Endeavour Mining adds resources at Youga gold mine

In a bid to extend the lifespan of its Youga gold mine in Burkina Faso, which produced 82,400 oz. gold in 2010, West Africa-focused gold producer Endeavour Mining (EDV-T) is adding resources at three deposits within 3 km of the Youga plant.

A drill program last year resulted in identifying interim resources at the Zergoré and A2NE zones within the existing Youga mining permit. Work is ongoing and both zones remain open in all directions.

The Zergoré deposit is 2.5 km east of the Youga plant and the 2010 drill campaign included 94 reverse-circulation and 10 diamond drill holes over an 850-metre strike length. A recent resource estimate was based on all drilling to date and resulted in an inferred resource for the zone of 2.304 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.29 grams gold per tonne at a 0.5 gram gold per tonne cutoff grade.

Zergoré has been drilled in several stages with previous operators drilling 68 holes and Endeavour drilling 104 holes in 2010. Highlights from the 2010 diamond drill program that have not yet been reported are 12 metres of 2.6 grams gold per tonne including 2 metres at 6.5 grams gold and 10 metres at 2.4 grams including 2 metres at 9.8 grams gold. 

At the A2NE zone target, 3 km to the northeast of the Youga plant, Endeavour drilled 32 reverse circulation and 20 diamond drill holes over a 350-metre strike length last year leading to an indicated resource of 0.709 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.32 grams gold. Inferred resources add 0.205 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.25 grams gold at a 0.5 gram gold cutoff grade.

Endeavour believes reverse circulation drilling along the western extension of the A2NE zone also confirms that mineralization continues for an additional 300 metres but those resources were not incorporated into the resource estimate. 

In the Triple ‘A’ zone, seven diamond drill holes were completed along the eastern side of the main pit to further test a mineralized zone intersected by a diamond drill hole that returned 37 metres at 2.0 grams gold including 4 metres of 6.3 grams gold.

The follow-up drilling in the Triple ‘A’ zone reported intersections in five of the holes including: 8 metres of 6.4 grams gold including 1.8 metres of 15.0 grams gold; and 3 metres of 18.8 grams gold including 1 metre of 37.8 grams gold.

Endeavour’s 50,000-metre drill program this year involves 17 targets, 12 of which are within 3.5 km of the plant. The program of combined reverse circulation and diamond drilling will cost an estimated US$10 million.

At presstime the company’s shares were trading in Toronto at $2.85 apiece. Over the last year they have traded between a low of $1.80 per share (Feb. 17 2010) and a high of $3.13 per share (Nov. 9 2010). Endeavour has 113.5 million shares outstanding.