TORONTO, June 19, 2018 /CNW/ – Avesoro Resources Inc. (“Avesoro” or the “Company”), the TSX and AIM listed West African gold producer, is pleased to announce the results of an updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimate for its Youga Gold Mine (“Youga”) in Burkina Faso.
Mineral Reserve and Resource Estimate Highlights (as at December 31, 2017)
•Total Mineral Reserve increased by 29%, or 147.4koz to 660.1koz of gold;
•Total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource increased by 15% to 924.2koz of gold grading 1.73g/t Au;
•Mine life extended by two years to 2027, with total forecast gold production of 614koz;
•Pre-tax NPV1 increased by 42% to US$188.3 million and post-tax NPV1 increased to US$151.6 million;
•Life of mine (“LOM”) operating cash costs reduced to US$860/oz;
•LOM all-in-sustaining costs reduced to US$920/oz; and
•Further Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve upgrades at Youga expected to be announced in Q1 2019 from ongoing infill drilling programmes with six diamond drill rigs currently active.
Commenting, Serhan Umurhan, Chief Executive Officer of Avesoro Resources, said: “This updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimate for Youga consolidates the results of the successful 2017 drilling campaign undertaken in Burkina Faso, and increases the Mineral Resources and Reserves at the Youga mine itself as well as at the high grade Balogo deposit that provides ore to the Youga processing plant.
We see the announcement today, which adds two years to Youga’s mine life, as an interim step. We have added substantially to the value of the Youga Gold Mine since the Company acquired it for US$70.2 million in December 2017 and with our ongoing drilling programme of 139,000 metres in Burkina Faso this year we fully expect to add further years to the Youga life of mine.
In anticipation of further growth in Mineral Reserves, we are evaluating options for optimising the Youga process plant to allow the 2018 annual production guidance of 110 – 120koz to be maintained in subsequent years by increasing mill throughput.
I also look forward to updating the market in Q3 2018 on the results of our Mineral Resource upgrade work at New Liberty in Liberia, following the successful conclusion of the in-pit infill drilling programme earlier this year.”
Updated Mineral Resource and Reserve Estimate
Following the acquisition of the Youga Gold Mine by Avesoro on December 18, 2017, the updated Mineral Resource and Reserve estimates were produced by CSA Global (UK) Ltd with an effective date of December 31, 2017 and reflect mining depletion from March 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, during which time 110,000 ounces of gold were produced. The mineralisation wireframes used within the updated estimate are based on the results of the 2017 drilling campaign received subsequent to the information cut-off date for the previous estimation undertaken on February 28, 2017.
The Company plans to release a further Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve update for Youga and its satellite deposits upon the conclusion of the on-going 139,000 metre drilling programme focussed across its Burkina Faso licence portfolio during 2018. As a part of this, a 20,000 metre infill drilling campaign has recently commenced on the Ouaré deposit with the aim of upgrading a portion of the 406koz of gold in the Inferred Mineral Resource category into a higher level of confidence and subsequently into Mineral Reserves.
The Company also recently completed a 13,000 metre diamond drilling programme that targeted the prospects of Panga and Cobra Hill, located a short distance along strike from the Balogo deposit. Following a review of the first phase of drilling a decision has been taken to undertake a second phase of drilling in Q3 2018 exploring further along strike to follow up on prospects identified during the 2017 drilling campaign with the aim of further delineating the strike extent of the mineralisation.
Additional drilling underneath the main Balogo pit will also be undertaken in H2 2018 targeting the down dip extension of mineralisation at the main Balogo pit where mineralisation has already been defined to depths of 140 metres below the existing planned pit floor. This down dip drilling programme has the potential to further increase the mine life of the Balogo deposit and also aims to define an underground Mineral Resource at Balogo.
SOURCE: CISION
DATE: JUNE 19, 2018
