Junior miner Antilles Gold (ASX:AAU) has increased the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its La Demajagua open pit mine in Cuba by 30% to 905,000 ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq).
The $20.66 million market capitalisation company says the MRE was calculated from the results of a 29,000m core drilling program conducted by its joint venture (JV) partner, Minera La Victoria SA, along with selective results from 50,000m of historical drilling.
Following receipt of the revised MRE, Antilles says it can establish a final mine plan and incorporate a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the first stage of the La Demajagua Project.
The DFS for the open-pit mine has been delayed while the company awaits on additional antimony assays. Antilles expects the DFS to be completed within the next 3 months
The DFS for the open-pit mine has been delayed while the company awaits on additional antimony assays. Antilles expects the DFS to be completed within the next 3 months.
Antilles reports the revised Scoping Study suggests that the company’s estimated share of surplus cash generated by the proposed mine would average to about $45 million per year at a gold price of US$1,800 per ounce at current exchange rates.
Further, based on the increased MRE, the company notes the life-of-mine could now be extended from 9 to 11 years.
Antilles says this would be an ‘excellent’ return for Antilles, which is only committed to investing $20 million of equity for its 50% share of the joint venture company developing the La Demajagua open-pit mine.
Following this announcement, Antilles’ share price increased by 8.57% to $0.038 at market close on Friday.
Further, negotiations have begun on 2 potential sources of project funding. Antilles says these include advancing payments for concentrate and deferred payments to Chinese suppliers of the plant and equipment, backed by guarantees from the China Ex-Im Bank.
Antilles and Minera La Victoria SA aim to begin the construction of mine infrastructure in February 2024 and commission the mine in mid-July 2025.
Antilles Gold is an ASX-listed mineral exploration company focused on exploring major copper deposits in Cuba.
As of 31 March 2023, the company had $1.732 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
