Great Panther Mining Limited (TSX:GPR, NYSE:GPL) has reported its latest NI 43-101 compliant resource and reserve estimates for its Tucano gold mine in Brazil, which has seen a 65% increase in the open pit measured and indicated (M&I) resources.
The Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates (MRMR) has an effective date of July 31, 2021 and reflects the results from an additional 58,837 metres (m) of drilling up to the end of July, an increased gold price of US$1,650 per ounce (oz) for reserves and US$1,900/oz for resources, and an exchange rate of 5:1 Brazilian real to US dollar.
Total proven and probable (P&P) reserves for Tucano are now estimated to be 681,873 gold ounces, of which 371,541 gold ounces are open pit reserves, a 24% increase in P&P open pit reserves since the previously reported MRMR estimate, which had an effective date of September 30, 2020.
The total measured and indicated (M&I) resources, including reserves, now total 1.3 million gold ounces, of which 928,000 ounces are open pit M&I resources, a 65% increase since the 2020 MRMR, said Great Panther.
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"We have successfully replaced 2021 mining depletion and added another 1.5 years to the open pit mine life at Tucano," said Great Panther chair and interim CEO Alan Hair.
"The 2021 MRMR provides us with a higher level of confidence for future mine and operational planning and we are confident that, in parallel, we can unlock the larger potential of the region."
Great Panther noted it has now completed a 19,000m drilling campaign on the Urucum North underground project at Tucano and engineering studies are currently underway, after which historical reserves will be updated.
Hair added: "Going forward, a major objective is to progress the Urucum North underground project, with development scheduled for Q4 2022, while aggressively advancing opportunities for additional resource growth and mine life extension on multiple fronts.
"In the second half of the year, we will be actively drilling to increase resources within the mine sequence and on near mine (20-kilometre radius) priority targets in the extensive and under-explored regional land package," he said.
Great Panther is a precious metals producer focused on the Americas. It owns assets in Brazil, Mexico and Peru that include three gold and silver mines, an advanced development project, and a large land package with district-scale potential.
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com