Robust Production for Third Quarter of 2023
Q3 2023 gold production 8,738 ounces, highest quarterly total; Palito resource increased 50% to 377,800 ounces.
vs expectations: on course to meet full year guidance of 33,500 to 35,000 ounces
- Q3 2023 gold production 8,738 ounces (prior 8,518 ounces (Q2 2023))
- Mined tonnage Q3 44,744 tonnes (prior 41,022 tonnes (Q2 2023))
- Average gold grade Q3 6.69 g/t (prior 6.68 g/t (Q2 2023))
- Palito M&I resource 377,800 ounces (prior 251,900 ounces (December 2021))
- Cash position US$15.3 million (prior US$13.3 million (30 June 2023))
- Year-to-date production 2023 25,262 ounces
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Serabi Gold plc (AIM: SRB, TSX: SBI), the Brazilian-focused gold mining and development company, is pleased to report operational results for the third quarter of 2023 and provide a review of its development and exploration activities.
QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Serabi’s operational improvement continues with third quarter gold production totalled 8,738 ounces, a 3% improvement on the second quarter in 2023 and the highest quarterly total for 2023.
Mined tonnage was 44,744 tonnes, the highest quarterly total for the year to date, with average grades of 6.69 g/t gold.
Palito mined grades for the quarter were the highest this year at 6.81 g/t gold.
Coringa mine development has continued to contribute significantly with mined grades of 5.99 g/t gold. The development ore transported to Palito plant contributed over 1,700 ounces of gold production for the quarter.
Significant increase in Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant resources for Palito (30 June 2023) confirms production longevity.
Measured and Indicated (“M&I”) resource of 377,800 ounces of contained gold, an increase of 50% compared with December 2021
Inferred resource of 153,900 ounces (682,400 tonnes at an average in-situ grade of 7.01 g/t).
93% increase in average reported grade of the M&I resources at Palito Complex from 5.23 g/t to 10.08g/t.
45% increase in average reported grade of the Inferred resource 4.83 g/t to 7.01g/t.
The Vale Exploration Alliance continues to progress well with over 11,400 metres of drilling, which included 20 holes now drilled at the Matilda Copper target. Other regional targets, Calico, Ganso, Forquilla and Cinderella have also had initial drill testing, with results still awaited.
Cash held on 30 September was US$15.3 million (US$14.7 million net of cash held under the Vale Exploration Alliance) compared to US$13.3 million as at 30 June 2023.
Net cash attributable to the Group has increased by US$2.4 million in the third quarter.
Mike Hodgson, CEO of Serabi, commented:
“An excellent third quarter of 8,738 ounces gold production, our best quarter of the year which builds on the previous two quarters and results in a total for the year of more than 25,000 ounces, keeping the company on course to meet its guidance for this year of between 33,500 to 35,000 ounces. Not only was it a good quarter for production, but our development rates also remained high, so critical for an underground operation, with approximately 3,000 metres of horizontal development reported.
“Coringa development continues to be very significant, now having contributed over 6,100 ounces of gold production this year. The Coringa orebody continues to exceed expectations with payability of the development remaining very high. Simplistically put, we encounter very limited low-grade or waste zones as we advance, and this means the amount of development we need to do per ounce of gold is lower than forecast. .
“The results of the updated geological resource announced on 6 October 2023 were excellent. The new geological resource at Palito also means that Serabi has achieved that milestone of breaking through a total mineral resource inventory of 1Moz of gold.
“This is also the first time a total mineral resource inventory at Palito has exceeded 500,000 ounces, and the grades in each category have improved significantly. These latest figures illustrate what a long life asset Palito can be. With a maiden global mineral resource in 2004 of 440,000 ounces mineral resource, and more than 400,000 ounces mined since that time, to still have a total mineral resource inventory of over 500,000 ounces, clearly demonstrates the geological potential of the deposit.
“We remain sharply focussed on building to the future which we believe looks very bright, particuarly the opportunity to unlock Coringa’s potential to deliver meaningful production and cash flow growth. This is coupled with our highly exciting exploration activities in the region. We look forward to providing further updates.”
OPERATIONAL RESULTS
Total production for the third quarter of 2023 was 8,738 ounces. Coringa contributed 1,713 ounces to this total.
Total ore mined from the Palito Complex during the quarter was 35,219 tonnes at 6.81 g/t compared to 31,652 tonnes at 6.68 g/t of gold for the second quarter of 2023. Palito grades of 6.81 g/t gold are the highest for the year to date. Most of the ore is being generated from the Ipe and Mogno veins, but development of the G3 North block has also now commenced. This looks very encouraging and is expected to be an increased source of production ounces in 2024-2025.
