Centamin grows Sukari gold reserves for third straight year
Egypt-focused Centamin (LON: CEY) (TSX: CEE) has managed to grow its mineral resource and reserve base at its Sukari gold mine for the third year in a row.
The company said Sukari’s reserves reached 5.8 million ounces — a 10% increase from the 5.3 million ounce estimate in the new life of mine plan published in October.
Centamin also said it had exceeded its target by achieving a 3.5 million-ounce increase in proven and probable mineral reserves since 2020, prior to depletion. The growth, it noted, was primarily driven by the expansion of reserves at Sukari and the inclusion of maiden mineral reserves at Doropo in Côte d’Ivoire.
The gold miner said that proven and probable mineral reserves by the end of 2023 were 28% higher than the previous year, totalling 194 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.23 grams per tonne for 7.7 million ounces of contained gold.
Measured and indicated mineral resources also showed growth, Centamin said, with 392 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.06 grams per tonne for 13.4 million ounces of contained gold, inclusive of mineral reserves.
The company plans to continue expanding resources and reserves in the new year as it has budgeted 285,000 metres of drilling at Sukari, with a focus on grade control and infill drilling.
Another key element would be completing the definitive feasibility study for Doropo, which would involve 10,200 metres of sterilization drilling to confirm infrastructure locations, with results expected in mid-2024.
The company also expects to release of full assay results from the Eastern Desert Exploration (EDX) maiden 16,000-metre drill campaign in the first quarter, which would guide future work programmes.
“Our improved geological understanding at Sukari has enabled a 500,000 ounce increase in reserves over the 5.3 million ounce reserve estimated in the recently published life of mine plan,” chief executive officer Martin Horgan said in the statement.
Sukari is Egypt’s largest and first modern gold operation, as well as one of the world’s largest producing mines. Since production began in 2009, it has churned out over 5 million ounces of gold and has a projected mine life of 14 years.