Aftermath Silver Files Technical Report
Aftermath Silver expands flagship Peruvian resource but shifts economic weight heavily toward Manganese battery metal.
On January 16, 2026, Aftermath Silver filed a NI 43-101 technical report for its flagship Berenguela project in Peru. This follows the December 2024 announcement of an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). Key data points from the report include: - Measured and Indicated (M&I) Resources: 51.55 million tonnes (Mt) grading 73.9 g/t Silver (Ag), 5.68% Manganese (Mn), and 0.63% Copper (Cu). - Contained Metal (M&I): 122.5 million ounces (Moz) Ag, 2.93 Mt Mn, and 717.1 million pounds (Mlb) Cu. - Resource Growth: A 28.3% increase in M&I tonnage compared to the 2023 estimate. - Economic Shift: The company explicitly states that High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM) is the primary economic driver, representing approximately 75% of the project's Net Smelter Return (NSR) value. - Project Advancement: The company has initiated engineering work to support a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) slated for completion in 2026.
The news is Material - Positive as it validates the scale of the Berenguela deposit and formalizes the 28% resource expansion into a filed technical document. However, there is a fundamental shift in the company's risk profile: - Pivot to Manganese: While named "Aftermath Silver," the project is now economically a Manganese play (75% of value). Investors seeking pure silver exposure may find this problematic. - Scale and Confidence: The conversion of 8.49 Mt into the "Measured" category provides high geological confidence for the initial years of a potential mine life. - Acquisition Completion: Combined with the Jan 5, 2026 news, the company now owns 100% of the asset, removing the "option" risk and SSR Mining's potential interference. - High Processing Costs: The technical report notes processing costs of $135/t against an NSR cutoff of $137.40/t. This indicates a project with thin margins that will be highly sensitive to metallurgical recovery rates and HPMSM market pricing.
Aftermath Silver is a developer focused on silver-copper-manganese assets in Latin America. - Flagship: Berenguela Project (Puno, Peru). It is an epithermal/carbonate replacement deposit located at high altitude. It is unique for its high manganese content. - Secondary Asset: Challacollo (Chile), a silver-gold epithermal project with an indicated resource of 35 Moz Ag. - Strategy: Positioning as a supplier of "Critical Minerals" (Cu, Mn) for the EV battery supply chain while maintaining silver leverage.