Mako Mining advances on Nicaragua drilling results
Mako Mining Corp. [MKO-TSXV] on Monday Aug26 reported positive results from pre-development work at its 100%-owned San Albino gold project in Nueva-Segovia Nicaragua.
Mako (the product of a November 2018 merger involving Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. and Golden Reign Resources) operates the La Trinidad open-pit, heap leach gold mine in Sinaloa State, Mexico. The company is also developing its San Albino Project, which it aims to bring into production quickly while continuing exploration and prospective targets in Mexico and Nicaragua.
Subject to financing, the company hopes to develop a 500 tonne-per-day mine at San Albino, which it has described as a high-margin gold project with an average mined grade of 8.0 g/t gold. The initial open pit project will have a relatively low strip ratio, and when in operation, will have the lowest cost per recovered ounce in the gold industry.
On Monday, the company said pre-development work at San Albino consisted of exploration pits, trenches and infill grade-control drilling. The pre-development work, which commenced in May 2019, is designed to test the outer boundaries of the starter pits (West and Central pits), confirm gold mineralization within historic mine dumps, improve the understanding of structural controls, verify the geometry, grade and thickness of the mineralized zones, provide detailed grade control information, and affirm the continuity of the “in-pit” resources.
The company said it utilized the existing model in design of the exploration pit and trenching program, which resulted in the discovery of the surface exposure of the Naranjo Zone within the West Pit and its projected continuation outside of the existing planned pit boundary.
The company said these trenches have exposed and confirmed the continuity of high-grade, near surface mineralization in the Naranjo Zone over a strike length of 186 metres, the company said.
The highlight of the trenching program was near surface, high-grade gold mineralization of 545.96 g/t gold, identified in a spot sample in the Naranjo Zone, which lies outside the current West Pit limit at San Albino.
Mako shares advanced on the news, rising 3.8% to 13.5 cents. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $0.09 and 21 cents.
In addition to exploration pits and trenches, 56 holes (1,800 metres) were drilled within the West and Central pits as part of the mine pre-development work. Two holes were drilled (80 metres apart) and along strike of the Naranjo Zone. These holes targeted the down-dip extension of the newly identified high-grade mineralization in the trenching program.
Results from drill hole SA19-143 have confirmed 120 metres of down-dip extension of the Naranjo Zone, highlighted by 17.80 g/t gold and 18.9 g/t silver over 1.3 metres, the company said.
Studies are currently under way to determine if this near surface mineralization can be incorporated into the West Pit mine plan.
To advance the pre-development work at San Albino, two more drills have been mobilized to the site, which should allow for an additional 6,000 metres of drilling before the end of 2019, the company said.
Sailfish Royalty Corp. [FISH-TSXV], a yield-focused royalty company, holds a gold stream agreement on the San Albino gold project, which was recently restructured to enhance the project’s economics.
The property is subject to a 3% NSR royalty payable on the San Albino gold mine and the area of interest previously covered by a gold stream, plus a 2% NSR royalty payable on the rest of the 138 km2 area surrounding the area of interest.
Mako recently raised $4.5 million from a private placement comprised of 30 million shares priced at 15 cents each.