For immediate release
20 September 2021
Serabi Gold plc
(“Serabi” or the “Company”)
Mine development underway at Coringa
Serabi Gold plc (AIM:SRB, TSX:SBI), the Brazilian-focused gold mining and development company, is pleased to announce the start-up of mining development at the Company’s wholly owned gold project at Coringa. Coringa is located 200km south of Serabi’s current gold operation at Palito and represents a strategically important asset for Serabi that will upon reaching full production double the Group gold production.
Highlights
- The development of the mine portal began in late July, to reach the Serra zone, one of three main zones at Coringa. Blasting into hard rock is now well underway
- The Company anticipates intersecting the Serra orebody in mid-October
- The development of Coringa is a significant milestone for Serabi with favourable economics. The Company’s 2019 Preliminary Economic Assessment (previously published October 2019) highlighted:
- low initial capital of US$25m
- average annual production of 38koz for the first 5 full years of production of the 9 year mine life at an average grade of 8.34g/t Au
- All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$852/oz
- 400 metres of ore development is planned to further support the geological resource which to date is based on drillholes and surface artisanal mining
- Exposure of the orebody through development could identify potential mining and processing improvements to the project and future operation:
- The project economics are currently based on selective mining. The Company currently utilises a more mechanised long-hole open stoping at the Sao Chico deposit and is having good success with this mining method on the more regular veins at Palito. There is therefore strong potential that this mining method could be effectively deployed at Coringa
- The use of ore sorting technology at Palito has been very successful. The Coringa drill core suggests the presence of the same strong contrast between ore and waste rock. The Company plans to take development ore from Coringa to Palito and run tests to assess the applicability of this technology
- The Company has prepared a short video showing the progress achieved to date and can be viewed using the following link – https://bit.ly/2XrvZQW
Mike Hodgson, CEO of Serabi , commented:
“This is a very important milestone for the Company in achieving our mid-term objective of becoming a 100,000 ounce gold producer. We acquired Coringa in December 2017, and since that time we have built on the Bankable Feasibility Study undertaken by Equinox in 2017, with an enlarged mineral resource supporting a new Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2019, as well as receiving the Preliminary License in October 2020. With permits in place to commence the mining operation, I am delighted to see mine development underway, and look forward to intersecting the first ore zone early next quarter and we anticipate that the improved understanding arising from this underground ore development will deliver further economic benefits to the project.
“All studies to date have considered the tried and tested selective mining approach that we have largely used at Palito to date. However, over the past six months we have trialled very controlled long hole open stoping in certain areas of the Palito mine, combined with cable bolting, and the results have been excellent. If we can extend this to Coringa, it could have major benefits, reducing costs and bringing production efficiencies.
“Coringa has all the indications that it will be like Palito and ore sorting could be a real possibility. The fact we have our own sorter at Palito means we can undertake our own test work and find the optimal settings and processing criteria. Ore sorting has significant benefits as it means rejecting waste before the plant, resulting in a higher grade lower volume feed to the plant, and, as Coringa will have filtration and dry stacking of tailings instead of a tailings dam, reduced levels of tailings.
“I look forward to providing a further update after we have intersected the first vein in the Serra orebody.”
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Clive Line, Director.
Enquiries:
| Serabi Gold plc | |
| Michael Hodgson | Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 |
| Chief Executive | Mobile: +44 (0)7799 473621 |
| Clive Line | Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 |
| Finance Director | Mobile: +44 (0)7710 151692 |
| Email: contact@serabigold.com | |
| Website: www.serabigold.com | |
| Beaumont Cornish Limited Nominated Adviser and Financial Adviser |
|
| Roland Cornish / Michael Cornish | Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 3396 |
| Peel Hunt LLP Joint UK Broker |
|
| Ross Allister / Alexander Allen | Tel: +44 (0)20 7418 9000 |
| Tamesis Partners LLP Joint UK Broker |
|
| Charlie Bendon / Richard Greenfield | Tel: +44 (0)20 3882 2868 |
| Camarco Financial PR Gordon Poole / Nick Hennis |
Tel: +44(0) 20 3757 4980 |
Copies of this announcement are available from the Company’s website at www.serabigold.com.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, nor any other securities regulatory authority, has approved or disapproved of the contents of this announcement.
See www.serabigold.com for more information and follow us on twitter @Serabi_Gold
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
| “Ag” | means silver. |
| “Au” | means gold. |
| “assay” | in economic geology, means to analyse the proportions of metal in a rock or overburden sample; to test an ore or mineral for composition, purity, weight or other properties of commercial interest. |
| “CIM” | means the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. |
| “chalcopyrite” | is a sulphide of copper and iron. |
| “Cu” | means copper. |
| “cut-off grade” | the lowest grade of mineralised material that qualifies as ore in a given deposit; rock of the lowest assay included in an ore estimate. |
| “dacite porphyry intrusive” | a silica-rich igneous rock with larger phenocrysts (crystals) within a fine-grained matrix |
| “deposit” | is a mineralised body which has been physically delineated by sufficient drilling, trenching, and/or underground work, and found to contain a sufficient average grade of metal or metals to warrant further exploration and/or development expenditures; such a deposit does not qualify as a commercially mineable ore body or as containing ore reserves, until final legal, technical, and economic factors have been resolved. |
| “electromagnetics” | is a geophysical technique tool measuring the magnetic field generated by subjecting the sub-surface to electrical currents. |
| “garimpo” | is a local artisanal mining operation |
| “garimpeiro” | is a local artisanal miner. |
| “geochemical” | refers to geological information using measurements derived from chemical analysis. |
| “geophysical” | refers to geological information using measurements derived from the use of magnetic and electrical readings. |
| “geophysical techniques” | include the exploration of an area by exploiting differences in physical properties of different rock types. Geophysical methods include seismic, magnetic, gravity, induced polarisation and other techniques; geophysical surveys can be undertaken from the ground or from the air. |
| “gossan” | is an iron-bearing weathered product that overlies a sulphide deposit. |
| “grade” | is the concentration of mineral within the host rock typically quoted as grams per tonne (g/t), parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb). |
| “g/t” | means grams per tonne. |
| “granodiorite” | is an igneous intrusive rock similar to granite. |
| “hectare” or a “ha” | is a unit of measurement equal to 10,000 square metres. |
| “igneous” | is a rock that has solidified from molten material or magma. |
| “IP” | refers to induced polarisation, a geophysical technique whereby an electric current is induced into the sub-surface and the conductivity of the sub-surface is recorded. |
| “intrusive” | is a body of rock that invades older rocks. |
| “Indicated Mineral Resource | is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters, to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. The estimate is based on detailed and reliable exploration and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that are spaced closely enough for geological and grade continuity to be reasonably assumed. |
| “Inferred Mineral Resource” | is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. The estimate is based on limited information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. |
| “Inferred Mineral Resource” | ‟ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. The estimate is based on limited information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. |
| “mineralisation” | the concentration of metals and their chemical compounds within a body of rock. |
| “mineralised” | refers to rock which contains minerals e.g. iron, copper, gold. |
| “Mineral Resource” | is a concentration or occurrence of diamonds, natural solid inorganic material, or natural solid fossilized organic material including base and precious metals, coal,… |
Read More:Mine development underway at Coringa
2021-09-20 06:00:00
