Loncor Resources Inc (TSE:LN) (OTCQX:LONCF) (FRA:LO51) has hailed a 44% increase in the open pit inferred resource of its Adumbi deposit at the Imbo project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as it advances towards a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the asset.
Further drilling has now raised the resource at Adumbi by 44% to 3.15 million ounces of gold, compared to 2.19 million ounces in a 2020 report.
READ: Loncor Resources drills deepest hole on Adumbi deposit, revealing significant widths and gold grades in multiple zones
Loncor noted that 84.68% of this inferred resource was attributable to the company since it holds an 84.68% interest in the Imbo project on the Ngayu Belt.
"This major increase in mineral resources within a US$1,500 pit shell to 3.15 million ounces of gold is an important milestone in demonstrating the potential economic viability of the Adumbi deposit," said Loncor’s president Peter Cowley in a statement.
"Sensitivities show this mineral resource within the pit shell is robust and not markedly sensitive to changes in the gold price. Gold mineralization is open at depth below the pit shell, where drilling is continuing with the objective of outlining underground resources," he added.
Cowley also noted that drilling at Adumbi had shown that the grade was increasing at depth, which bodes well for a significant underground resource.
"Going forward, once drilling has been completed in Q2 2021, we will embark on a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) to determine the potential economic viability of Adumbi," he told investors.
The total inferred resource for Adumbi, according to the latest report, stands at 3.153 million ounces of gold at a grade of 2.37 grams per ton (g/t) from 41.316 million tonnes of material.
Drilling results from six core holes, for 2,557.25 meters (m), were incorporated into this resource, including intercepts of 20.33m of 2.47 g/t gold from 301.62m depth and 3.09m at 13.28 g/t gold from 335.75m depth.
The Adumbi deposit is found within Loncor’s Imbo project, which contains two other deposits, Kitenge and Manzako.
As a result of the increased resource at Adumbi, the total inferred resource at Imbo now stands at 3.466 million ounces of gold at 2.51 g/t gold, from 42.996 million tonnes of material.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com