Gold and silver producer Great Panther Mining (TSX: GPR; NYSE-AM: GPL) has tabled a mineral reserve and mineral resource (MRMR) update for its wholly owned Tucano open pit mine in Brazil. According to Rob Henderson, Great Panther’s president and CEO, the update has successfully replaced this year’s mining depletion at the site and added another year of mine life.
The latest proven and probable reserves total 9.8 million tonnes grading 2 grams gold per tonne, for 629,000 ounces. This includes an open-pittable subset of 5.6 million tonnes at 1.67 grams gold per tonne, for a total of 299,000 oz. and an underground inventory of 2.2 million tonnes at 4.13 grams gold, host to 288,000 ounces. The headline reserve numbers also include 2 million tonnes grading 0.64 gram gold in stockpiles.
Total measured and indicated resources, inclusive of reserves, now total 16.2 million tonnes at 1.83 grams gold and contain 953,000 oz. of gold. The open pit measured and indicated portion resource portion stands at 11.1 million tonnes grading 1.57 grams gold, for a total of 561,000 ounces.
Further inferred resources now feature 6 million tonnes at 2.77 grams gold, totalling 534,000 ounces.
The reserves and resources are estimated based on cut-off grades between 0.3 gram gold and 2.1 grams gold and include the results of drilling up to the end of July – this drilling focused on the TAP AB pits, which cover approximately 2 km of a seven-km trend.
“Going forward, we will be aggressively advancing opportunities for resource growth and mine life extension on multiple fronts,” Henderson stated in the press release. “We are actively drilling, both near the mine and in the extensive and largely under-explored regional land package.”
Three diamond drills and one reverse circulation rig are working on near-mine resource definition and conversion. Rotary air blast drilling is also focused on two (out of seven) regional targets.
This year, Great Panther started a 55,000-metre, US$7-million drill program at Tucano, with 23,000 metres completed to date. The focus of the drilling is threefold, and includes near-mine exploration, underground exploration and regional work.
Great Panther’s exploration package covers approximately 2,000 sq. km, and extends over 90 km of the Vila Nova greenstone belt.
In the third quarter, Tucano generated 31,803 gold oz., at all-in sustaining costs of US$1,061 per ounce sold.
This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal, part of Glacier Resource Innovation Group.
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