Development mining operations at Coringa generated a total of 9,525 tonnes at 5.99 g/t in the quarter. The Coringa ore is being derived from the development of the Serra orebody, part of the Coringa complex, from the 290 metre level and the recently intersected 260 metre level.
43,092 tonnes of ROM ore were processed through the Palito plant during the quarter, with an average grade of 6.72 g/t of gold, compared with 41,116 tonnes at 6.84 g/t in the second quarter of 2023. This included 8,577 tonnes of Coringa ore at a feed grade of 6.37 g/t gold.
A total of 2,923 metres of horizontal development has been completed across both sites. At Palito, 2,325 metres of horizontal development was recorded, of which 1,256 metres was ore development. The balance is the ramp, crosscuts and stope preparation development. Horizontal development at Coringa totalled 598 metres, of which 268 metres was in ore.
SUMMARY PRODUCTION STATISTICS FOR 2023 AND 2022
| Qtr 1 | Qtr 2 | Qtr 3 | YTD | Qtr 1 | Qtr 2 | Qtr 3 | Qtr 4 | Full Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 | ||
| Group | ||||||||||
| Gold production (1)(2) | Ounces | 8,005 | 8,518 | 8,738 | 25,262 | 7,062 | 8,418 | 8,542 | 7,798 | 31,819 |
| Mined ore | Tonnes | 41,546 | 41,022 | 44,744 | 127,312 | 40,606 | 44,008 | 46,863 | 42,264 | 173,741 |
| Gold grade (g/t) | 6.49 | 6.94 | 6.64 | 6.69 | 5.95 | 6.26 | 6.22 | 6.01 | 6.14 | |
| Milled ore | Tonnes | 39,004 | 41,116 | 43,092 | 123,213 | 41,357 | 43,488 | 44,867 | 42,692 | 172,404 |
| Gold grade (g/t) | 6.75 | 6.84 | 6.72 | 6.77 | 5.72 | 6.43 | 6.34 | 6.05 | 6.14 | |
| Palito Complex | ||||||||||
| Gold production (1)(2) | Ounces | 5,776 | 6,332 | 7,025 | 19,134 | 7,062 | 8,418 | 7,972 | 7,355 | 30,807 |
| Mined ore | Tonnes | 31,705 | 31,652 | 35,219 | 96,562 | 40,606 | 44,008 | 43,180 | 38,293 | 163,506 |
| Gold grade (g/t) | 6.14 | 6.68 | 6.81 | 6.62 | 5.84 | 6.26 | 6.28 | 6.20 | 6.15 | |
| Milled ore | Tonnes | 31,273 | 31,620 | 34,515 | 95,557 | 41,357 | 43,488 | 42,257 | 39,573 | 165,502 |
| Gold grade (g/t) | 6.14 | 6.67 | 6.81 | 6.61 | 5.72 | 6.43 | 6.30 | 6.17 | 6.14 | |
| Horizontal development | Metres | 2,011 | 2,469 | 2,325 | 6,805 | 2,938 | 3,353 | 2,458 | 2,245 | 10,994 |
| Coringa | ||||||||||
| Gold production (1)(2) | Ounces | 2229 | 2186 | 1713 | 6,128 | 570 | 443 | 1,013 | ||
| Mined ore | Tonnes | 9841 | 9,370 | 9,525 | 28,736 | 3,683 | 3,971 | 7,654 | ||
| Gold grade (g/t) | 7.63 | 7.83 | 5.99 | 7.15 | 5.46 | 4.15 | 4.78 | |||
| Milled ore | Tonnes | 7731 | 9215 | 8577 | 25,523 | 2,610 | 3,119 | 5,729 | ||
| Gold grade (g/t) | 9.22 | 7.59 | 6.37 | 7.67 | 7.00 | 4.58 | 5.68 | |||
| Horizontal development | Metres | 453 | 508 | 598 | 1,559 | 212 | 302 | 632 | 645 | 1,791 |
- The table may not sum due to rounding.
- Production numbers are subject to change pending final assay analysis from refineries.
CORINGA LICENCING
In July 2023, the Company signed an agreement with the indigenous communities around Coringa. This has resulted in a six-month suspension of a prior court decision which restricted the ability of government agencies to issue new permits at Coringa before an indigenous study report (“ECI”) was completed and fully accepted. This July agreement confirmed the willingness of all stakeholders to see the project progress. The ECI will be followed by a Plano Basico Ambiental (PBA) which will define the community programmes that the Company will undertake over the life of the project. The intention is that the ECI and PBA completion can be achieved in this six month suspension period. Completion of the ECI itself, will allow the court process to be extinguished and clear the way for the Installation License (“LI”) to be granted.
