PRECIOUS METALS

Cacao sweetens La India for Condor Gold

Dual-listed Condor Gold believes its latest drilling is “clipping the top” of a fully preserved epithermal gold system at Cacao, which is a potential satellite for its La India project in Nicaragua.

Staff reporter
 Condor Gold CEO Mark Child at La India in Nicaragua

Condor Gold CEO Mark Child at La India in Nicaragua

Results included 25.93m (14.9m true width) at 3.94g/t gold from 263.82m below the existing Cacao resource; and 39.65m (32.9m TW) at 0.38g/t from 181.47m beneath alluvial cover 400m along strike of the Cacao resource, estimated as the top of an epithermal system.

Chairman and CEO Mark Child said drilling had been a success.

"A 10m-plus true width mineralised zone including the main Cacao vein has been confirmed for a strike length of approximately 1,000m beneath and extending to the east of the current Cacao mineral resource of 662,000t at 2.8g/t gold for 60,000oz," he said.

Condor has more than 1.1Moz permitted for mining at its La India, Mestiza and America openpits.

Follow-up drilling was being planned for Cacao and Child said part of the company's strategy was to demonstrate a 5 million ounce gold district.

Condor had released a technical report to preliminary economic assessment standards earlier this month looking at two production scenarios at La India.

The openpit and underground scenario put initial capex at US$160 million, post-tax NPV5 of $418 million and IRR of 54%, using a $1,700/oz gold price, with average annual gold production of 150,000oz over the initial nine years.

The base case put after-tax NPV5 at $312 million and IRR at 43% using a $1,550/oz gold price.

The openpit-only option put initial capex at $153 million, after-tax NPV5 at $302 million, IRR of 58%, using a $1,700/oz gold price, and average annual production of 120,000oz over six years.

Condor's Toronto-listed shares gained 9.6% on Friday to close at C80c, valuing it about $108 million (US$84 million).

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