Mako to step up gold drilling in Nicaragua
Mako Mining Corp. [MKO-TSXV] has released positive results from infill and expansion drilling at the Arras zone within its San Albino gold mine in Nueva-Segovia Nicaragua.
The objective is to increase the level of confidence in the currently defined resources and to define additional shallow, high-grade resources.
The company said it is following a systematic approach of drilling holes by spacing them approximately every 10 metres along strike and every 10 to 15 metres down dip. So far this year, the company has completed 150 drill holes over 7,900 metres.
Select intercepts of shallow high-grade mineralization include 18.56 g/t gold and 23.5 g/t silver over 7.7 metres (5.1 metres estimated true width) in drill hole AR21-408.
Mako shares advanced on the news, rising 1.5% or $0.005 to 34 cents on volume of 133,500. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $45.5 cents and 24.5 cents.
Mako is the product of a November, 2018, merger involving Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. and Golden Reign Resources. It’s San Albino mine ranks as one of the highest-grade open pit gold mines globally.
Measured and indicated resources stand at 95,400 ounces at a grade of 9.54 g/t gold. On to of that is an inferred resource of 62,000 ounces at a grade of 8.50 g/t gold.
Commercial production was declared in July, 2021. The company has said its objective is the operate San Albino profitably and fund exploration of prospective targets on its district scale land package.
The company has previously said the initial open pit project will have a relatively low strip ratio, and once in operation, was expected to have the lowest cost per recovered ounce in the gold industry.
On Wednesday, the company said the shallow portion of the Arras Zone is located in the San Albino Central Pit, approximately 170 metres to the east of the San Albino West pit, which is currently being mined by the company.
Mineral resources in the Arras Zone account for only 10.9% of the measured and indicated and 26.5% of the inferred mineral resources
“We are continuing to systematically drill the shallow portion of the Arras Zone in the Central Pit, which we plan to begin mining next quarter in conjunction with ongoing mining at the San Albino Zone, in the West Pit,” said Mako CEO Akiba Liesman.
Meanwhile, the company intends to increase both the resource expansion/delineation and regional target drilling over the next 12 months. It plans to add another three rigs and 30,000 metres of drilling, bringing the total of five rigs and 60,000 metres.