LONDON, ENGLAND--(Marketwired - Sep 9, 2013) - Condor Gold PLC ("Condor'' or "the Company") (CNR.L), a gold exploration company focused on delineating a large commercial reserve on its 100%-owned La India Project in Nicaragua, which hosts a CIM compliant Mineral Resource of 2.4 Million oz gold at 4.6g/t, is pleased to announce the completion of a 23,598m drilling programme on La India Project. The total drilled by Condor and previous explorers on La India Project now stands at 61,800m. When all assay results have been returned mineral resource updates, with an emphasis on defining open pit resources will be completed on the La India and America Vein Sets, and a maiden mineral resource will be estimated for the Central Breccia Prospect.
Highlights
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23,598m drilling programme completed on La India Project since November 2012 including:
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13,956m drilling programme completed on La India Open Pit resource aimed at proving over 1M oz gold in the Indicated Category ahead of a PFS.
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1836m geotechnical drilling programme designed to increase pit angle used in PEA. Report due in September 2013.
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5,486m drilling programme on America Vein Set, all assay results received.
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2,680m drilling on Central Breccia Prospect, all assay results received.
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Gold Mineral Resource update due by 31st October 2013.
Mark Child, Chairman and CEO commented:
"Condor has completed a 23,598m drilling programme on La India Project since November 2012, bringing the total drilled by Condor to 43,697m and by Condor and previous explorers to 61,800m. Infill drilling from the recently completed 13,465m, brings the total drilled to 33,954m within La India Open Pit area. The results show continuity of gold mineralization and grade. Drilling within the high grade ore shoots returned some of the best intercepts to date. See tables 1 and 2 below.
The focus of the recent drilling has been to prove over 1M oz gold in the Indicated category in high grade open pit resources, while maintaining circa 200,000 oz gold in the Indicated category in underground resources in preparation for a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"). A resource update for La India Project is scheduled to be completed by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd by the end of October 2013."
Since the last gold mineral resource update was announced in September 2012 Condor has completed over 162 drill holes for 23,598m of drilling on the Company's flagship La India Project. The total drilled by Condor and previous explorers on La India Project now stands at 61,800m. The majority of the recent drilling has been infill drilling on the La India Open Pit area designed to convert potentially open-pittable Inferred resource ounces to the more confident Indicated category. Smaller exploration drilling programmes have also been completed on the America Vein Set and Central Breccia Prospect designed to test for open pit potential and increase the overall size of the gold resource at La India Project. Since the drilling campaign started in November 2012 a total of 162 drill holes for 23,598m drilling has been completed with up to 5 drilling rigs working simultaneously: 21,558m of diamond core has been collected, the balance being RC drilling. All drilling rigs have now been demobilised.
Assay results have been received for all but two of the 85 holes drilled on La India and all of those drilled on America and the Central Breccia. The best intercepts for the recent drilling programme are listed in Tables 2 and 4 below, whereas Tables 1 and 3 and 5 show the best intercepts of all drilling to date by Condor and previous explorers on each of the prospect areas.
| Table 1. Top ten drill intercepts on La India Open Pit area from 186 drillholes for 33,954m drilled to date by Condor and previous explorers. | |||||||||
| Rank | Hole_ID | From | To | Drill Width | True Width | Gold | Silver | Vein | |
| 1 | LIDC109 | 173.15 | 185.35 | 12.20 | 10.8 | 34.79 | 27.3 | India | |
| 2 | LIDC121 | 111.25 | 117.90 | 6.65 | 6.0 | 32.23 | 39.5 | India | |
| 3 | LIRC105 | 25.00 | 51.00 | 26.00 | 25.1 | 7.73 | 11.1 | India | |
| 4 | LIDC152 | 193.80 | 214.88 | 21.08 | 16.1 | 10.24 | 7.8 | India | |
| 5 | LIDC239 | 14.40 | 19.20 | 4.80 | 4.4 | 37.24 | 120.3 | India hangingwall | |
| 6 | LIRC120 | 97.00 | 108.00 | 11.00 | 11.0 | 10.45 | 11.1 | India | |
| 7 | LIRC102 | 0.00 | 16.00 | 16.00 | 15.5 | 7.39 | 12.3 | India hangingwall | |
| 8 | LIDC193 | 20.70 | 27.50 | 6.80 | 6.5 | 13.99 | 21.8 | India | |
| 9 | LIDC132 | 1.00 | 8.00 | 7.00 | 6.8 | 12.48 | 11.9 | India footwall | |
| 10 | LIRC240 | 4.00 | 25.00 | 21.00 | 20.3 | 3.33 | 5.2 | India hangingwall | |
True width is based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future. Top ten intercepts ranked by grade multiplied by true width.
