Blanket ‘covers’ Caledonia
Steve Curtis, Caledonia’s chief executive, said the substantial increase in inferred resources, at a grade of 4,5 grammes per tonne, gave confidence in the mine’s long term potential.
“Whilst there is a small downward revision in grade, the grade of the ore body remains consistent with our expectations and continues to be well above the current mined grade at Blanket of 3,3 grammes per tonne,” he said.
Curtis said based on development and diamond core drilling, combined with improvements to the geological model, the total measured and indicated gold ounces at Blanket increased by 13 percent to 805 000 ounces as at July 2018 from 714 000 ounces in prior comparable period.
Total measured and indicated resources now stand at 6,74 million tonnes at a grade of 3,72 grammes per tonne.
Inferred gold resources increased by nine percent from 887 000 ounces in August 2017 to 963 000 ounces as at July 2018.
Total inferred resources now stand at 6,63 million tonnes at a grade of 4,52 grammes per tonne.
“The upgrade has resulted in a modest decline in the average grade of the resources in the Indicated and Inferred categories as a result of additional infill drilling data, improvements in the definition of the geological models, additional lower grade resources in peripheral areas, and upward movements of resources between categories,” Curtis said.
The average resource grade remains well above the current mill feed grade of 3,3 grammes per tonne.
Caledonia expects the mined grade to trend upwards over time as higher grade resources are accessed at depth. Daily News.
