Condor Gold plc said the starter pits are shovel ready following final assay results for the 3,370m drill programme at La India, Nicaragua.
MINERALISATION
The two starter pits are planned to exploit two high grade segments of the La India open pit to 35m below surface.
The Southern starter pit is along a 250m strike length and the Northern starter pit is along 300m strike and separated by 200m of what Condor Gold previously considered a low grade zone.
The company is considering the possibility of extending the starter pits, or joining them, by exploiting the near-surface gold mineralisation along the intervening 200m of strike length.
RESULTS
The infill and reserve circulation (RC)-replacement drill holes were completed between December 2020 and June 2021 with the best new drill result in drill hole LIDC464 of 6.6 m true width at 10.51 g/t gold.
– 22.05m (21.6m true width) at 6.48 g/t gold from 24.75m drill depth including 15.35m (15.0m true width) at 8.68 g/t gold from 24.75m drilled depth (LIDC413).
– 60.6m (54.5m true width) at 1.98 g/t gold from 4.15m drill depth, including 5.75m (5.2m true width) at 16.88 g/t gold from 42.55m drill depth in LIDC452 between the two proposed starter pits.
– 16m (15.7m true width) at 5.30 g/t gold from 18.35m drill depth, including 5.9m (5.8m true width) at 12.35 g/t gold from 22.10m drilled depth (LIDC416).
Condor Gold added that the wide zone of gold mineralisation of 54.5m true width at 1.98 g/t gold near surface could reduce the strip ratio between the starter pits due to the increase in gold mineralised tonnage verses waste rock.
This would also potentially improve the project economics.
ECONOMICS
Chairman and chief executive Mark Child said that the drill programme had been very successful and achieved a number of key objectives.
“Firstly, the geological model has been re-affirmed and is now more robust following a close spaced 25m by 25m drill programme in the starter pits with some drill assay results better than expected.
“Secondly, the starter pits are now ‘shovel ready’, are within 35m of surface and will provide early high-grade mill feed for the recently purchased SAG Mill.
“The replacement of RC drill holes with diamond core drilling strengthens the geological model ahead of production.
“Project economics are likely to improve with a) confirmation of a broad zone of mineralisation between the starter pits which should reduce the overall strip ratio and b) the discovery of an additional vein in the footwall.”