LUNDIN GOLD ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN MINERAL RESERVES TO 5.50 MILLION OUNCES
- Measured and Indicated Resources are reported at 23.53 Mt ("Mt") with an average grade of 9.24 grams per tonne ("g/t") containing 6.99 million ounces ("Moz") of gold.
- Proven and Probable Reserves for FDN are reported at 21.70 Mt with an average grade of 7.89 g/t containing 5.50 Moz of gold.
2022 Mineral Reserves |
5.02 |
Mining Depletion |
(-) 0.48 |
Technical Updates and Mine Design Changes |
(+) 0.58 |
Resource Conversion |
(+) 0.38 |
2023 Mineral Reserves |
5.50 |
The 2023 conversion drilling campaign was successful at reclassifying Inferred Resources to Indicated in areas immediately beyond the current Reserve boundary. The new areas of Indicated Resources are illustrated in Figure 1, and include extensions to the North, at depth and to the South of the FDN deposit.
Figure 1: New Zones of Indicated Resources from 2023 Conversion Drilling
A total of 0.35 Moz of new Inferred Resources were also added as a result of the conversion and near-mine drilling completed in 2023. Inferred Resources are reported at 7.98 Mt with an average grade of 5.77 g/t containing 1.5 Moz.
Figure 2: 2022 Resources Compared to 2023 Resources1,2
Notes: |
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(1) |
Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves. |
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(2) |
For information on the 2022 Resources, see the "Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Fruta del Norte Mine Ecuador" dated |
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Increases to the Reserve estimate are primarily due to successful conversion drilling, modifications to the mine design, and some changes to technical parameters. Mine design modifications include: a higher proportion of longhole mining versus drift and fill, and improvements in mining dilution and recovery estimates. Technical parameter modifications include minor changes in cut-off grade estimates and higher mill recoveries which are expected after the Process Plant Expansion is completed later this year. It should be noted that unit costs per tonne for drift and fill mining increased as compared to 2022 based on anticipated ground conditions from better geotechnical information. The cut-off gold price of
Figure 3: Comparison Between 2023 and 2024 Reserves
The tables below summarize the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates for FDN effective as of
Mineral Resources (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) |
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Category |
Tonnage (M t) |
Grade (g/t Au) |
Contained Metal (M oz Au) |
Grade (g/t Ag) |
Contained Metal (M oz Ag) |
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Measured |
7.75 |
11.74 |
2.93 |
12.7 |
3.18 |
|
Indicated |
15.78 |
8.00 |
4.06 |
12.5 |
6.32 |
|
Measured & Indicated |
23.53 |
9.24 |
6.99 |
12.6 |
9.50 |
|
Inferred |
7.98 |
5.77 |
1.48 |
11.3 |
2.90 |
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Notes: |
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(1) |
2014 CIM Definition Standards were followed for the classification of Mineral Resources. |
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(2) |
The Qualified Person for the estimate is |
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(3) |
Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. |
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(4) |
Inferred Mineral Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them to enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. |
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(5) |
Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 3.4 g/t Au, which is calculated using a long-term gold price of |
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(6) |
Mineral Resources are reported net of mining to |
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(7) |
Figures may not add due to rounding. |
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Mineral Reserves (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) |
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Tonnage (M t) |
Grade (g/t Au) |
Contained Metal (M oz Au) |
Grade (g/t Ag) |
Contained Metal (M oz Ag) |
Proven |
7.56 |
9.42 |
2.29 |
10.5 |
2.55 |
Probable |
14.14 |
7.06 |
3.21 |
11.7 |
5.34 |
Total |
21.70 |
7.89 |
5.50 |
11.3 |
7.89 |
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Notes: |
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(1) |
2014 CIM Definitions Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves have been followed. |
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(2) |
The Qualified Person for this estimate is |
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(3) |
Mineral Reserves have an effective date of |
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(4) |
Mineral Reserves were estimated using key inputs listed in the table below: |
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Key Input |
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Unit |
Gold Price |
1,400 |
1,400 |
$/oz |
Transverse Stoping |
51 |
53 |
$/t |
Drift & Fill |
77 |
95 |
$/t |
Process, Surface Ops, G&A Cost |
64 |
72 |
$/t |
Surface Royalties, |
15 |
8 |
$/t |
Dilution Factor |
8 |
8 |
Percent |
|
80 |
50 |
$/oz |
Royalty |
76 |
79 |
$/oz |
Gold Metallurgical Recovery |
88.5 |
91.2 |
Percent |
(5) |
Gold cut-off grades for the different mining methods are listed in the table below: |
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Gold Cut-off Grade |
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Unit |
Transverse Stope |
4.2 |
4.0 |
g/t |
Drift and Fill |
5.0 |
5.3 |
g/t |
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(6) |
Silver was not considered in the calculation of the cut-off grade but is recovered and contributes to the revenue stream. |
(7) |
Tonnages are rounded to the nearest 1,000 t, gold grades are rounded to two decimal places, silver grades are rounded to one decimal place, and costs are rounded to the nearest dollar. Tonnage and grade measurements are in metric units; contained gold and silver are reported as thousands of troy ounces. |
(8) |
Figures may not add due to rounding. |
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In this news release, the Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource estimate is
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by
For information on
The Company's board and management team have extensive expertise in mine operations and are dedicated to operating Fruta del Norte responsibly. The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best practices.
The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of
Certain of the information and statements in this press release are considered "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" as those terms are defined under Canadian securities laws (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements and information involve assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict, and are usually beyond the control of management, that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed by these forward-looking statements and information. Lundin Gold believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. This information speaks only as of the date of this press release, and the Company will not necessarily update this information, unless required to do so by securities laws.
This press release contains forward-looking information in a number of places, such as in statements pertaining to estimates of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources and the anticipated Process Plant Expansion and improvement of recoveries. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as Lundin Gold's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in Lundin Gold's Annual Information Form dated
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