Copper miner SolGold (SOLG) has published the long-awaited maiden resource statement on the Alpala section of its highly-prospective Cascabel project - and the boss says the numbers are much better than expected. Investors also seem pleased with the figures, given the miner’s share price rises 5.1% to 29.79p.
SolGold has reported 1.08bn tonnes at 0.68% copper equivalent, 40% of which is in the indicated resource category. Contained metal is 5.2m tonnes of copper and 12.3m ounces of gold, some 45% of which is within the indicated resource category.
The higher grade core has a resource of 120m tonnes at 1.8% copper equivalent, of which 60% is in the indicated resource category. Chief executive Nick Mather defines higher grade as being anything about 0.9%-1.1% copper equivalent grade.
For those unfamiliar with the mineral resource system, there are three categories. Inferred is where the grade and tonnage estimate is made at low confidence. Maiden resource statements are typically just in the inferred category.
An indicated resource is one where there is a reasonable level of confidence, although the continuity of the deposit is not verified.
A measured mineral resource is an economic deposit with a high level of geological confidence and confirmed geological continuity.
‘Today’s resource statement is bigger than I expected,’ Mather tells Shares. ‘I also didn’t expect 40% to 60% to be in the indicated status. Furthermore, there are a lot more drill results still to be set into the model.’
Mather says there are nearly 10,000 metres of drilling from which SolGold didn’t have results in time for today’s resource statement.
These will be inputted in the model, along with results from current drilling, and an updated resource statement published ‘as soon as possible’.
We recently published an analysis of SolGold’s investment case. You can read that article for free here.
‘This maiden mineral resource estimate is a tremendous start and in our view by no means represents a final size or grade because the deposit is still growing,’ adds Mather.
‘Unlike many producers, this project is unhedged to copper prices going into what we see as a copper bull market for some years to come.
‘Along with Cascabel’s extraordinary logistic and expected capital advantages in a progressive and constructive regulatory and fiscal environment plus the multiplicity of as yet untested targets, this all creates a very exciting outlook for SolGold.’
