...adds broker comments...
Aureus Mining (LON:AUE, TSE:AUE) today summed up the progress it made at its gold projects in Liberia and Cameroon during the first quarter and outlined its plans for the rest of the year.
One of the highlights of the quarter was the release of a maiden reserve estimate for the flagship New Liberty project in Liberia, which stood at 873,000 ounces at a grade of 3.1 grammes per tonne (g/t) gold.
The drill programme completed at New Liberty in the March quarter included 4,314 metres of exploration drilling and an additional 3,045 metres of infill drilling.
The definitive feasibility study for the project is due to be completed in the current quarter, while the company will continue processing the airborne and geophysics data obtained during the first three months of 2012.
The current reserves support an open pit operation with an average annual production rate of 1.1 million tonnes of ore over an eight year life with plant output averaging 123,000 ounces per annum over the first four years.
The first full year of production is scheduled to be 2014.
At the Ndablama prospect, which is also located in Liberia, the company kicked off a 22-hole phase two drill programme, which currently has four outstanding holes to be drilled during the current quarter.
A total of 433 drill core samples were submitted to the laboratory in the first quarter and results are awaited along with the results of nine holes from the phase one exploration campaign completed at the Leopard Rock project in Liberia.
In Cameroon, the company is planning an extensive exploration programme at its gold projects for this year, focusing on multiple soil anomalies along major mineralised structures.
The company, which is not in production and does not generate cash flows from operations, had US$25.85 million in the bank at the end of March.
Broker Shore Capital has upheld its ‘buy’ recommendation on Aureus on the back of the report.
Analyst Yuen Low said there were “no material surprised” in the update, while noting that the New Liberty environmental impact assessment should be completed during the second quarter this year.