LUNDIN GOLD ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN MINERAL RESERVES TO 5.50 MILLION OUNCES
Vancouver, BC, March 27, 2024 /CNW/ - Lundin Gold Inc. (TSX: LUG) (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUG) (OTCQX: LUGDF) ("Lundin Gold" or the "Company") today reports its updated estimates of Mineral Reserves (“Reserves”) and Mineral Resources (“Resources”) as at December 31, 2023 for its Fruta del Norte gold mine (“FDN”) in Ecuador. The tables of the updated estimates of Mineral Reserves and Resources can be found at the end of this release.
Highlights
- Measured and Indicated Resources are reported at 23.53 Mt (”Mt”) with an average grade of 9.24 grams per tonne (”g/t”) containing 6.99 million ounces (”Moz”) of gold.
- Proven and Probable Reserves for FDN are reported at 21.70 Mt with an average grade of 7.89 g/t containing 5.50 Moz of gold.
| 2022 Mineral Reserves | 5.02 |
| Mining Depletion | (-) 0.48 |
| Technical Updates and Mine Design Changes | (+) 0.58 |
| Resource Conversion | (+) 0.38 |
| 2023 Mineral Reserves | 5.50 |
Ron Hochstein, President and CEO, commented, “I am extremely pleased to announce our year-end Reserve and Resource estimate. With this updated estimate, Lundin Gold has grown FDN’s Mineral Reserves since operations began in 2019, adding approximately 2.6 Moz before mining depletion. This kind of success is only possible with an asset of exceptional quality like FDN and a strong geology team. Our 2023 conversion drilling program has enabled us to grow our Measured and Indicated Resources, and the near-mine program has also provided additions to our Inferred Resources. Based on planned conversion and exploration programs for 2024, I am very excited for the potential to add more ounces over the coming year.”
Mineral Resources Update
The 2023 conversion drilling campaign was successful at reclassifying Inferred Resources to Indicated in areas immediately beyond the current Reserve boundary. The new areas of Indicated Resources are illustrated in Figure 1, and include extensions to the North, at depth and to the South of the FDN deposit.
Figure 1: New Zones of Indicated Resources from 2023 Conversion Drilling
A total of 0.35 Moz of new Inferred Resources were also added as a result of the conversion and near-mine drilling completed in 2023. Inferred Resources are reported at 7.98 Mt with an average grade of 5.77 g/t containing 1.5 Moz.
Figure 2: 2022 Resources Compared to 2023 Resources1,2
Notes:
- Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
- For information on the 2022 Resources, see the “Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Fruta del Norte Mine Ecuador” dated March 29, 2023 which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Mineral Reserves Update
Increases to the Reserve estimate are primarily due to successful conversion drilling, modifications to the mine design, and some changes to technical parameters. Mine design modifications include: a higher proportion of longhole mining versus drift and fill, and improvements in mining dilution and recovery estimates. Technical parameter modifications include minor changes in cut-off grade estimates and higher mill recoveries which are expected after the Process Plant Expansion is completed later this year. It should be noted that unit costs per tonne for drift and fill mining increased as compared to 2022 based on anticipated ground conditions from better geotechnical information. The cut-off gold price of $1,400/oz was unchanged from the year prior.
Figure 3: Comparison Between 2023 and 2024 Reserves
Mineral Resource and Reserve Summary
The tables below summarize the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates for FDN effective as of December 31, 2023. Additional information on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates for Fruta del Norte is contained in the “Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Fruta del Norte Mine Ecuador” dated March 29, 2023 (the “FDN Technical Report”) which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as set out in this release, major assumptions, parameters and risks associated with the Company's 2023 Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates are listed in the FDN Technical Report.
Mineral Resources, as at December 31, 2023
| Mineral Resources(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) | ||||||
| Category | Tonnage(M t) | Grade(g/t Au) | Contained Metal(M oz Au) | Grade(g/t Ag) | Contained Metal(M oz Ag) | |
| Measured | 7.75 | 11.74 | 2.93 | 12.7 | 3.18 | |
| Indicated | 15.78 | 8.00 | 4.06 | 12.5 | 6.32 | |
| Measured & Indicated | 23.53 | 9.24 | 6.99 | 12.6 | 9.50 | |
| Inferred | 7.98 | 5.77 | 1.48 | 11.3 | 2.90 | |
Notes:
- 2014 CIM Definition Standards were followed for the classification of Mineral Resources.
- The Qualified Person for the estimate is Freddy Ildefonso, Msc, P.Geo, Mineral Superintendent of Fruta del Norte Mine.
- Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
- Inferred Mineral Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them to enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves.
- Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 3.4 g/t Au, which is calculated using a long-term gold price of US$1,600/oz and metallurgical recovery of 91.2%.
- Mineral Resources are reported net of mining to December 31, 2023, and uses drill hole data available as of October 31, 2023.
- Figures may not add due to rounding.
