The company reported long intervals of mineralisation in the first three holes at Gran Bestia, which in addition to five holes previously drilled by Newmont Mining, confirm the existence of a satellite deposit.

Lumina will continue to drill Gran Bestia throughout 2019.

"The addition of Gran Bestia to Cangrejos is significant and could substantially increase the scale of the current inferred mineral resource estimate of 8.5 million ounces of gold," said president and CEO said Marshall Koval in a news release.

A June 2018 preliminary economic assessment on Cangrejos outlined a 16-year mine life with average annual production of 373,000oz.

In 2019 Lumina plans to drill about 7,000m in 23 holes for resource infill and exploration at Cangrejos, and about 5,200m in 13 holes at Gran Bestia. This will lead to an updated resource estimate in the second half of 2019 that will include a maiden resource at Gran Bestia.

The company will also drill to provide metallurgical test materials and oriented core for engineering studies. Geotechnical drilling over eight holes for pit slope design is planned and select geotechnical holes will also serve as locations for pump tests and installation of monitoring wells to support hydrogeological studies.