Pavon Central - which Calibre plans as its next high-grade open-pit mine - is on track to ramp up production in the first half of 2023 and recent results highlight high-grade drill results and the expansion of high-grade open-pit deposits, Calibre said.
The miner highlighted results from Pavon Central including:
- 5.08g/t (grammes per tonne) of gold over 7.6m ETW (estimated true width) from 72.7m
- 4.21g/t Au over 6.5m ETW from 32m
- 4.46g/t Au over 9.8m ETW from 94.6m
- 8.58g/t Au over 4.0m ETW from 145.3m
Highlights from Pavon South included:
- 11.56g/t Au over 12.4m ETW from 37.6m
- 4.08g/t Au over 2.3m ETW from 49.4m
- 3.04g/t Au over 28.4m ETW from 26.2m
- 11.75g/t Au over 3.9m ETW from 81.2m
"Successful gold production from Pavon Norte to our underutilised Libertad mill demonstrates the success of our expanding operating strategy to de-orphan satellite deposits to generate robust cash flows and extend mine life," Calibre's president and CEO, Darren Hall, said.
"The significantly higher reserve grade at Pavon Central, over that of Pavon Norte, is expected to positively contribute to 2023 and 2024 production growth while maintaining constant mining and hauling rates, leading to lower per ounce costs," he added.
Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets analyst Michael Fairbairn said the results from Pavon South were "particularly promising" given the high-grade, near-surface nature of the intercepts, while Pavon Central had the potential to expand the current resource along strike to the north and south.
"The results from today's release help to affirm the possibility of a life-of-mine extension at the Pavon Complex, providing an indication of the exploration potential that lies outside the current resource," he said.
Calibre said it's expecting to start mining Pavon Central in the first quarter of 2023.
Calibre's share price rose 3% day-on-day on March 23 to C$1.52/share (US$1.21/share). The company had a market capitalisation of C$671.22 million.