| Table 2. Top twenty drill intercepts on La India Open Pit area from 13,465m out of the 13,956m infill drill holes completed since September 2012. | |||||||||
| Rank | Hole_ID | From (m) | To (m) | Drill Width (m) | True Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Vein | |
| 1 | LIDC239 | 14.40 | 19.20 | 4.80 | 4.4 | 37.24 | 120.3 | India hangingwall | |
| 2 | LIDC193 | 20.70 | 27.50 | 6.80 | 6.5 | 13.99 | 21.8 | India | |
| 3 | LIDC170 | 98.10 | 123.90 | 18.00 | 16.4 | 4.18 | 5.1 | amalgamated India remnant wallrock | |
| 4 | LIRC240 | 4.00 | 25.00 | 21.00 | 20.3 | 3.33 | 5.2 | India hangingwall | |
| 5 | LIDC165 | 103.35 | 124.60 | 11.95 | 11.1 | 5.72 | 7.4 | amalgamated India remnant wallrock | |
| 6 | LIDC161 | 138.20 | 148.20 | 17.15 | 14.6 | 4.16 | 4.7 | amalgamated India remnant wallrock | |
| 7 | LIDC308 | 194.90 | 214.10 | 19.20 | 14.7 | 3.60 | 10.7 | India upper | |
| 8 | LIDC315 | 141.90 | 146.85 | 4.95 | 4.3 | 12.25 | 16.6 | India | |
| 9 | LIDC183 | 50.74 | 93.10 | 41.26 | 35.7 | 1.41 | 2.0 | amalgamated India remnant wallrock | |
| 10 | LIDC239 | 19.70 | 31.10 | 11.40 | 10.3 | 3.60 | 6.0 | India footwall | |
| 11 | LIDC251 | 140.90 | 153.65 | 12.75 | 11.7 | 3.12 | 6.8 | India upper | |
| 12 | LIDC172 | 100.50 | 117.65 | 17.15 | 15.5 | 2.21 | 8.0 | India lower | |
| 13 | LIDC171 | 104.90 | 107.78 | 2.88 | 2.8 | 12.16 | 15.0 | India | |
| 14 | LIDC176 | 7.80 | 24.70 | 16.90 | 9.7 | 3.49 | 18.3 | California | |
| 15 | LIDC284 | 129.20 | 141.80 | 12.60 | 11.8 | 2.86 | 3.3 | India lower | |
| 16 | LIDC313 | 220.25 | 226.75 | 6.50 | 5.0 | 6.72 | 16.1 | India | |
| 17 | LIDC232 | 177.80 | 194.02 | 14.22 | 13.3 | 2.30 | 2.4 | India wallrock amalgamated | |
| 18 | LIDC312 | 167.25 | 177.50 | 10.25 | 7.9 | 3.85 | 9.1 | India upper | |
| 19 | LIDC307 | 202.10 | 217.20 | 15.10 | 13.7 | 2.07 | 13.8 | India | |
| 20 | LIRC244 | 15.00 | 40.00 | 25.00 | 24.1 | 1.17 | 4.4 | India | |
True width is based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future. Top twenty intercepts ranked by grade multiplied by true width.
| Table 3. Top ten drill intercepts on America Vein Set from 90 drillholes for 11,515m drilled to date by Condor and previous explorers. | |||||||||
| Rank | Hole_ID | From (m) | To (m) | Drill Width (m) | True Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Vein | |
| 1 | LIDC280 | 145.85 | 154.20 | 8.35 | 7.8 | 5.28 | 6.6 | America | |
| 2 | LIRC215 | 13.00 | 32.00 | 19.00 | 18.7 | 1.98 | 2.5 | Escondido Upper | |
| 3 | LIDC211 | 174.00 | 192.80 | 18.80 | 18.5 | 1.53 | 1.8 | Am-Esc hangingwall | |
| 4 | LIDC179 | 92.85 | 105.60 | 4.65 | 4.4 | 6.11 | 3.3 | Constancia-Escondido intersection | |
| 5 | LIDC275 | 2.70 | 13.10 | 10.40 | 1.8 | 14.05 | 40.8 | Constancia | |
| 6 | LIDC216 | 112.80 | 114.60 | 1.80 | 1.8 | 13.31 | 8.0 | America | |
| 7 | P040 | 93.80 | 98.10 | 4.30 | 3.1 | 6.81 | 18.0 | Guapinol | |
| 8 | LIDC023 | 62.30 | 65.30 | 3.00 | 2.3 | 8.52 | 2.4 | Constancia | |
| 9 | LIRC215 | 38.00 | 48.00 | 10.00 | 9.8 | 1.70 | 2.2 | Escondido Lower | |
| 10 | LIRC190 | 34.00 | 37.00 | 3.00 | 2.8 | 5.67 | 6.5 | America | |
True width is based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future. Top twenty intercepts ranked by grade multiplied by true width.
