Update To Boost Mongolian Mine Development BFS
Steppe Gold Ltd (TSX: STGO) updated independent Mineral Resource Estimate for its 100% owned ATO Gold Mine in Mongolia has doubled Resources to 2.45M oz of Au Eq, up from 1.22M oz Au Eq.
The ATO Gold Mine’s Measured and Indicated Resources (M&I) has been estimated at 41.6 Mt at average Au Eq grade of 1.67g/t. M&I resources show 1.39 M oz gold and 20.48M oz silver.
The increase in the M&I resource is due primarily to significant expansion through drilling at the ATO 4 Deposit and incorporation of a maiden resource at the Mungu Deposit.
President and CEO, Bataa Tumur-Ochir, said the new figures will form the basis of the upcoming bankable feasibility study (BFS) due out in Q2 2021.
“We are very pleased to report on the significant update of the resources at our 100% owned ATO Gold Mine,” Mr Tumur-Ochir said.
“Our drilling efforts since 2018 have clearly demonstrated the great promise shown for this project and the potential we saw at the outset. With production commenced in April 2020, we have proven the low-cost profile of the ATO Gold Mine with market low cash costs below $600/oz.
“This dramatic increase in the ATO resource further underpins the long life attributes of the project. Internal studies and our drilling analysis have long supported the growth potential of ATO Gold Mine and sampling during mining has also shown strong positive grade reconciliations. This resource update validates this.
“The new Resource supports our Phase 2 expansion Project and shows ample resources for a circa 2.5 Mt per annum fresh ore development.
“The Bankable Feasibility Study remains on schedule to be released Q2 2021 and we are optimistic that this study will bear out a robust economic result and a further 10 plus years of production at 150k oz Au Eq with a focus on the fresh rock ores.”
Executive Chairman, Matthew Wood, said the resource update is consistent with the strong results of definition and infill drilling programmes in the past three years.
“We are very pleased to see independent verification of the block model and zone extensions at ATO. I am particularly pleased to see the results at ATO 4 and the Mungu discovery and the high percentage of resources in the M&I category,” Mr Wood said.
“The resource interpretations also show further potential zone extensions, for which there are numerous targets. We plan to ramp up the exploration programme in 2021, with the aim of unlocking additional value on the ATO property with an internal target of 3 – 5 M oz across our licences.”
The updated mineral resource estimate includes drill data as of December 2020. It includes 55 drill holes for a total of 18,200m drilled in 2020. A total of 53,000m has been drilled since 2018. The drilling information was used to update the interpretation of the geologic model, geometry of the mineralised zones and domains resulting in a higher degree of confidence in the resource estimate.
