VANCOUVER , March 9, 2020 /CNW/ - GREAT PANTHER MINING LIMITED (NYSE American: GPL; TSX: GPR) ("Great Panther", the "Company") today announced its inaugural Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimate (the "MRMR") for its 100% owned Tucano Gold Mine ("Tucano") in Brazil and updated Mineral Resource Estimates for the two mines at its Guanajuato Mine Complex ("GMC") in Mexico. The Company also provides an update on its Topia Mine in Mexico regarding potential near term interruption of operations as a result of temporary cessation of tailings deposition activities at the existing tailings storage facility.

The MRMR reflects the first mineral resource and reserve estimate undertaken by the Company for Tucano since the Company's acquisition of the mine in March 2019. The MRMR has an effective date of September 30, 2019 and uses a more rigorous approach to mineral resource and reserve estimation at Tucano compared to the June 30, 2017 estimate of the previous operator. The MRMR reflects operating experience since acquiring the mine in 2019 and a better understanding of the mine's geology, and is therefore expected to improve mine forecasting reliability. Internationally recognized mining consultants Roscoe Postle & Associates ("RPA") acted as independent technical qualified persons for the MRMR.

At Tucano, after adjustments for mining depletion since June 30, 2017 , Mineral Reserves are now estimated to be approximately 646,000 ounces, a decline of approximately 489,000 gold ounces relative to the June 30, 2017 estimate. Mineral Resources (excluding Mineral Reserves) declined by approximately 500,000 gold ounces.

At the GMC, estimated Mineral Resources (Measured and Indicated) for the Guanajuato Mine were approximately 3.7 million silver equivalent ounces, up by approximately 1.5 million silver equivalent ounces from the prior estimate dated August 31, 2017 , due to a successful 2019 exploration program (see below for silver equivalency calculation). The mine was placed on care and maintenance in December 2018 pending the completion of a more focused exploration program. The Company believes that the increase in resources, together with ongoing drilling in 2020, could be the basis for a re-start of operations later this year.

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources for the San Ignacio Mine were approximately 5.0 million silver equivalent ounces, a decline of approximately 6.4 million silver equivalent ounces from the prior estimate effective August 31, 2017 , due primarily to mining depletion of 3.8 million silver equivalent ounces. The new Mineral Resource Estimates for the Guanajuato and San Ignacio mines feature higher silver equivalent grades as a result of the application of higher Net Smelter Return ("NSR") cut off values.

"The completion of the MRMR is an important milestone following our acquisition of Tucano as it provides us with a more solid foundation for understanding the geology of Tucano," said Jeffrey Mason , Interim President and CEO. "While our inaugural update has resulted in a lower reserve and resource estimate, it provides us with a higher level of confidence for future mine and operational planning and the increase in average grades provides additional operational flexibility."

"Going forward we will be aggressively advancing opportunities for resource growth and mine life extension on multiple fronts," added Mr. Mason. "At Tucano, we are drilling new near-mine and regional targets in our more than 2,000 square kilometre, largely under-explored land package. We are also evaluating the potential for upgrading confidence in resources for conversion to reserves, and looking to improve and enhance the existing Prefeasibility Study supporting the development of an underground mining operation at Tucano. At GMC, in addition to the potential re-start of the Guanajuato Mine, we are advancing expanded exploration programs at both the Guanajuato and San Ignacio mines."

The Company expects to release 2019 financial results and provide its annual production and cost guidance by the end of March 2020. As part of the completion of its 2019 consolidated financial statements, and audit of those financial statements by the Company's independent auditors, the Company will assess the carrying value of Tucano based on the March 2019 purchase price. The assessment of carrying value will consider the MRMR which could lead to a material reduction in the carrying value and a corresponding material charge to the Company's income statement. Technical reports compliant with Canada's National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI-43-101") will be filed on the Company's SEDAR profile within 45 days of this news release.

Opportunities for Mineral Resource Increases and Mine Life Extension at Tucano

Based on a preliminary analysis of the updated reserve estimate (without consideration of resource conversion or underground mining), the Company estimates that its current open pit Mineral Reserves will continue to be mined to the fourth quarter of 2021. The Company has identified four key priorities at Tucano to increase reserves and extend the mine life:

1. Near Mine Exploration

The Company has further refined its previously announced 2020 near mine exploration drilling program of approximately 28,000 metres. The focus of the program will be on replacing ounces to be mined in 2020 and extending the mine life. This further refinement involves the prioritization of ten prospective target areas close to the existing pits. The Company has initiated drilling and expects to evaluate the results of drilling by July 2020 , noting that material drill results will be disclosed as received and analyzed. The evaluation will be used to determine whether to increase the program and/or reprioritize targets.

