Cora Gold upbeat on mineral resource estimate from Sanankoro

West Africa-focussed gold exploration company Cora Gold announced on Thursday that it has received a maiden pit constrained mineral resource estimate from independent consultants SRK Consulting UK, for its Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali.

The AIM-traded firm said it was an initial step in determining the overall potential of Sanankoro, which has an exploration target of between one million and two million ounces, within 100 metres of surface.

It said the pit constrained maiden inferred mineral resource totalled five million tonnes at 1.6 grams of gold per tonne, for 265,000 ounces of gold.

The company also reported a reconfirmation of the SRK-derived exploration target of between 30 million and 50 million tonnes at a grade of between one and 1.3 grams of gold per tonne, for approximately one million to two million ounces of gold, as originally derived by SRK in 2018.

It said the mineral resource estimate was based on less than 25% of the total 40 linear kilometre strike length of the potential mineralised zones that had been identified to date.

Cora Gold said the majority, or 88%, of the inferred mineral resource was derived from oxide material, and explained that mineralisation was encountered at up to 170 metre depth, with the current pits extending to a maximum depth of 130 metres, which the board said offered “significant” upside potential.

“We are pleased to announce the initial mineral resource estimate for Sanankoro, which was focused on the oxide, starter-pit, potential of the Project, targeting the opportunity for a low-cost mining operation,” said chief executive officer Jonathan Forster.

“This estimate is the first step in defining the overall oxide potential at the Project, where to date less than a quarter of the 1-2Moz SRK Exploration Target has been tested.

“We have also been able to include a small amount of sulphide material in the MRE, confirming our belief that exploration expansion into the sulphide zones could provide significant future upside.”

Forster said the company remained on track to deliver an initial scoping study in the current quarter.

“This study will assist in de-risking the project by establishing the framework for understanding the economics of a future mine development and also provide guidance for the on-going exploration programmes to maximise the delineation of further economic mineralisation.”

At 1021 GMT, shares in Cora Gold were up 2.43% at 5.89p.