en.Wedoany.com Reported - Perpetua Resources Corp. has initiated critical path construction for its Stibnite Gold Project and received board approval for a $2.9 billion loan package from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Roth Capital Partners analyst Mike Niehuser reiterated a Buy rating on the company, setting a price target of $32.00, implying approximately 24% upside from the June 1, 2026 closing price of $25.74.
On May 30, 2026, Perpetua commenced additional critical path work, including initial activities for the alternative Burntlog route, designed to reroute traffic and alleviate pressure on local roads vital to the community and environment, which is essential for keeping the project on schedule. On May 18, 2026, during a site visit to Yellow Pine, Idaho, near the project, analysts observed multiple large truck convoys heading to the site, consistent with accelerated construction activity.
On May 21, 2026, Perpetua announced that the Export-Import Bank board unanimously approved a $2.9 billion senior secured long-term loan. The loan is provided under the Make More in America Initiative, designated as a Transparency Project under the FST-41 program, and supported by the Department of War. The financing is seen as validating the project's importance to federal, state, and local stakeholders.
The $2.9 billion loan amount includes capitalized interest, and together with the company's cash balance of $669.5 million as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, is sufficient to cover the $2.576 billion construction capital cost budget. The loan has a 13-year term, priced at the long-term U.S. Treasury rate plus 100 basis points, fixed at the time of initial drawdown, with repayment beginning in 2030. The package also includes an option to replace third-party equipment financing and is expected to close alongside the Final Investment Decision in the second half of 2026.
With permitting and complex pre-construction development work largely complete, Perpetua plans to resume exploration to expand resources and increase production in the later years of the mine life. The deep zones of both the Hanger Flats and Yellow Pine deposits remain open, and the highest-grade stream sediment samples are located outside the current resource area, indicating that early work did not fully assess the project's expansion potential. As a developer with no revenue, Perpetua reported a loss of $1.08 per share in 2025. Analysts revised the estimated 2026 loss from a previous $2.03 per share to $1.78 per share, and forecast a loss of $1.82 per share in 2027. Shares outstanding are approximately 125.1 million, with total debt of approximately $1 million; reported cash excludes subsequent equity financing and $59.5 million in restricted cash.
Using a gold price of $3,250 per ounce—below the analyst's long-term assumption of $3,600 per ounce—the project's net present value (at a 5% discount rate) is $3.457 billion; at $4,000 per ounce, it rises to $5.012 billion. Applying a 0.90x price-to-NAV multiplier, the proposed project is valued at $24.90 per share, plus an additional $6.27 per share assuming upgrading approximately half of the out-of-reserve resources at $540 per ounce, for a total of $31.17 per share. The price target does not include potential tungsten revenue or approximately $5.35 per share in cash. Project risks include metal price volatility, successful completion of Export-Import Bank financing, industry cost inflation and overruns, potentially higher discount rates, ancillary permit acquisition, litigation, access to additional capital, and exploration risks.
The Stibnite Gold Project is described as one of the highest-grade open-pit gold mines in the United States and the country's only source of antimony. The project also includes large-scale environmental remediation of water quality, legacy mine waste, and fish habitat. Analysts believe that without the project, fish habitat "would not recover for a generation or even forever." With the project considered on budget and on schedule, analysts expect the stock price to rise as Perpetua approaches production and maintain a Buy rating and $32.00 price target.
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