Firefinch Limited (ASX: FFX) has announced an 80% increase in Mineral Resources for the Satellite Deposits- N’Tiola, Viper, Morila Pit 5, and Koting – to 218,000 ounces of contained gold, with a 164% increase within the higher confidence Measured and Indicated categories to 190,000 ounces of contained gold.
With the new Mineral Resource estimates completed for Satellite Deposits following intensive drilling campaigns, the Global Mineral Resources at Morila project now total 2.43 million ounces of contained gold, including 1.31 million ounces in the Measured and Indicated categories.
The company said that the new Mineral Resources will enable finalisation of Ore Reserves and a Life of Mine Plan (LOMP), which are expected to be released in early May 2021.
Updated MRE at satellite prospects
Firefinch has now reported an updated Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) for Satellite Deposits N’Tiola, Viper, Morila Pit 5, and Koting utilising all available drilling, including over 30,000 metres of Firefinch drilling completed this year. This included 19,000 metres of drilling at N’Tiola, Viper, and Pit 5, and over 11,000 metres on the adjacent Massigui Project, principally Koting.
The company reported 6.2 million tonnes at 1.09g/t gold for 218,000 ounces of contained gold as the updated Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Mineral Resources for the satellite deposits.
The company reported an updated Mineral Resource of 2.43 million tonnes at 1.04g/t gold for 81,000 ounces of gold at N’Tiola, while the updated Mineral Resource at Viper was 1.55 million tonnes at 1.05g/t gold for 52,000 ounces of gold.
A maiden Mineral Resource of 0.93 million tonnes at 1.01 g/t gold for 30,000 ounces of gold was estimated for the Koting deposit. The maiden Mineral Resource for Morila Pit 5 deposit was 0.84 million tonnes at 1.10g/t gold for 30,000 ounces of gold.
80% increase in Mineral Resources
The company said that the new MRE was an 80% increase in Mineral Resources for the Satellites compared to 2.5 million tonnes at 1.38g/t gold for 113,000 ounces in the prior Mineral Resource.
164% increase in measured and indicated categories
FFX reported that 190,000 ounces of the satellite resources are now contained within the high confidence Measured and Indicated categories (5.5 million tonnes at 1.07g/t gold). This is a 164% increase within the higher confidence Measured and Indicated categories.
The company said that this would enable the Ore Reserves and mining schedules to be finalised to support the re-commencement of open pit mining.
Global Mineral Resource of 2.43m oz at Morila
The company said that the updated MRE of satellite deposits resulted in an increase in Morila’s Global Mineral Resource to 50.5 million tonnes at 1.50g/t gold for 2.43 million ounces of contained gold.
Life of mine plan
The company said that the completion of the Mineral Resources enables the finalisation of mining plans and Ore Reserves for each of the satellite deposits, as well as the Morila Super Pit.
FFX said that based on these a detailed Life of Mine (LoM) schedule will be developed to exploit the Mineral Resources of 2.43 million ounces defined across the Morila Gold Project.
The company said that the mining will progress in the following stages – 1. Hydraulic mining of tailings only – until May 2021; 2. Satellite pit mining and milling – a blend of tailings and ore from the Morila Pit 5, Koting, N’Tiola, and Viper satellite pits to be fed to the re-commissioned mill for processing commencing May/June 2021; and 3. Morila Superpit pre-strip – provisionally planned to commence Q1 CY2022. Ore is scheduled to present Q2-Q3 CY2022.
The company said that the release of new Mineral Resources for the satellite deposits is a key step in the planning and scheduling of stage 2 in the Company’s plan for the ramp-up of production at Morila to its full capacity.
Management comments
Firefinch’s Managing Director Michael Anderson said: “This is an excellent outcome. We aimed to have sufficient satellite feed available to support operations in the lead up to accessing ore from the Morila Super Pit, and we have delivered. Our investment in intensive drilling across the known deposits has paid off with this substantial increase in Satellite Resources.
Importantly, we have a significant inventory of Measured and Indicated Resources on which to base our forthcoming Life of Mine Plan, the blueprint for the production ramp-up at Morila. Drilling is continuing and we are confident of adding further resources and reserves. I look forward to keeping shareholders informed of our progress.”
Image Source: Firefinch Limited