| Table 4. Best drill intercepts on the America Vein Set from the 5486m drill holes completed since September 2012. | |||||||||
| Rank | Hole_ID | From (m) | To (m) | Drill Width (m) | True Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Vein | |
| 1 | LIDC280 | 145.85 | 154.20 | 8.35 | 7.8 | 5.28 | 6.6 | America | |
| 2 | LIRC215 | 13.00 | 32.00 | 19.00 | 18.7 | 1.98 | 2.5 | America-Escondido Upper | |
| 3 | LIDC211 | 174.00 | 192.80 | 18.80 | 18.5 | 1.53 | 1.8 | America-Escondido hangingwall | |
| 4 | LIDC179 | 92.85 | 105.60 | 4.65 | 4.4 | 6.11 | 3.3 | Constancia-Escondido intersection | |
| 5 | LIDC275 | 2.70 | 13.10 | 10.40 | 1.8 | 14.05 | 40.8 | Constancia | |
| 6 | LIDC216 | 112.80 | 114.60 | 1.80 | 1.8 | 13.31 | 8.0 | America | |
True width is based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future. Top six intercepts ranked by grade multiplied by true width.
| Table 5. Top five drill intercepts on Central Breccia from 17 drillholes for 2,669m drilled to date by Condor. | |||||||||
| Rank | Hole_ID | From (m) | To (m) | Drill Width (m) | True Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Vein | |
| 1 | LIDC097 | 46.30 | 60.00 | 13.70 | 8.8 | 6.70 | 4.9 | ||
| 2 | LIDC101 | 56.35 | 102.15 | 45.80 | 11.9 | 4.24 | 3.5 | ||
| 3 | LIDC295 | 29.06 | 70.90 | 41.84 | 26.9 | 1.38 | 1.8 | ||
| 4 | LIDC099 | 46.68 | 85.38 | 38.70 | 24.9 | 1.28 | 2.2 | ||
| 5 | LIDC297 | 33.72 | 109.50 | 75.78 | 37.9 | 0.79 | 1.5 | ||
True width is based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future. Top five intercepts ranked by grade multiplied by true width.
La India Vein Set hosts a resource of 12Mt at 4.0g/t for 1.5 Million oz gold including an open pit resource of 8.21 million tonnes at 3.6g/t for 954,000 oz gold of which 534,000 oz gold at 3.9 g/t is in the Indicated Category and 420,000 oz gold at 3.3g/t in the Inferred Category. Of the underground resource 97,000 oz of the underground resource is Indicated with the balance Inferred. Based on the September 2012 mineral resource a Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA' - see announcement dated 5th March 2013) suggested that an 800k oz gold open pit was potentially feasible using a conservative assumption of 40-42° pit slope angles.
Since the PEA was completed a further 85 drill holes for 13,956m of infill, and depth and strike extension drilling have been completed at 50m drill spacing which combined with underground grade control samples from the historic mine is considered sufficient to provide Indicated level of confidence in the next Mineral Resource update. In addition, 11 drill holes for 1,836m of drilling have been completed to provide geotechnical data, for a total of 96 drill holes for 15,792m. The geotechnical drilling will contribute data towards the calculation of a more accurate pit slope angle for use in an updated Whittle pit model. A report on the results of the geotechnical drilling programme will be announced in September 2013. The infill resource drilling will allow the entire open pit resource to be estimated at the more confident Indicated category required for inclusion in an open pit mining pre-feasibility study.
The 50m spaced drilling grid has been extended beyond the 800k oz gold open pit shell used in the PEA in order to accommodate a potentially larger open pit should the geotechnical study demonstrate that steeper pit walls than those assumed for the PEA are feasible, and also to accommodate potential improvements in the mineral resource as a result of the latest drilling. A Whittle Pit model, incorporating the ongoing geotechnical study, will be included in the next resource update in order to determine how much of the resource will be assigned open pit parameters. The latest drilling programme is expected to increase the Indicated resource at La India Open Pit to over 1M oz gold.
In addition to simply converting Inferred resource into the Indicated category the latest drilling programme was also designed to test for additional resource ounces by drilling along strike of a high-grade zone of gold mineralisation defined at depths of between 80m and 200m below surface at the southern end of the India-California structure where the gold mineralisation remains open and untested.
Assay results have been received for all but two of the drill holes, accounting for 15,301m of the drilling programme. Results for the latest 23 drill holes for 6,307m which have been received since the last drilling update announced in July are presented in the table below. Intercepts generally confirm the geological model used in the current Inferred mineral resource with a best intercept of 19.20m (14.7m true width) at 3.60g/t gold in the Central North high-grade shoot (drill hole LIDC308). The drilling programme includes converting lower grade zones such as the 500-550 cross-sections in the South and the 1400 cross-section in the North to the Indicated category since they fall within the influence of the open pit.
