Caspiche resources grow 23% (April 06, 2010)

Exeter Resources (XRC-T, XRA-X) has both increased and upgraded resources at its sizable Caspiche gold-copper project in Chile.

Indicated resources stand at 785 million tonnes grading 0.57 gram gold per tonne and 1.21 grams silver, including 690 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper. This works out to 14.3 million oz. gold, 33.6 million oz. silver and 3.5 billion lbs. copper (or 23.9 million gold equivalent oz.)

Inferred resources stand at 688 million tonnes grading 0.45 gram gold per tonne, 1.21 grams silver and 0.19% copper for 10 million oz. gold, 26.7 million oz. silver and 2.9 billion lbs. copper (or 17.8 million gold equivalent oz.).

The company can now boast that 59% of Caspiche resources fall under the indicated category with the rest still under inferred.

Gold content is 23% higher; new drilling increased resources by 14% while the other 9% is because AMEC, the independent consultant tallying the estimate, used a higher long-term gold price of US$950 per oz. from US$825 per oz. A higher long-term copper price was used as well – US$2.30 per lb. up from US$2.07 per lb.

Exeter says copper accounts for about 40% of the value of the total deposit. Although silver could be an important byproduct credit the impact of silver was not considered in the gold-equivalent calculation or while the company was defining the new resources.

The estimate is based on drilling up until the end of 2009 and assay data reported to Feb. 5, 2010.

AMEC considered two different mining scenarios while calculating the resource estimate – open pit or an open pit followed by underground block cave mining. In the end, AMEC went with the second scenario.

Exeter plans to continue drilling on the project until the Chilean winter starts in mid-May. There are six drill rigs on site now. The company has completed 10,000 metres of drilling since the mid-February cutoff date for drill data for the resource estimate.

The plan is to continue to expand the deposit through step-out drilling and to upgrade more resources to the indicated category or better.

Another resources estimate is expected in the fall of 2010.

The project is located in Chile’s Maricunga belt between Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold’s Cerro Casale gold-copper deposit 10 km to the south and Kinross Gold’s Maricunga Mine 15 km to the north.

Exeter shares rose 9% today or 6¢ to $7.28 apiece on a trading volume of 1.2 million shares.