Condor Gold says La India ‘construction ready’

Nicaragua-focused Condor Gold (LSE: CNR; TSX: COG) said on Friday its flagship La India open pit gold project in the Central American country, was “construction ready” and “materially de-risked.”

Delivering first quarter results, chief executive Mark Child said a definitive feasibility study for the project, which will provide the economic forecasts on which project finance discussions will be based, will be published in the third quarter.

Child highlighted that Condor had continued acquiring land at the La India open pit and associated mine site infrastructure and it now owns 99.6% of the core areas.

Condor Gold noted the plan is to add the two fully-permitted high feeder pits of Mestiza and America to the mine plan during the construction phase.

Based on a technical study updated in September, this mining scenario would take La India’s production to about 120,000 oz. of gold per year over an initial period of six years, with total output of 862,000 ounces over nine years of mine life. 

Condor Gold staked concessions in Nicaragua in 2006. Since then, the country’s mining sector has taken off due to the arrival of foreign companies with the cash and expertise to tap into existing reserves. 

The government of Nicaragua granted Condor in 2019 the 132.1 sq.-km Los Cerritos exploration and exploitation concession, which expanded the La India project concession area by 29% to a total of 587.7 sq. km. 

Condor also attracted a partner — Nicaragua Milling. The privately held company, which took a 10.4% stake in the miner in September 2020, has operated in the country for two decades. 

In term of financial results, the company reported an operating loss of £668,134 (~ $815,000) compared to £512,518 (around US$625,000) in the same period last year. Cash and equivalents as of Mar. 31 sat at £408,000.

Condor said finance discussions for La India were currently underway with potential investors that have access to the firm’s data room under the protection of confidentiality agreements. Shares in the company fell on the news and were down almost 11% to 33.1 pence in mid-afternoon trading in London, leaving it with a market capitalization of £46.6 million or about US$57 million.