| Table 6. Significant drill intercepts for the latest 23 drill holes for 6,307m of the current drill programme on the India-California veins. | |||||||||
| Prospect | Drill hole ID | From | To | Drill Width | True Width | Au (ppm) | Ag (ppm) | Vein | |
| Central-North | LIDC289B | 120.10 | 148.55 | 28.45 | 21.8 | 0.97 | 2.2 | India | |
| 1100 | including | 127.70 | 131.40 | 3.70 | 2.8 | 3.08 | 3.5 | ||
| North | LIDC292 | 46.00 | 48.60 | 2.60 | 2.5 | - | - | mine cavity | |
| 1750 | 61.00 | 61.70 | 0.70 | 0.7 | 0.84 | 1.1 | India | ||
| North | LIDC294 | 147.85 | 149.05 | 1.20 | 1.1 | 3.46 | 11.2 | Cal 2 | |
| 1450 | 185.30 | 190.95 | 5.65 | 5.1 | 0.81 | 3.1 | Cal 1 | ||
| 205.20 | 206.30 | 1.10 | 1.0 | 2.70 | 21.9 | India upper | |||
| 215.70 | 217.85 | 2.15 | 1.9 | 6.96 | 5.7 | India lower | |||
| Central-North | LIDC296 | 98.00 | 99.60 | 1.60 | 1.4 | 0.82 | 0.7 | Cal 4 | |
| 1050 | 106.40 | 107.70 | 1.30 | 1.1 | 1.78 | 2.9 | Cal 3 | ||
| 133.20 | 134.80 | 1.60 | 1.4 | 7.99 | 11.7 | Cal 2 | |||
| 141.10 | 142.69 | 1.59 | 1.3 | 3.30 | 5.6 | Cal 1 | |||
| 170.70 | 171.30 | 0.60 | 0.5 | 3.02 | 9.2 | India | |||
| South 100 | LIDC300 | 158.45 | 161.20 | 2.75 | 2.3 | 0.89 | 1.2 | India | |
| Central-Centre | LIDC301 | 77.00 | 78.40 | 1.40 | 1.1 | 1.66 | 3.8 | Cal 2 | |
| 1000 | 89.60 | 91.50 | 1.90 | 1.6 | 1.30 | 5.2 | Cal 1 | ||
| 147.65 | 147.95 | 0.30 | 0.2 | 1.31 | 2.4 | India upper 3 | |||
| 160.80 | 161.30 | 0.50 | 0.4 | 1.04 | 3.8 | India upper 2 | |||
| 168.00 | 168.60 | 0.60 | 0.5 | 1.39 | 1.0 | India upper | |||
| 169.85 | 172.60 | 2.75 | 2.3 | 0.79 | 1.5 | India middle | |||
| 182.30 | 183.10 | 0.80 | 0.7 | 6.94 | 3.2 | India lower | |||
| North 1500 | LIDC302 | 185.85 | 189.80 | 3.95 | 3.8 | 2.31 | 2.7 | India upper | |
| 200.30 | 200.90 | 0.60 | 0.6 | 1.05 | 1.4 | India lower | |||
| Central-Centre | LIDC303 | 114.80 | 119.40 | 4.60 | 4.2 | 3.88 | 14.7 | Cal 1 | |
| 950 | 130.30 | 132.80 | 2.50 | 2.3 | 1.82 | 2.2 | India upper | ||
| 152.50 | 153.10 | 0.60 | 0.5 | 2.28 | 1.5 | India mid 2 | |||
| 163.60 | 164.80 | 1.20 | 1.1 | 1.47 | 1.0 | India mid 1 | |||
| 194.40 | 194.75 | 0.35 | 0.3 | 0.66 | 1.7 | India lower | |||
| North 1400 | LIDC304 | 80.70 | 81.74 | 1.04 | 1.0 | 0.68 | 2.1 | Cal 1 | |
| 158.00 | 163.50 | 5.50 | 5.2 | 0.62 | 2.0 | India upper | |||
| 168.50 | 170.50 | 2.00 | 1.9 | 0.00 | 0.0 | mine cavity | |||
| 172.60 | 173.30 | 0.70 | 0.7 | 1.01 | 2.3 | India footwall | |||
| Central South | LIDC305 | 111.60 | 112.00 | 0.40 | 0.4 | 1.36 | 2.9 | Cal 1 | |
| 450 | 133.00 | 139.40 | 6.40 | 6.0 | 3.35 | 3.3 | India | ||
| South 300 | LIDC306 | 179.70 | 180.55 | 0.85 | 0.5 | 1.46 | 2.8 | Cal 2 | |
| 184.25 | 184.45 | 0.20 | 0.1 | 2.24 | 2.4 | Cal 1 | |||
| 201.70 | 203.65 | 1.95 | 1.1 | 8.70 | 12.0 | India hangingwall | |||
| 203.65 | 204.45 | 0.80 | 0.5 | - | - | mine cavity | |||
| Central South 650 | LIDC307 | 202.10 | 217.20 | 15.10 | 13.7 | 2.07 | 13.8 | India | |
| Central-North | LIDC308 | 49.80 | 57.20 | 7.40 | 5.7 | 2.79 | 3.8 | Cal 4 | |