Mineral Reserves, as at December 31, 2023
| Mineral Reserves (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) | |||||
| Tonnage(M t) | Grade(g/t Au) | Contained Metal(M oz Au) | Grade(g/t Ag) | Contained Metal(M oz Ag) | |
| Proven | 7.56 | 9.42 | 2.29 | 10.5 | 2.55 |
| Probable | 14.14 | 7.06 | 3.21 | 11.7 | 5.34 |
| Total | 21.70 | 7.89 | 5.50 | 11.3 | 7.89 |
Notes:
- 2014 CIM Definitions Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves have been followed.
- The Qualified Person for this estimate is Terry Smith P.Eng, Lundin Gold’s Chief Operating Officer.
- Mineral Reserves have an effective date of December 31, 2023.
- Mineral Reserves were estimated using key inputs listed in the table below:
| Key Input | December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2023 | Unit |
| Gold Price | 1,400 | 1,400 | $/oz |
| Transverse Stoping Mining Cost | 51 | 53 | $/t |
| Drift & Fill Mining Cost | 77 | 95 | $/t |
| Process, Surface Ops, G&A Cost | 64 | 72 | $/t |
| Surface Royalties, Sustaining Capital, Closure Costs | 15 | 8 | $/t |
| Dilution Factor | 8 | 8 | Percent |
| Concentrate Transport & Treatment | 80 | 50 | $/oz |
| Royalty | 76 | 79 | $/oz |
| Gold Metallurgical Recovery | 88.5 | 91.2 | Percent |
- Gold cut-off grades for the different mining methods are listed in the table below:
| Gold Cut-off Grade | December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2023 | Unit |
| Transverse Stope | 4.2 | 4.0 | g/t |
| Drift and Fill | 5.0 | 5.3 | g/t |
- Silver was not considered in the calculation of the cut-off grade but is recovered and contributes to the revenue stream.
- Tonnages are rounded to the nearest 1,000 t, gold grades are rounded to two decimal places, silver grades are rounded to one decimal place, and costs are rounded to the nearest dollar. Tonnage and grade measurements are in metric units; contained gold and silver are reported as thousands of troy ounces.
- Figures may not add due to rounding.
Qualified Persons
In this news release, the Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource estimate is Freddy Ildefonso, Msc, P.Geo, Mineral Superintendent of Fruta del Norte Mine and the Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserve estimate is Terry Smith P.Eng, Lundin Gold’s Chief Operating Officer, both of whom are Qualified Persons in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101”).
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Terry Smith, P. Eng., Lundin Gold’s Chief Operating Officer, and Andre Oliviera, P. Geo., Lundin Gold’s Vice President, Exploration, both of whom are Qualified Persons in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101.
For information on Lundin Gold’s QAQC and data verification procedures, please refer to Lundin Gold’s Annual Information Form dated March 26, 2024, filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).
Additional Information
The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Lundin Gold under the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was publicly communicated on March 27, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time through the contact persons set out below.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements
Certain of the information and statements in this press release are considered "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" as those terms are defined under Canadian securities laws (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements and information involve assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict, and are usually beyond the control of management, that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed by these forward-looking statements and information. Lundin Gold believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. This information speaks only as of the date of this press release, and the Company will not necessarily update this information, unless required to do so by securities laws.
This press release contains forward-looking information in a number of places, such as in statements pertaining to estimates of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources and the anticipated Process Plant Expansion and improvement of recoveries. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as Lundin Gold's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in Lundin Gold's Annual Information Form dated March 26, 2024, which is available at www.lundingold.com or at www.sedarplus.ca
Lundin Gold's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement or that could have a material impact on the Company or the trading price of its shares include: instability in Ecuador; community relations; forecasts relating to production and costs; mining operations; security; non-compliance with laws and regulations and compliance costs; tax changes in Ecuador; waste disposal and tailings; government or regulatory approvals; environmental compliance; gold price; infrastructure; dependence on a single mine; exploration and development; control of Lundin Gold; availability of workforce and labour relations; dividends; information systems and cyber security; Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates; title matters and surface rights and access; health and safety; human rights; employee misconduct; measures to protect biodiversity; endangered species and critical habitats; global economic conditions; shortages of critical resources; competition for new projects; key talent recruitment and retention; market price of the Company’s shares; social media and reputation; insurance and uninsured risks; pandemics, epidemics or infectious disease outbreak; climate change; illegal mining; conflicts of interest; ability to maintain obligations or comply with debt; violation of anti-bribery and corruption laws; internal controls; claims and legal proceedings; and reclamation obligations.
For more information, please contact
Ron F. Hochstein
President and CEO
Tel (Ecuador): +593 2-299-6400
Tel (Canada): +1-604-806-3589
ron.hochstein@lundingold.com
Finlay Heppenstall
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Development
Tel: +1 604 806 3089
finlay.heppenstall@lundingold.com
About Lundin Gold
Lundin Gold, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, owns the Fruta del Norte gold mine in southeast Ecuador. Fruta del Norte is among the highest-grade operating gold mines in the world.
The Company's board and management team have extensive expertise in mine operations and are dedicated to operating Fruta del Norte responsibly. The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best practices. Lundin Gold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities, fostering a healthy and safe workplace and minimizing the environmental impact. The Company believes that the value created through the development of Fruta del Norte will benefit its shareholders, the Government and the citizens of Ecuador.
