Yukon-Nevada Gold (YNG-T, NG6-F) has clamped down on which areas of mineralization it’s using for its resource estimate at the Ketza River open pit project in the Yukon, resulting in higher grades but fewer overall oz. of gold.
Measured and indicated resources are now 4 million tonnes grading 4.93 grams gold per tonne for a 646,000 oz. gold compared to a previous total of 757,000 oz. gold at an average grade of 2.76 grams gold per tonne.
There was a much more noticeable difference in the inferred resource, which now totals 112,800 oz. gold at an average grade of 3.26 grams gold per tonne, down from 1 million oz. at an average grade of 2.25 grams gold per tonne.
As the likelihood of constructing an open pit operation increases, Yukon-Nevada has taken on a more precise goal of where it will mine, and therefore, where it will attempt to convert resources into reserves.
“Mineralization that is not deemed to have a reasonable expectation of being eventually mineable has been excluded from the current resource,” a media release said today.
For the latest resource, the company has used a cutoff grade of 1 gram gold per tonne for areas considered good for open pit mining while a cutoff of 3 grams gold per tonne has been applied to areas that would have to be mined via underground mining.
Yukon-Nevada says that so far about 90% of the resource could be mined by open pit.
As well, most gold mineralization has been tightly constrained geologically using structural and stratigraphic features established by mining records and three-dimensional geologic analysis.
Yukon-Gold shares rose 7% in Toronto today, or 12, to $1.77 per share on a trading volume of 748,000 shares.
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