| 1200 | 56.40 | 57.20 | 0.80 | 0.6 | 18.19 | 16.2 | Cal 4 | ||
| 144.70 | 145.00 | 0.30 | 0.2 | 1.16 | 1.0 | Cal 3 | |||
| 150.50 | 152.00 | 1.50 | 1.1 | 4.24 | 4.0 | Cal 2 | |||
| 157.10 | 161.10 | 4.00 | 3.1 | 2.87 | 23.0 | Cal 1 | |||
| 194.90 | 214.10 | 19.20 | 14.7 | 3.60 | 10.7 | India upper | |||
| including | 196.10 | 205.60 | 9.50 | 7.3 | 6.82 | 19.3 | |||
| 221.80 | 225.40 | 3.60 | 2.8 | 4.09 | 5.6 | India lower | |||
| Central South | LIDC309 | 118.55 | 118.75 | 0.20 | 0.2 | 1.92 | 1.5 | Cal 2 | |
| 500 | 132.30 | 133.10 | 0.80 | 0.7 | 0.98 | 1.1 | Cal 1 | ||
| 147.20 | 148.50 | 1.30 | 1.2 | - | - | mine cavity | |||
| 148.50 | 151.40 | 2.90 | 2.6 | 4.96 | 6.5 | India footwall | |||
| South 200 | LIDC310 | 203.75 | 204.05 | 0.30 | 0.2 | 2.33 | 2.4 | Cal 1 | |
| 210.30 | 220.90 | 10.60 | 8.4 | 1.27 | 2.3 | India | |||
| including | 216.55 | 217.75 | 1.20 | 0.9 | 5.74 | 10.6 | |||
| Central South | LIDC311 | 135.75 | 137.00 | 1.25 | 1.2 | 0.52 | 1.1 | Cal 1 | |
| 600 | 197.00 | 213.85 | 16.85 | 15.8 | 1.41 | 2.3 | India | ||
| Including | 197.00 | 197.70 | 0.70 | 0.7 | 1.76 | 1.2 | |||
| Including | 201.35 | 202.23 | 0.88 | 0.8 | 1.49 | 1.6 | |||
| including | 207.70 | 213.85 | 6.15 | 5.8 | 3.25 | 5.2 | |||
| South 250 | LIDC312 | 148.10 | 148.45 | 0.35 | 0.3 | 1.78 | 3.9 | Cal 2 | |
| 162.60 | 163.00 | 0.40 | 0.3 | 1.51 | 0.5 | Cal 1 | |||
| 167.25 | 177.50 | 10.25 | 7.9 | 3.85 | 9.1 | India upper | |||
| including | 168.80 | 172.90 | 4.10 | 3.1 | 8.18 | 16.0 | |||
| 181.60 | 182.60 | 1.00 | 0.8 | 1.26 | 0.9 | India lower | |||
| Central North | LIDC313 | 124.10 | 124.30 | 0.20 | 0.2 | 1.01 | 2.7 | Cal 5 | |
| 1150 | 138.10 | 139.50 | 1.40 | 1.1 | 0.86 | 2.7 | Cal 4 | ||
| 143.70 | 145.10 | 1.40 | 1.1 | 1.30 | 1.9 | Cal 3 | |||
| 174.60 | 176.30 | 1.70 | 1.3 | 1.25 | 2.0 | Cal 2 | |||
| 187.60 | 191.75 | 4.15 | 3.2 | 2.73 | 4.8 | Cal 1 | |||
| 220.25 | 226.75 | 6.50 | 5.0 | 6.72 | 16.1 | India | |||
| including | 221.80 | 223.60 | 1.80 | 1.4 | 22.08 | 45.7 | |||
| Centre South | LIDC314 | 134.30 | 136.70 | 2.40 | 2.2 | 0.46 | 0.8 | Cal 1 | |
| 550 | 157.60 | 157.90 | 0.30 | 0.3 | 0.89 | 1.3 | India upper hangingwall | ||
| 157.90 | 159.10 | 1.20 | 1.1 | 0.00 | 0.0 | mine cavity | |||
| 164.20 | 171.80 | 7.60 | 6.9 | 0.40 | 1.0 | India lower | |||
| South 150 | LIDC315 | 141.90 | 146.85 | 4.95 | 4.3 | 12.25 | 16.6 | India | |
| Centre South | LIDC316 | 133.90 | 134.05 | 0.15 | 0.1 | 1.05 | 8.0 | Cal 1 | |
| 450 | 163.70 | 171.00 | 7.30 | 6.6 | 1.82 | 4.7 | India | ||
| Centre Central | LIDC317 | 95.80 | 102.80 | 7.00 | 6.7 | 3.32 | 9.8 | Cal 2 | |
| 850 | 125.00 | 125.40 | 0.40 | 0.4 | 1.30 | 6.3 | Cal 1 | ||
| 141.70 | 146.90 | 5.20 | 4.9 | 1.85 | 3.6 | India | |||
| Centre South | LIDC318 | 168.00 | 168.90 | 0.90 | 0.8 | 1.80 | 1.4 | Cal 2 | |
| 500 | 177.10 | 178.70 | 1.60 | 1.5 | 1.24 | -0.1 | Cal 1 | ||
| 188.50 | 195.20 | 6.70 | 6.1 | 1.80 | 1.8 | India | |||
True width is an interpretation based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future.
