Apr 20 2017
Gran Colombia Gold Corp. announced today that it has completed an updated Mineral Resource estimate for its high grade producing Segovia Operations prepared in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definition Standards incorporated by reference in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") with an effective date of March 15, 2017.
Lombardo Paredes Arenas, Chief Executive Officer of Gran Colombia, commenting on the Company's updated Mineral Resource estimate, said "We are pleased with the substantial increase in Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources achieved in this latest update and the replacement of close to 400,000 ounces of gold in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. We believe that our high grade Segovia Operations continue to have a considerable mine life ahead and in 2017, we have already commenced our planned 20,000 meters drilling campaign intended to further upgrade and extend Segovia's Mineral Resources."
Highlights of March 15, 2017 Mineral Resource Estimate
- Total Measured & Indicated Resources increased to 2.9 million tonnes at a grade of 12.0 g/t totalling 1.1 million ounces of gold, up 174% compared to the Mineral Resource estimate as of December 31, 2016 (which reflected depletion of production for the period from September 2013, the date of the previous CIM Mineral Resource estimate, through the end of 2016). Infill drilling along with the ongoing validation work of the historical database and surveying of the underground mine workings have contributed to the increase in the Measured & Indicated categories of Segovia's Mineral Resource estimate.
- The updated Mineral Resource estimate reaffirms the high grade nature of the gold deposits at Segovia with the grade of the Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources averaging 12.0 g/t. By comparison, the head grade of the material mined at Segovia averaged 13.8 g/t during the year ended December 31, 2016 and 13.7 g/t during the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.
- The previous estimate reported all material at El Silencio as Inferred and the estimates were limited to Veta Manto material in lower areas of the mine, which were still flooded at that time. The upgrading of the El Silencio Mineral Resource below Mine Level 29 added 1.8 million tonnes at a grade of 11.4 g/t, representing 659,000 ounces of gold, from Inferred to the Indicated category in the updated Mineral Resource estimate. Mapping and surveying of historical workings together with ongoing validation work of the historical database by the Company's geology team has significantly increased the volume of material available for estimation in the upper levels of the mine, and within five additional known veins within the system.
- The updated Mineral Resource estimate also follows on the successful drilling campaign in 2016, as previously announced on March 13, 2017, focused on infill drilling to increase confidence levels of the Mineral Resources at the Providencia and Sandra K mines which resulted in increases in Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources at these mines by 14% and 4%, respectively, in contained gold. The revised databases for Providencia, Sandra K and El Silencio used in this updated Mineral Resource estimate incorporate the results from 90 additional diamond core drillholes completed by the Company from 2013 through early 2017, using both surface and underground drilling rigs.
- The Company added 398,000 ounces of gold to the Inferred category of the updated Mineral Resource estimate. After the upgrade of material to the Measured & Indicated categories as noted above, Inferred Mineral Resources reflect a total of 3.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 9.9 g/t representing 978,000 ounces of gold.
- The Mineral Resource estimates for Las Verticales and Carla have not been updated as no new information is currently available and the previous estimates for these projects remain valid.
The following table summarizes the Mineral Resource estimate for the Segovia Operations as of March 15, 2017 and changes by category in tonnes, grade and ounces of gold compared with the total Mineral Resource estimate as of December 31, 2016:
Table 1: Mineral Resource Summary for the Segovia Operations dated as of March 15, 2017 (1)
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Project |
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Deposit |
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Type |
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Measured |
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Indicated |
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Measured & Indicated |
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Inferred |
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Tonnes
(kt) |
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Grade
(g/t) |
|
Au Metal
(koz) |
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Tonnes
(kt) |
|
Grade
(g/t) |
|
Au Metal
(koz) |
|
Tonnes
(kt) |
|
Grade
(g/t) |
|
Au Metal
(koz) |
|
Tonnes
(kt) |
|
Grade
(g/t) |
|
Au Metal
(koz) |
Segovia |
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Providencia |
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LTR |
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113 |
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19.4 |
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71 |
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275 |
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14.8 |
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131 |
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388 |
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16.1 |
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201 |
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163 |
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9.4 |
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49 |
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Pillars |
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76 |
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18.4 |
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45 |
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116 |
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10.1 |
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38 |
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191 |
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13.4 |
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82 |
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376 |
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19.8 |
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239 |
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Sandra K |
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LTR |
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241 |
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10.4 |
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81 |
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241 |
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10.4 |
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81 |
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240 |
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7.5 |
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58 |
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Pillars |
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91 |
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9.8 |
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29 |
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91 |
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9.8 |
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29 |
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1 |
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9.3 |
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0 |
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El Silencio |
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LTR |
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609 |
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12.5 |
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245 |
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609 |
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12.5 |
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245 |
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997 |
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8.0 |
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258 |
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Pillars |
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1,187 |
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10.8 |
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414 |
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1,187 |
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10.8 |
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414 |
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347 |
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13.0 |
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144 |
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Verticales |
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LTR |
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771 |
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7.1 |
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176 |
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Subtotal Segovia Project |
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LTR |
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113 |
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19.4 |
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71 |
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1,125 |
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12.6 |
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456 |
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1,238 |
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13.2 |
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527 |
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2,171 |
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7.7 |
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541 |
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Pillars |
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76 |
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18.4 |
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45 |
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1,394 |
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10.7 |
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480 |
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1,469 |
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11.1 |
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525 |
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724 |
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16.5 |
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384 |
Carla |
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Subtotal Carla Project |
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LTR |
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154 |
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9.7 |
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48 |
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154 |
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9.7 |
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48 |
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178 |
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9.3 |
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53 |
Total Segovia Operations |
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189 |
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19.1 |
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116 |
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2,673 |
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11.4 |
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984 |
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2,861 |
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12.0 |
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1,100 |
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3,073 |
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9.9 |
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978 |
December 31, 2016 (2) |
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46 |
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36.1 |
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53 |
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644 |
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16.9 |
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349 |
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690 |
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18.1 |
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402 |
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3,816 |
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10.4 |
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1,278 |
% Change vs 2016 |
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310% |
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-43% |
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119% |
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315% |
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-33% |
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182% |
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315% |
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-34% |
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174% |
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-19% |
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-5% |
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-23% |
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(1) The Mineral Resources are reported at an in situ cut-off grade of 3.0 g/t Au over a 1.0 m mining width, which has been derived using a gold price of US$1,400 per ounce and projected mining, processing and minesite overhead costs, using actual mine data, which have been benchmarked for underground mining and conventional gold mineralised material processing. A gold recovery of 90.5 % has been assumed. A bulk density of 2.7 g/cm3 has been used for all veins. Each of the mining areas have been sub-divided into Pillar areas ("Pillars"), which represent the areas within the current mining development, and long term resources ("LTR"), which lie along strike or down dip of the current mining development. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. All composites have been capped where appropriate.
(2) Derived from the NI 43-101 Technical Report on a Mineral Resource Estimate on the Segovia and Carla Operations, Department of Antioquia, Colombia, dated September 2013, prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited and updated for production to December 31, 2016 by Ben Parsons, an independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101, of SRK. Some production is sourced from mining areas that are not currently included in the Company's Mineral Resource Estimate.