Condor Gold Completes Ground Investigation Drilling and Test Pits in Preparation for Mine Construction at La India Project, Nicaragua
Condor Gold (AIM: CNR; TSX: COG) is pleased to announce it has completed a ground investigation program of 23 geotechnical drill holes and 58 test pits on the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), Water Retention/Attenuation Reservoir and Processing Plant site at La India Project, Nicaragua. Condor is accelerating La India Project from a Pre-Feasibility level of design to Final Engineering Designs on key infrastructure in preparation for construction on the fully-permitted La India gold mine project.
Highlights
· 16 Geotechnical drill holes and 29 test pits for the final design for the tailing storage facility (TSF) have been completed.
· Final TSF design will be fully compliant with internal and external legislation.
· 7 Geotechnical drill holes and 17 test pits on La Simona dam and water retention/attenuation reservoir have been completed – data to be used to design a retention/attenuation dam and diversion water facility.
· 14 piezometers have been installed to monitor sub-surface water levels.
· 12 test pits at the processing plant site have been completed – providing the ground condition information required for an advanced layout design.
Mark Child, Chairman and CEO commented:
“The completion of ground investigations via a geotechnical drilling program of 23 drill holes and 58 test pits on the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), water retention/attenuation reservoir and processing plant site demonstrates Condor’s commitment to de-risk and advance La India Project to construction. Condor has previously completed a Pre-Feasibility level design on the TSF and water retention reservoir. The decision has been taken to accelerate the Project; a Feasibility Level design on the TSF and water retention/attenuation reservoir is 64% completed and is due to be finalised in June 2021. Condor’s objective is to fast track the La India Project to operational status”.
Background and Operational Update
Tierra Group International, Ltd. (Tierra Group) has been engaged to develop the Final Designs for the TSF and water retention/attenuation reservoir for a new mine at La India Project. The Final TSF design will be fully compliant with internal and external legislation. Tierra Group has completed an initial ground investigation of the processing plant site that will be used to constrain and optimise the final layout design. Condor owns 100% of the land required for the TSF, La Simona dam and water retention reservoir, and the processing plant location.
The geotechnical drilling and some of the test pits c haracterize subsurface geology and foundation conditions below the proposed TSF and water retention/attenuation dams’ footprints. The remaining test pits were designed to investigate the surficial geology along the TSF’s proposed diversion channel alignments, the water retention properties of the soil and subsurface geology within the TSF and water retention reservoir, and the foundation conditions within the processing plant site. Tierra Group has performed in-situ permeability testing in the drill holes and has measured the geomechanical properties of the soil and rock from the drill holes and test pits both on-site and through laboratory testwork.
The 23 geotechnical drill holes totalled 599m. Piezometers were installed in 14 of the drill holes; 11 at the TSF and 3 at the water retention dam, to monitor sub-surface water levels.
Condor’s objective, subject to funding, is to fast track the La India Project to operational status. With this in mind, the geotechnical engineering analysis results and recommendations will support a TSF and water retention/attenuation dam Final Design, and contribute towards an advanced processing plant layout design. Tierra Group is completing the necessary civil engineering activities and is responsible for producing the final engineering design drawings for the TSF and water retention/attenuation dam. A Feasibility Level design on the TSF and water retention/attenuation reservoir is 64% completed and is due to be finalised in June 2021. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (“MARENA”) requested Final Designs as a condition of granting the key environmental permit to develop, construct and operate a new mine at La India.
About Condor Gold plc:
Condor Gold plc was admitted to AIM in May 2006 and dual listed on the TSX in January 2018. The Company is a gold exploration and development company with a focus on Nicaragua.
In August 2018, the Company announced that the Ministry of the Environment in Nicaragua had granted the Company the Environmental Permit (“EP”) for the development, construction and operation of a processing plant with capacity to process up to 2,800 tonnes per day at its wholly-owned La India gold project (“La India Project”). The EP is considered to be the master permit for mining operations in Nicaragua. Condor Gold published a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) on the La India Project in December 2014, as summarised in the Technical Report, as defined below. The PFS details an open pit gold Mineral Reserve in the Probable category of 6.9 Mt at 3.0 g/t gold for 675,000 oz gold, producing 80,000 oz gold per annum for seven years. La India Project contains a Mineral Resource of 9,850Kt at 3.6 g/t gold for 1,140Koz gold in the Indicated category and 8,479Kt at 4.3g/t gold for 1,179Koz gold in the Inferred category. The Indicated Mineral Resource is inclusive of the Mineral Reserve. A gold price of $1,500/oz and a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t and 2.0g/t gold were assumed for open pit and underground resources respectively. A cut-off grade of 1.5g/t gold was furthermore applied within a part of the Inferred Resource. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted to Mineral Reserves.
Environmental Permits have also been granted in April and May 2020 in relation to the Mestiza and America open pits respectively, both located in the vicinity of the La India Project. The Mestiza open pit hosts 92Kt at a grade of 12.1 g/t gold (36,000 oz contained gold) in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 341Kt at a grade of 7.7 g/t gold (85,000 oz contained gold) in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. The America open pit hosts 114 Kt at a grade of 8.1 g/t gold (30,000 oz contained gold) in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 677Kt at a grade of 3.1 g/t gold (67,000 oz contained gold) in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. Following the permitting of the Mestiza and America open pits, together with the La India open pit Condor has 1.12M oz gold open pit Mineral Resources permitted for extraction, inclusive of a Mineral Reserve of 6.9Mt at 3.0g/t gold for 675,000 oz gold.