America Vein Set. All assay results have been returned for the 50 drill holes for 5486m drilling programme completed on the America Vein Set, which was initiated in December 2012 and completed in July this year. The America Vein Set contains 2.11Mt at 6.0g/t for 405,000 oz gold, of which 288,000 oz gold is in the interconnected America-Constancia-Escondido veins which were exploited through underground shrinkage-stopage mining between 1938 and 1956 with an estimated 40% of the total gold production from the La India Mining District, equivalent to approximately 250,000 oz gold at 13.5g/t extracted by selective mining of the high-grade core of the veins.
The drilling programme targeted remnant gold mineralisation in the wallrock of the historic mine workings with a focus on the structurally complex zone where the Constancia veins intercept a 60° flexure in the America-Escondido Vein. The development of wider veins and quartz breccia zones at this structurally complex zone has resulted in some wider zones of gold mineralisation and so drilling on a 50m spacing was continued to a depth of over 300m down-dip from surface in order to better test this zone. Since the last drilling update assay results have been returned for the final 5 holes drilled on the edge and at depth on the America-Escondido flexure zone, presented in the table below.
| Table 7. Significant drill intercepts for the latest 5 drill holes for 965m of the current drill programme on the America Vein Set. | |||||||||
| Prospect | Drill hole ID | From | To | Drill Width | True Width | Au (ppm) | Ag (ppm) | Vein | |
| America | LIDC283 | 41.20 | 42.70 | 1.50 | 1.0 | 3.03 | 2.4 | Constancia 2 | |
| A550 | 46.10 | 46.60 | 0.50 | 0.3 | 1.11 | 0.7 | Constancia 1 | ||
| 72.40 | 74.50 | 2.10 | 2.0 | 6.19 | 3.8 | America | |||
| America | LIDC287 | 53.90 | 56.10 | 2.20 | 1.4 | 12.23 | 29.5 | Constancia | |
| A550 | 92.40 | 99.60 | 7.20 | 6.8 | 0.03 | 0.3 | mine backfill | ||
| 99.60 | 107.60 | 8.00 | 7.5 | 0.29 | 1.6 | America footwall | |||
| America | LIDC288 | 169.50 | 169.60 | 0.10 | 0.1 | 1.00 | 2.0 | America 5 | |
| A450 | 188.10 | 188.30 | 0.20 | 0.2 | 1.49 | 3.4 | America 4 | ||
| 198.50 | 198.80 | 0.30 | 0.3 | 2.52 | 1.7 | America 3 | |||
| 212.85 | 213.00 | 0.15 | 0.1 | 1.18 | 2.0 | America 2 | |||
| 228.25 | 231.70 | 3.45 | 3.2 | 1.87 | 2.2 | America 1 | |||
| America | LIDC291 | 201.10 | 231.60 | 30.50 | 28.7 | 0.25 | 1.2 | America | |
| A500 | including | 209.60 | 210.00 | 0.40 | 0.4 | 1.42 | 6.2 | America upper | |
| including | 228.00 | 229.50 | 1.50 | 1.4 | 2.44 | 4.2 | America lower | ||
| America A550 | LIDC298 | 162.75 | 165.05 | 2.30 | 1.8 | 8.54 | 8.7 | America | |
True width is an interpretation based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future.
The Central Breccia, which was discovered by Condor geologists in 2011 has been defined within a 140m by 300m area at surface and returned a best drilling intercept of 45.80m at 4.24g/t gold from exploratory drilling undertaken in 2012 (see announcement dated 28th May 2012). A further 2321m of drilling has been completed on the Central Breccia Prospect to bring the total to 2669m drilled to date. The gold mineralisation is hosted by a hydrothermal breccia system with high-grade gold mineralised zones associated with intense argillic alteration and sulphide mineralisation within a low-grade background halo. The high-grade zones are variable at a decimetre-scale which requires close spaced drilling to obtain continuity between drill samples and confidently model the gold distribution. Drilling to date has confirmed the lateral dimensions shown at surface with high-grade mineralisation intercepted up to 100m below surface. The recent drilling results listed in Table 8 below.
