Great Panther Mining Limited has its pedal to the metal developing the near-term and longer-term potential of the Tucano Gold Mine in Brazil, investors have been told.
Phase-2 drilling on the TAP C open pit has “further defined the continuity of mineralization for resource expansion”, the company said. Regional exploration, meanwhile, has identified a gold trend within a 20-km radius of Tucano, it added.
"One of the primary objectives of our exploration program at Tucano this year is to extend the open pit mine life, and I am pleased to report that our intention is to bring TAP C back into production in 2022 as the drilling has demonstrated continuity of mineralization at depth below the current pit floor," said Rob Henderson, Great Panther's chief executive in a statement.
The company's exploration team returned some eye-catching intercepts from TAP C, including four metres (m) at 13.7 grams per tonne (g/t) from 130m.
READ: Great Panther Mining announces unaudited second-quarter financial results
Turning to regional exploration. Great Panther said it is focused on identifying and fast-tracking gold targets within a 20 kilometre (km) radius of the mine. The goal is to define new resources that may be mined to complement the current ore reserves.
Multi-element soil geochemistry for the first regional grid, called Mutum, pointed to a continuous 3.8 km long elevated gold trend, Great Panther said.
In addition, the following perspective, regional exploration corridors have been covered by regional multi-element soil sampling grids: Mutum-Joseph, Lona Amarela, Eastern Mine Sequence, Janaina, Timbo and Jornal. Sampling has begun on the Village Antonio grid.
"The other main objectives at Tucano this year include extending the high-grade zones underground and defining the regional potential of our district-scale land package," said CEO Henderson. "Initial results from our regional exploration program are very promising as they confirm the potential surrounding Tucano and our ability to generate new quality targets through focused, systematic exploration."
“Drilling of new targets is planned for the fourth quarter of this year. Our immediate focus is making new discoveries within a 20 km radius of the mine. However, we believe that the greenstone belt has significant exploration upside, and our long-term objective is to make a major new discovery within our extensive tenement package," he added.
Contact the author at ian.lyall@proactiveinvestors.com