Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) has increased the Callion open pit mineral resource by 144% with this deposit forming a key part of the 1.99-million-ounce Davyhurst Gold Project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.
The mineral resource at Callion has been upgraded to 269,000 tonnes at 3.5 g/t for 30,000 ounces and includes an indicated resource of 241,000 tonnes at a higher grade of 3.7 g/t for 28,700 ounces.
This resource is up from the previous estimate of 169,000 tonnes at 2.6 g/t for 14,000 ounces of contained gold.
Shares have been more than 8% higher at 20 cents intra-day, double what they were at close on April 3.
Ora Banda managing director David Quinlivan said: “We were initially drawn to Callion due to its relatively high grades and impressive production history.
“The Callion mineral resource is the final resource to be evaluated as part of the company’s reserve definition program for the definitive feasibility study (DFS) and delivery of this study remains on schedule.”
Underground estimate
The Callion open pit mineral resource estimate has been derived following additional drilling and the application of various constraints including modifying factors such as a gold price of A$2,400 per ounce, a lower block cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t and a physically constrained area within an optimum A$2,400 per ounce open pit shell that extends to a depth of 85 metres.
Callion’s underground mineral resource estimate remains under development.
Reserve work in progress
This updated mineral resource, along with Callion’s underground mineral resource, follows the completion of a 66-drill hole program for 10,445 metres including 42 RC drill hole for 5,773 metres and 24 diamond drill holes for 4,672 metres.
Mine design work aimed at defining an open pit mining reserve is in progress.
The Callion deposit is one of five priority mining targets at the Davyhurst Project and is 13 kilometres southwest from the Davyhurst processing plant