| Table 8. Significant drill intercepts for the latest 5 drill holes for 965m of the current drill programme on the America Vein Set. | |||||||||
| Prospect | Drill hole ID | From | To | Drill Width | True Width | Au (ppm) | Ag (ppm) | Vein | |
| Central | LIDC260 | 6.08 | 45.60 | 39.52 | 35.8 | 0.51 | 1.6 | Upper zone | |
| Breccia | including | 6.08 | 12.16 | 6.08 | 5.5 | 1.46 | 2.4 | ||
| including | 24.70 | 29.55 | 4.85 | 4.4 | 1.03 | 2.0 | |||
| 71.85 | 74.44 | 2.59 | 2.3 | 1.69 | 1.8 | Lower zone | |||
| Central Breccia 500 | LIDC272 | 82.08 | 150.48 | 68.40 | 44.0 | 0.14 | 1.0 | Central Breccia | |
| Central | LIDC278 | 42.56 | 70.32 | 27.76 | 17.8 | 0.33 | 1.3 | Central Breccia | |
| Breccia 600 | including | 45.60 | 51.68 | 6.08 | 3.9 | 0.69 | 1.2 | ||
| including | 59.90 | 60.25 | 0.35 | 0.2 | 2.32 | 3.1 | |||
| Central Breccia 600 | LIDC281 | 45.60 | 48.00 | 2.40 | 1.5 | 0.88 | 2.6 | Central Breccia | |
| Central | LIDC285 | 59.21 | 61.15 | 1.94 | 1.2 | 3.09 | 5.0 | Central Breccia upper | |
| Breccia 500 | 181.95 | 217.40 | 35.45 | 22.8 | 0.22 | 1.9 | background | ||
| Central | LIDC290 | 42.62 | 51.33 | 8.71 | 5.6 | 0.23 | 1.1 | Central Breccia upper | |
| Breccia 575 | 91.46 | 103.50 | 12.04 | 7.7 | 0.35 | 1.5 | Central Breccia lower | ||
| Central Breccia 475 | LIDC293 | 61.30 | 132.64 | 71.34 | 45.9 | 0.11 | 1.4 |
| |
| Central |
| 29.06 | 70.90 | 41.84 | 26.9 | 1.38 | 1.8 | Central Breccia | |
| Breccia oblique | including | 38.16 | 42.84 | 4.68 | 3.0 | 3.72 | 3.0 | Central Breccia 1 | |
| including | 46.67 | 51.84 | 5.17 | 3.3 | 3.46 | 2.9 | Central Breccia 2 | ||
| Central | LIDC297 | 33.72 | 109.50 | 75.78 | 37.9 | 0.79 | 1.5 | Central Breccia | |
| Breccia oblique | Including | 33.72 | 35.24 | 1.52 | 0.8 | 1.16 | 2.3 | Central Breccia 4 | |
| Including | 45.88 | 60.86 | 14.98 | 7.5 | 2.05 | 2.6 | Central Breccia 3 | ||
| Including | 91.95 | 92.78 | 0.83 | 0.4 | 1.09 | 1.2 | Central Breccia 1 | ||
| including | 106.46 | 109.50 | 3.04 | 1.5 | 2.90 | 2.4 | Central Breccia 2 | ||
| Central | LIDC299 | 1.80 | 4.84 | 3.04 | 2.0 | 1.18 | 1.8 | Central Breccia 4 | |
| Breccia 525 | 18.52 | 21.56 | 3.04 | 2.0 | 1.33 | 3.8 | Central Breccia 3 | ||
| 25.84 | 27.36 | 1.52 | 1.0 | 3.09 | 5.2 | Central Breccia 2 | |||
| 40.00 | 42.56 | 2.56 | 1.6 | 0.95 | 1.8 | Central Breccia 1 | |||
True width is an interpretation based on the current interpretation of the veins and may be revised in the future.
A Mineral Resource update for the America Vein and a maiden mineral resource on the Central Breccia are currently underway. When assay results have been returned for the final two drill holes on La India Open Pit an updated independent gold mineral resource estimation will be released once geological modelling and the ongoing geotechnical study is completed.
Figure 1. Location of the Drilling Zones within the La India Project: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/con909i.jpg
Competent Person's Declaration
The information in this announcement that relates to the mineral potential, geology, Exploration Results and database is based on information compiled by and reviewed by Dr Luc English, the Country Exploration Manager, who is a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and a geologist with eighteen years of experience in the exploration and definition of precious and base metal Mineral Resources. Luc English is a full-time employee of Condor Gold plc and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration, and to the type of activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the June 2009 Edition of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Luc English consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.
For further information please visit www.condorgold.com.
About Condor Gold plc:
Condor Gold plc is an AIM listed exploration company focused on developing gold and silver resource projects in Central America. The Company was admitted to AIM on 31st May 2006 with the stated strategy to prove up CIM/JORC Resources in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Condor has seven 100% owned concessions in La India Mining District ("La India Project"); three 100% owned concessions in three other project areas and 20% in the Cerro Quiroz concession in Nicaragua. In El Salvador, Condor has 90% ownership of four licences in two project areas.