EXPLORATION UPDATE
The Vale Exploration Alliance continues to progress well with multiple exploration activities ongoing across a number of key target areas of the Palito tenement package, including over 11,400 metres of surface drilling now completed. Results of the first 7 holes so far received of the initial 20 holes drilled at the Matilda copper target, have been very encouraging. Holes 4 and 6 are the highlight holes, with hole 4 recording an intersection of 0.49% Cu over 60 metres. Assay results from the remaining holes are eagerly awaited. During the quarter a terrestrial Induced Polarisation (“IP”) geophysics programme over the Matilda target was commenced, which encompasses the drilled area to date and beyond.
Three contractor diamond drill rigs are in operation, having completed a total of 11,400 metres out of 14,000 metres planned. 20 holes out of this total have been drilled at Coringa from 2 rigs, testing the Matilda copper porphyry target.
As reported in September 2023, results for the first seven holes have been received, with the highlight holes being:
23-MT-004 reporting 59.45m @ 0.49% Cu and 0.13 ppm Au from 29.85m (including 6.93m @ 0.95% Cu and 0.28 ppm Au from 78m)
23-MT-006 (full results) – 13.81m @ 0.47% Cu and 0.10 ppm Au from 200.95m
40km of IP is ongoing at Matilda. The IP lines are covering the initial drilling and beyond, with the lines initially at 400 metre spacing. The objective is to calibrate IP anomalies with drill results, in order to better target the next phase of drilling.
Samples from the remaining holes have been sent to an independent laboratory for multi-element assays.
Drilling has also been undertaken on the Ganso, Calico and Cinderella targets.
Systematic Auger drilling is being undertaken with 842 metres out of a programme of 1,725 metres completed.
A total of 5,500 soil samples are programmed in regional grids of 400 to 800 metres x 100 metres for completion by year end. To date 71% of the programme has been executed with samples sent for assaying. Soils are being initially tested with a hand-held XRF (X-ray fluorescence) and delivering some interesting results. Following the receipt of results from the external laboratory, further mapping activities and a drilling programme will be considered.
FINANCE UPDATE
Cash balances at the end of September 2023 were US$15.3 million which includes US$0.6 million of funds held for the Vale Exploration Alliance. This compares with a cash balance of US$13.3 million as at 30 June 2023 and US$7.2 million at the end of December 2022. Cash directly attributable to the Group was US$14.7 million at 30 September an increase of US$7.5 million during the first nine months of the year.
| “ Ag ” | means silver. |
| “ Au ” | means gold. |
| “ CIM ” | means the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. |
| “ chalcopyrit e” | is a sulphide of copper and iron. |
| “ Cu ” | means copper. |
| “garimpo” | is a local artisanal mining operation |
| “ garimpeiro ” | is a local artisanal miner. |
| “ gossan ” | is an iron-bearing weathered product that overlies a sulphide deposit. |
| “ g/t ” | means grams per tonne. |
| “granodiorite” | is an igneous intrusive rock like granite. |
| “ hectare ” or a “ ha ” | is a unit of measurement equal to 10,000 square metres. |
| “igneous” | is a rock that has solidified from molten material or magma. |
| “intrusive” | is a body of rock that invades older rocks. |
| "Inferred Mineral Resource” | An Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated based on limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that most of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. |
| “ mineralised ” | refers to rock which contains minerals e.g., iron, copper, gold. |
| “Mo-Bi-As-Te-W-Sn” | Molybdenum-Bismuth-Arsenic-Tellurium-Tungsten-Tin |
| “ mt ” | means million tonnes. |
| “ oxides ” | are near surface bedrock which has been weathered and oxidised by long term exposure to the effects of water and air. |
| “ ppm ” | means parts per million. |
| “ saprolite ” | is a weathered or decomposed clay-rich rock. |
| “ sulphide ” | refers to minerals consisting of a chemical combination of sulphur with a metal. |
Assay Results
Assay results reported within this release include those provided by the Company's own on-site laboratory facilities at Palito and have not yet been independently verified. Serabi closely monitors the performance of its own facility against results from independent laboratory analysis for quality control purpose. As a matter of normal practice, the Company sends duplicate samples derived from a variety of the Company's activities to accredited laboratory facilities for independent verification. Since mid-2019, over 10,000 exploration drill core samples have been assayed at both the Palito laboratory and certified external laboratory, in most cases the ALS laboratory in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. When comparing significant assays with grades exceeding 1 g/t gold, comparison between Palito versus external results record an average over-estimation by the Palito laboratory of 6.7% over this period. Based on the results of this work, the Company's management are satisfied that the Company's own facility shows sufficiently good correlation with independent laboratory facilities for exploration drill samples. The Company would expect that in the preparation of any future independent Reserve/Resource statement undertaken in compliance with a recognized standard, the independent authors of such a statement would not use Palito assay results without sufficient duplicates from an appropriately certificated laboratory.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.