition to the US critical minerals list and said Blackrock may be the only American silver company seeking permits and planning a new build during this administration, with possible government help on capital — his characterization, and worth verifying independently.

## Money in, analysts circling

After Pollard's December appearance on the same show, Eric Sprott committed $7 million and another party $8 million. Pollard said the company just held its largest site visit ever — 45 people, including six analysts from Canadian and US banks that do not yet cover the stock, alongside some of its largest institutional holders. He expects the two remaining permits to drive the next rerate, toward emerging-producer status.

On value, Pollard cited a 28% IRR (internal rate of return — the project's annualized return at assumed prices) at $31 silver and a net asset value of $1.55 billion US at $67 silver. He said the market cap peaked near C$850 million earlier this year and sits around C$500 million now, versus roughly C$800,000 when he joined the company. Durrett's own math ran hotter: $200 silver in 2030, $750 million to $1.2 billion of free cash flow on planned output, and a 20-times multiple against $380 million fully diluted. That is the guest's speculation, dependent on metals prices holding up.

## Takeout target or consolidator

Both hosts treated Blackrock as a leading candidate for a larger producer to acquire. Pollard answered with defense: two new directors with senior-silver backgrounds — one at MAG Silver until its Pan American takeout, the other Eric Fier's longtime business partner from SilverCrest — and a push to permit quickly, because time is the biggest risk in mining. The interview also covered district consolidation in the Walker Lane: Silver 47 adjoins Tonopah West and holds the district's historic ground, West Vault Mining's Three Hills and Hasbrouck gold projects abut the property to the south, and AngloGold is building a 25-million-ounce project nearby. Feneck pitched a West Vault combination; Durrett suggested a share-based bid for Silver 47's ground. Pollard called the neighborhood full of options without committing to any.

Durrett's closing summary was blunt: whether major holders can fend off suitors (he thinks they can), and the wait — the stock should trend through 2027 and 2028, but the larger repricing waits for early 2029 as the mill decision approaches. Even on management's own numbers, Tonopah West is a 2030 production story.