2. Potential Conversion of Existing Measured and Indicated Resources

The Company is pursuing the conversion of resources to reserves concurrent with ongoing mine planning and optimization. Of the approximately 150,000 ounces Measured and Indicated Resources incremental to the Mineral Reserves in table 1.1 below (excluding underground), the Company believes a portion located just below the reserve pit designs may prove to be economically viable if gold prices continue to prevail at or above the current level of approximately $1,675 per ounce, which compares favourably with gold prices used in the MRMR. In addition, the current Brazilian real to US dollar exchange rate is significantly more favorable than the rate of 3.80 used in the MRMR.

3. Underground Development

The Company continues to evaluate the potential for development of an underground mine below the Urucum North pit, which comprises the 288,000 ounces of underground Tucano Mineral Reserves (see table 1.3 below). A decision on whether to proceed with a Feasibility Study for an underground mine is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2020, following an underground targeted drill program.

Current underground Mineral Reserves are based on previous designs, adjusted for current costs and cut-off grades ("COG"). Mining of up to 400,000 tonnes of ore per annum is contemplated, at an average grade of 4.13 g/t Au.

4. Regional Exploration

As disclosed in a news release dated February 6, 2020 , the Company initiated a 27,000-metre regional exploration drilling program for 2020 on various concessions that Great Panther holds in an under-explored land package consisting of more than 2,000 km2.

Beyond currently planned drilling, the Company is further collating, refining and reviewing all existing data from previous ownership to prioritize targets according to their geological potential and proximity to Tucano's mill.

Urucum Central South ("UCS") Pit Update

As noted in the Company's news releases on October 7, 2019 and October 15, 2019 , the west wall of the UCS pit underwent slope displacement on October 6 , 2019. Since then, the pit has been closed to mining and the Company has deployed significant effort and resources toward a remediation plan with the assistance of the independent consulting firm Knight Pisold & Co.

Pending completion of the remediation plan, the UCS pit continues to be included in the Company's MRMR, with a Mineral Reserve Estimate (Proven and Probable) of approximately 88,000 ounces of gold and potential for further conversion of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at higher gold prices than the Mineral Resource Estimate's US$1,500 per ounce. Current estimates for UCS include conservative adjustments to pit wall configurations based on preliminary geotechnical findings.

The Company believes that the reserves are recoverable but cautions that recovery is subject to further evaluation based on geotechnical data gathering now underway. The data gathering will include the collection of additional geotechnical information from five geotechnical core holes to be drilled commencing in April 2020 .

Following completion of data collection, an assessment will be made as to whether remediation of the UCS pit to mine the current reserves will be completed.If the remediation plan is determined not to be feasible, then the current UCS pit reserves may not be mined.

If the remediation can be implemented as planned, the Company expects to be in a position to begin remedial work on the west wall of the UCS pit during the third quarter of 2020 and to resume ore mining in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Summary of Tucano Mineral Resources

A summary of the estimated 2019 Mineral Resources is shown in Table 1.1 and a comparison with the 2017 Mineral Resources is shown in Table 1.2. Summaries of the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are presented in Appendix 1 below.

Table 1.1 Summary of Mineral Resources as at September 30, 2019 , Tucano

Location

Cut-off

Total Measured & Indicated

Inferred

Au (g/t)

oxide or fresh

Tonnes

('000's)

Grade Au

(g/t)

Ounces

('000's)

Tonnes

('000's)

Grade Au

(g/t)

Ounces

('000's)

OPEN PITS OXIDE AND PRIMARY FRESH

Urucum

0.40 or 0.55

4,364

2.08

291

7

3.94

1

Urucum East

0.40 or 0.55

143

2.09

10

0

0.00

0

Tap AB

0.40 or 0.55

1,607

2.33

120

0

0.00

0

Duckhead

0.40 or 0.55

183

2.87

17

12

2.79

1

Total Open Pits

0.40 or 0.55

6,296

2.16

438

18

3.21

2

STOCKPILES

Open Pit

0.50

1,887

0.71

43

0

0

0

Spent Ore

0.50

37

Link:
Great Panther Announces Its Inaugural Mineral Reserve & Mineral Resource Estimate for the Tucano Mine, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate at...

Comments are closed.