OceanaGold has confirmed discovery of significant additional gold reserves in the Panel 2 Deeps area of the Frasers underground mine, in Otago.
Shares in the NZX-listed gold miner leapt 34 cents, or 8.8 percent, to $4.19 on the news, recovering much of the ground lost over the last month, although gains for shareholders over the last year still stand at just above 200 percent.
Infill drilling within the P2 Deeps inferred resource boundary recorded significant grades and thicknesses including 20 metres of 3.73 grammes of gold per tonne of overburden, and nine metres at 3.39 g/t Au, the company said in a statement to the exchange.
"Results to date are expected to extend (the) indicated resource boundary and therefore extend P2 Deeps reserves", with the potential for an extra 18 months of mining operations at the mine, near the Macraes goldmine.
OceanaGold announced inferred resource of more than 0.5Mt last September in the P2 zone, with around 40 percent of that upgraded to provable reserves, with mine development starting in March.
The results from the latest drilling "appear as good or better than the current Panel 2 mining area."
"It is expected that a significant portion of the current inferred resources will be upgraded to indicated resources and then integerated into the mine plan," OceanaGold said.
- NZPA
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