The Buritica mine design (Image: Continental Gold)

The Buritica mine design (Image: Continental Gold)

Colombia's largest high-grade gold development project continues to expand with infill and exploratory diamond drilling.  Ari Sussman's Continental Gold (CNL:TSX), which is developing the Buritica project located 2 hours from beautiful Medellin, continues to have success with their 2014 infill drill program.

The focus of the program is to increase the confidence of the Inferred gold resources and to move as many of the ounces to the Measured and Indicated category.

Buritica already hosts 8.4Mt at 10.4 g/t gold containing 2.8 million ounces of gold in the Measured and Indicated with an additional 16.7Mt at 7.8 g/t gold containing an additional 4.2 million ounces of gold.

This morning, Continental released further drill results from this infill program.  Highlights included:

  • 1.35 metres at 190.5 g/t gold and 95 g/t silver (elevation of 1,211 metres)
  • 0.9 metres at 64 g/t gold and 6 g/t silver (elevation of 1,354 metres)
  • 2.5 metres at 20.4 g/t gold and 44 g/t silver (elevation of 1,172 metres)
  • 3.95 metres at 50.2 g/t gold and 26 g/t silver (elevation of 1,299 metres)
  • 0.58 metres at 752 g/t gold and 124 g/t silver (elevation of 1,231 metres)

In May, Continental released an updated resource estimate for the Yaragua and Veta Sur veins.  Infill drilling to-date has been successful by underground drilling the eastern areas of the resource model across a 200m lateral strike and 400m vertical strike.

Most of this drilling has continually encountered mineralization at grades and widths that exceed the existing resource model which should improve the updated resource estimate and economic studies.

The key to this infill drilling is that the majority of it has focused in the area 200m below and above the Higavra Valley Tunnel which enables for easy access and should, again, prove to be very valuable when the company releases its PEA in the fourth quarter.

"It's pleasing to see the underground infill drilling successfully demonstrate consistent and even higher-grade intercepts at elevations around the Higabra Valley Tunnel, as this is pivotal for our goal of upgrading current Inferred resources at these elevations into the Measured and Indicated categories", commented Ari Sussman, CEO of Continental. "Additionally, the size of the Laurel vein system target continues to grow impressively and we are hopeful that over time, it will prove economic and represent another mineable front at Buritica."

Continental Gold's Ari Sussman underground at Buritica (Photo: CEO.CA)

Continental Gold's Ari Sussman underground at Buritica (Photo: CEO.CA)

In the south area of the project, Continental continues to drill step-out holes which are growing the recently discovered Laurel vein.  300m step-outs have encountered deep mineralization that is assumed to the eastern extension of this new vein system.

Holes here included:

  • 1.45 metres at 84 g/t gold and 7 g/t silver (elevation of 976 metres)
  • 0.6 metres at 9.2 g/t gold and 20 g/t silver (elevation of 990 metres).

The company is set for a catalyst packed back half of this year and into next:

  1. Initiate cross-cutting at Yaragua and the Laurel vein (Q3/2014)
  2. Complete Veta Sur cross-cut (Q4/2014)
  3. Preliminary Economic Assessment (Q4/2014)
  4. Final Permitting (Q3/2015)
  5. Updated resource estimate and Pre-Feasibility Study (H2/2015)

The company is funded for continued development work well into next year with over $100 million in cash on the balance sheet.

The economic study this year and the permitting late next year remains the critical components of this project, with the latter remaining the final overhang on the stock.

Although Colombia is a popular spot for exploration, the mining sector still garners uncertainty from investors.  This will change once one of these projects gets a large-scale mining permit.

Read: Continental Gold Drills High-Grade Gold at Yaraguá and Further Extends the Laurel System at Buriticá, Colombia