Condor Gold up 29% on Nicaragua drilling update
Condor Gold Plc [COG-TSX; CNR-AIM] on Thursday April 29 said it has completed infill drilling on two proposed starter pits at its 100%-owned La India Project in Nicaragua. All assays have now been received from the Northern starter pit, the company said in a press release.
The news follows the recent announcement that Condor has agreed to purchase a new SAG mill from First Majestic Silver Corp. [FR-TSX; AG-NYSE; FMV-FSE] for US$6.5 million. It said the new SAG mill forms stage one of production, which is expected to be at a rate of 80,000 to 100,000 ounces annually.
The two planned high-grade starter pits (up to 35 metres deep) have now been drill tested at 25 metre by 25 metre spacing.
The starter pits are shallow, within 35 metres from the surface, and contain 455,000 tonnes at 4.17 g/t gold or 59,674 ounces of gold using a 2.00 g/t cut-off grade. The company has said it plans to mine them early to quicken the payback period and enhance the project’s economics.
The starter pits sit within the main, fully-permitted La India open pit, which has a mineral reserve estimate of 6.9 million tonnes at 3.1 g/t gold or 675,000 ounces.
Forty-four diamond drill holes for 2,290 metres were drilled within and immediately adjacent to the starter pits, infilling between the pre-existing diamond drill holes and also replacing eight reverse circulation holes with higher-quality diamond core.
Assay results were received for 29 drill holes, providing a complete data set for the Northern starter pit and the first six drill holes for the Southern starter pit.
Highlights include 22.05 metres (21.6 metres true width) at 6.48 g/t gold from 24.75 metres drill depth, including 15.35 metres (15 metres true width) at 8.68 g/t gold from 24.75 metres drilled depth.
Drilling is currently under way to complete twin drilling of the remaining 1,142 metre reverse circulation holes in the main La India open-pit shell. The company said 600 meters remain to be completed in the current program.
Back in January, 2019, SRK Consulting (U.K.) Ltd. completed an updated resource estimate for the La India Project. It calculated 9.85 million tonnes at 3.6 g/t gold or 1.14 million ounces of gold Indicated and 8.48 million tonnes at 4.3 g/t gold or 1.17 million ounces of gold Inferred.
Condor Gold shares rallied on the news, rising 29% or 23 cents to $1.03.
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