Antilles Gold Limited (“Antilles Gold” or the “Company”) (ASX: AAU, OTCQB: ANTMF) is pleased to advise results from the first 7 of 25 shallow diamond drill holes in a 2,000m in-fill program on the Nueva Sabana oxide deposit in central Cuba, which was completed in July 2024.
The aim of the program was to increase the Indicated Resources in the Initial Mineral Resource Estimate advised to ASX on 6 March 2024.
HIGHLIGHTS
Gold Domain – Nueva Sabana
Copper Domain – Nueva Sabana
Sampling Techniques and Data are set out in the JORC Code 2012 Edition Template attached.
NUEVA SABANA GOLD-COPPER MINE
The in-fill results continue the excellent grades for both gold and copper in the oxide deposit that were incorporated in the Scoping Study for the first stage of the proposed Nueva Sabana gold-copper mine reported to ASX on 7 May 2024.Results from the remaining 18 holes are expected by the end of this month.An updated Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) for the proposed mine is expected to be completed within two weeks of receiving these results, after which the pit design and mine schedule will be updated, followed by a Pre-Feasibility Study in September 2024.The Nueva Sabana oxide deposit is metallurgically simple, and the mine is being planned as a copper project which will benefit from the high-grade gold cap during initial operations.Metallurgical test work by Blue Coast Research Laboratories in Canada has indicated a gold recovery of 85% from a simple rougher flotation circuit, and a concentrate of 70.2 g/t Au.A copper recovery of 84.5% yielded concentrate grades of 27% Cu from a rougher and cleaner circuit, which has formed the basis of the process design criteria for the Nueva Sabana concentrator.Planning and permitting for the proposed mine is well advanced.Total development costs are estimated to be ~US$30 million including ~US$5 million of pre- development and concession acquisition costs, and ~US$25 million for mine construction based on quotations for site works, industrial buildings, and a turnkey offer for the design and construction of the concentrator and associated power station.The project requires minimal pre-stripping and will not involve the purchase of a mining fleet which is to be hired from the Cuban subsidiary of an international supplier.Finance for the mine construction is being negotiated in the form of an advance on concentrate purchases by an international commodities trader.The Nueva Sabana project, which is being developed by the 50% owned joint venture company, Minera La Victoria SA, is expected to be development-ready in October 2024.
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