Endeavour Mining Corporation (TSE:EDV) (OTCQX:EDVMF) announced Tuesday that it has boosted its resource at the Le Plaque deposit on the Ity mine by 43%.
The increase comes courtesy of the Le Plaque discovery on the property, where the indicated resource grew to 7.9 million tons at 2.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold for 689,000 ounces. An inferred resource stands at 800,000 tons at 2.1 g/t gold for 52,000 ounces.
Le Plaque remains open at depth and in multiple directions and further resources are expected to be delineated, according to the mining company.
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An updated reserve estimate on Le Plaque is planned for 3Q 2020 and will be integrated into the Ity mine plan, and the company is planning to drill an additional 15,000 metres throughout the remainder of the year, it said.
The results indicate potential for another significant discovery at the Côte d'Ivoire project, according to Patrick Bouisset, Endeavour’s executive vice president exploration and growth.
“We are leveraging the same strategy of intensive reconnaissance drilling to improve our understanding of the area before ramping up to resource delineation through infill drilling that we applied to the Ity Complex prior to 2018,” Bouisset said in a statement.
Only 35% of the drilling has been to delineate resources at Le Plaque, Bouisset told shareholders. “So far, our results have been outstanding, both in terms of the high-grade nature and mineralization extension,” he added.
“Looking ahead, we are excited by the upside potential of the Le Plaque deposit, which remains open at depth and in several directions, and by its neighbouring targets. We expect to continue to delineate resources and remain on track to achieve the 5-year exploration target which we set in 2016.”
Higher-grade material
The updated Le Plaque resource estimate increased Ity’s measured and indicated resources by 6% while adding higher-grade material.
Higher-grade material from Le Plaque should displace the lower-grade reserve material in the mining sequence in the near term, which will improve the mine’s cash flow generation, according to Bouisset. The company’s goal is to lock in a 10-plus year mine life at Ity, with annual production of 250,000 ounces per year.
Shares added 5.3% to C$35.32 in Toronto.
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