(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - Australia) Excelsior Gold (ASX: EXG) has upgraded the ounces and confidence of the gold resource at its Zoroastrian deposit, part of the Kalgoorlie North Gold Project, with 69% of the total resource now in the higher confidence Indicated category.
The new resource of 6.58 million tonnes at 2.48 grams per tonne (g/t) for 524,400 contained gold ounces is an 8% increase in ounces and a 12% increase in resources now in the Indicated category.
Excelsior said the upgraded resource confirms the company's view that Zoroastrian has the potential to develop into a major open pit and underground gold mine.
Total Measured, Indicated and Inferred gold resources for the larger Kalgoorlie North Gold Project now stand at 21.4 million tonnes at 1.73g/t for 1.19 million contained gold ounces.
The Zoroastrian resource is subdivided into shallower zones of mineralisation, less than 150 metres vertical depth, which are potentially amenable to open pit mining and deeper, greater than 150 metres vertical depth, mineralisation which presents underground mining opportunities.
The resource update includes 44 new reverse circulation drill holes comprising 38 infill reverse circulation drill holes for 4,848 metres of drilling and only six extensional reverse circulation drill holes for 596 metres.
Shallow infill drilling defined areas of lower grade mineralisation within the optimal pit shell in areas which were previously considered to be barren.
This additional low grade material has resulted in a decrease (-4%) in the overall grade of the open pit resource, but the delineation of the extra gold mineralisation within the optimal pit shell will potentially improve the pit economics by reducing the waste to ore ratio of the pit.
Previous preliminary pit optimisation studies have demonstrated that due to the high grade gold content of the vein and stockwork styles of mineralisation, open pit shells may extend deeper than 150 metres vertical depth.
Excelsior is currently conducting reverse circulation and diamond drilling on the deeper mineralisation at Zoroastrian to extend the resource to a vertical depth of about 350 metres to enable underground mining studies to be advanced.
Results of this drilling program are expected to be available in late June 2013.
Excelsior remains well-funded to continue exploration at its Kalgoorlie North Gold Project with around A$6.26 million in cash at the end of March 2013. Â
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