Hawsons Iron (ASX:HIO) has increased its namesake project’s net present value (NPV) by 37% to $1.87 billion in its updated Prefeasibility Study (PFS) for May 2026.
The company released its original PFS in December 2025, which has since been re-evaluated following the inclusion of an independently prepared study by the TAKRAF Group.
According to Hawsons, the TAKRAF study confirmed the positive value outcome of substituting haulage trucks with a conveying and stacking system.
Incorporating a conveying and stacking system into the Hawsons Iron Project’s 90-million-tonne-per-annum process waste stream will deliver significant savings in operational costs, including labour, accommodation, and fuel.
This will reduce the company’s reliance on diesel by increasing operational electrification during shortages while lowering the project’s carbon footprint.
The updated PFS is still based on the assumption that the project will produce up to 12 million tonnes per annum of iron magnetite concentrate grading greater than 68%, with a 26-year mine life. This assumption is based only on the project’s probable ore reserve of 2.3 billion tonnes.
The Hawsons Iron Projects hosts a production target of 257 million tonnes of magnetite concentrate over the life of the mine. The production target is limited to the probable ore reserves only.
With an NPV of $1.87 billion, TAKRAF has based the PFS on a product price of US$140 ($195.3) per tonne, using an exchange rate of $0.65 per US$1.
The PFS includes an 11.9% internal rate of return (IRR), compared to the December study’s 10.9%. It also estimates a payback period of 13 years from the start of engineering, procurement, and construction management, and 10 years from first concentrate production.
The undiscounted life-of-mine revenue sits at $55.2 billion, with cumulative pre-tax cash flows of $14.9 billion.
Hawsons is expected to spend an initial total capital of $4.96 billion for mine development, processing, and infrastructure activities over two construction stages. The PFS suggests $3.88 billion will be deployed for phase one production, and $1.06 billion will be deferred for four years post-production.
Managing Director Tom Revy says the updated PFS represents a “significant advancement for the Hawsons Iron Project and further reinforces the strength of the project in the current iron ore market environment”.
“The optimisation work completed by TAKRAF has delivered material improvements across both operating and capital costs while also enhancing the project’s sustainability profile through reduced diesel consumption and increased electrification,” Revy says.
“These outcomes have translated into meaningful improvements in the Project’s financial metrics, including increases in both the project NPV and IRR, and further demonstrate the potential of Hawsons to become a globally significant producer of high-grade magnetite concentrate.
“Importantly, the updated study continues to be based solely on the project’s existing ore reserve, highlighting the scale and long-term development opportunity that remains within the broader Hawsons mineral resource.”
Hawsons Iron is advancing the Hawsons Iron Project and ‘green steel’ production to meet the IFC Performance Standards on environmental and social sustainability.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Hawsons Iron
