SMM, Nov. 1: Sanadu Mining Company (Xanadu Mines) has raised the resource estimate for the Hamagotai (Kharmagtai) project in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, increasing copper resources to 400 per cent and gold resources by 249 per cent.
The resource update is based on the results of drilling plans completed since 2015, including most of the results of fill drilling completed in the third quarter of 2018.
The objective of the recent drilling programme is to convert inferred resources to designated categories and the additional resources are now expected to have a positive impact on the mines in Hamagotai.
"due to high-quality geological models and knowledge of ore deposits, the exploration of Sanadu Mining Company is very effective. We are very satisfied with the new results, especially with the significant increase in the open-air shallow resource base of Hamagotai, "Andrew Stewart (Andrew Stewart), Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sanadu Mining, said in a statement.
Looking ahead, the company's focus has shifted to completing the scope study, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018.
"with the 400 per cent increase in copper content, we believe that the upcoming scope study will show a financially sound open-pit project, which will pave the way for Hamagotai to develop into another high-quality Mongolian mining business," Mr Stewart added.
Upon completion of the scoping study, Sanadu Mining will seek to add recently discovered Zaraa and White Hill West deposits, both of which are part of Hamagotai, to its global resource base.
The company's brown zone exploration strategy will focus on Zaraa's resource drilling and define a potential shallow gold oxide project at Golden Eagle (Kim Eagle), which is also part of Hamagotai.
"the addition of Zaraa to the global resource base should have a positive impact on the overall size and hierarchy. We are now thinking about how big Hamagotai's mineral endowment is and how much it can sustain in the future, "Mr Stewart said.
