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Mining Cut-Off Grade and Break-Even Grade Calculator

Calculate simplified single-product break-even head grade from one explicitly defined included cost per ore mass, one metal-price assumption, metallurgical recovery, and payability. The arithmetic is break-even grade equals included cost divided by price per unit metal mass, recovery fraction, and payability fraction. GeoMiner normalizes ore cost from currency per metric tonne or currency per U.S. short ton to currency per metric tonne. It normalizes metal price from currency per troy ounce, avoirdupois pound, kilogram, or metric tonne to currency per gram. Cost and price must use the same currency. Currency cancels mathematically only when both assumptions use the same currency basis and date context. The result is displayed as grams per metric tonne, parts per million, percent by mass, kilograms per metric tonne, and troy ounces per U.S. short ton. It also exposes the normalized cost, price per gram, revenue per gram after recovery and payability, gross in-situ metal value per metric tonne at the calculated grade, and recovered payable value. The final recovered payable value should reconcile to the included cost apart from displayed rounding. Worked inputs are illustrative arithmetic only. GeoMiner does not fetch live commodity prices, foreign-exchange rates, costs, recoveries, commercial terms, or forecasts and does not recommend assumptions. Every input must be documented, date-stamped, sourced, unit-consistent, and appropriate to the decision. Cost basis changes the result. Processing-only, incremental, full operating, mining, stockpile, resource-reporting, reserve, and destination decisions can include different combinations of mining, processing, general and administrative, haulage, rehandle, sustaining capital, closure, royalties, selling costs, treatment, refining, freight, and other components. Never label a result without listing what the included cost contains and excludes. Recovery is the fraction of contained metal recovered by the process. Payability is the fraction of recovered product credited under commercial terms. They are not interchangeable. Both can vary with grade, mineralogy, oxidation, hardness, grind, throughput, concentrate quality, contaminants, treatment route, contract, and time. One scalar value cannot represent all material. Geology, mining method, minimum width, dilution, ore loss, selectivity, block support, density, proce

Verification resources

Cross-check terminology, classification, methods, and safety with these authoritative external resources.

  • undefined. Explains that cut-off support depends on project maturity and should consider price, mining and operating methods, costs, G&A, recovery, royalties, and product sales terms.
  • undefined. Requires reasonable-prospects analysis, technical constraints, clearly reported assumptions and sensitivities, and potentially different economic limits for different material domains.
  • undefined. Publishes the simplified cost divided by metal value and metallurgical recovery relationship while placing it inside pit optimization, scheduling, and reporting context.
  • undefined. Shows a current project-specific cut-off workflow with separate prices, royalties, selling costs, recoveries, operating costs, sustaining capital, haulage, and material types.

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Common questions

What does this break-even grade calculate?
It calculates the single-product head grade whose recovered and payable gross metal value equals the user-defined included cost per ore mass. It is transparent arithmetic, not a complete project cut-off.
Which costs should I enter?
Only a documented cost set appropriate to the question being asked. Full break-even, incremental, process, mine, stockpile, resource-reporting, reserve, and destination decisions can use different cost bases. Label and preserve every included and excluded component.
Are recovery and payability the same?
No. Recovery is the fraction of contained metal recovered by the process. Payability is the fraction of recovered product credited under commercial terms. Both are simplified scalar assumptions here.
Does the calculator use live commodity prices?
No. Enter a documented assumption in the same currency as the cost input. The worked values are illustrative arithmetic only and are not market data or a price forecast.
Can this establish a Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve cut-off?
No. Reporting and mine-planning cut-offs require project-specific technical and economic analysis, spatial constraints, modifying factors, sensitivities, applicable standards, and qualified professional judgment.

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