Condor's concession holdings in Nicaragua currently contain an attributable CIM/JORC compliant resource base of 2,497,000 ounces of gold equivalent at 4.6 g/t in Nicaragua and an attributable 1,004,000 oz gold equivalent at 2.6g/t JORC compliant resource base in El Salvador. The Resource calculations are compiled by independent geologists SRK Consulting (UK) Limited for Nicaragua, and Ravensgate and Geosure for El Salvador.
Disclaimer
Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Technical Glossary
| Assay | The laboratory test conducted to determine the proportion of a mineral within a rock or other material. Usually reported as parts per million which is equivalent to grams of the mineral (i.e. gold) per tonne of rock. | |
| Breccia | A rock made up of angular rock fragments cemented together by a finer grained matrix. | |
| CIM | Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum whose terminology, definitions and guidelines are an internationally recognised reporting code as defined by the Combined Reserves International Reporting Standards Committee (CRIRSCO) as required by National Instrument 43-101. | |
| Cross-cut adit | A cross-cut adit is a tunnel driven perpendicular to the longest horizontal direction (strike) of an ore or mineralised body, usually constructed to provide access. | |
| Dip | A line directed down the steepest axis of a planar structure including a planar ore body or zone of mineralisation. The dip has a measurable direction and inclination from horizontal. | |
| Down-dip | Further down towards the deepest parts of an ore body or zone of mineralisation. | |
| Down-throw | Referring to the rock that has moved downwards on a fault relative to the other side. | |
| Foot wall | The rock adjacent to and below an ore or mineralised body or geological fault. Note that on steeply-dipping tabular ore or mineralised bodies the foot wall will be inclined nearer to the vertical than horizontal. | |
| Grade | The proportion of a mineral within a rock or other material. For gold mineralisation this is usually reported as grams of gold per tonne of rock (g/t). | |
| g/t | grams per tonne | |
| Hanging wall | The rock adjacent to and above an ore or mineralised body or geological fault. Note that on steeply-dipping tabular ore or mineralised bodies the hanging wall will be inclined nearer to the vertical than horizontal. | |
| Inferred Mineral Resource | That part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that may be limited, or of uncertain quality and reliability. | |
| Indicated resource | That part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed. | |
| Intercept | Refers to a sample or sequence of samples taken across the entire width or an ore body or mineralized zone. The intercept is described by the entire thickness and the average grade of mineralisation. | |
| oz | troy ounces | |
| kt | Thousand tonnes | |
| Mineral Resource | A concentration or occurrence of material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such a form, quality, and quantity that there are reasonable and realistic prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated from specific geological knowledge, or interpreted from a well constrained and portrayed geological model. | |
| Mt | Million tonnes | |
| Open pit mining | A method of extracting minerals from the earth by excavating downwards from the surface such that the ore is extracted in the open air (as opposed to underground mining). | |
| oz | Troy ounce, equivalent to 31.103477 grams. | |
| Quartz breccia | Broken fragments of rock cemented together by a network of quartz rock. The quartz is deposited from saturated geothermal liquids filling the space between the rock fragments. | |
| Quartz veins | Deposit of quartz rock that develop in fractures and fissures in the surrounding rock. They are deposited by saturated geothermal liquids rising to the surface through the cracks in the rock and then cooling, taking on the shape of the cracks that they fill. | |
| Reverse circulation drilling | A drilling method in which penetration is achieved through a combined hammer and rotary drilling action and pulverised rock samples are transported to the surface through the drilling rods using compressed air. The 1m samples collected for analysis are of sufficient quality to be used in a Mineral Resource Estimation. | |
| Strike length | The longest horizontal dimension of an ore body or zone of mineralisation. | |
| Trench | The excavation of a horizontally elongate pit (trench), typically up to 2m deep and up to 1.5m wide in order to access fresh or weathered bedrock and take channel samples across a mineralised structure. The trench is normally orientated such that samples taken along the wall are perpendicular to the mineralised structure in order to establish the width and grade of the structure. | |
| True width | The shortest axis of a body, usually perpendicular to the longest plane. This often has to be calculated for channel or drill samples where the sampling was not exactly perpendicular to the long axis. The true width will always be less than the apparent width of an obliquely intersect sample. | |
| Up-throw | Referring to the rock that has moved upwards on a fault relative to the other side. | |
| Vein | A sheet-like body of crystalised minerals within a rock, generally forming in a discontinuity or crack between two rock masses. Economic concentrations of gold are often contained within vein minerals. | |
| Wallrock | The rock adjacent to an ore or mineralised body or geological fault. | |
| Whittle Pit | An open pit mine planning method in which the optimum dimensions of an economic open pit are modelled around a mineral resource constrained by various technical and economic variables. |