Lundin Gold hits more bonanza grades in Ecuador

Lundin Gold (TSX: LUG) has cut its highest-grade intercept yet at the Fruta del Norte gold mine in southeast Ecuador, as the company advances plans to bring the new Fruta del Norte South (FDNS) zone into reserves next year.In a Nov. 20 update, the company reported that underground conversion drilling at FDNS returned 5.2 metres grading 491.62 grams gold per tonne from 40.6 metres depth in hole FDN-C25-305, including 1.1 metres at 2,286 grams gold.Other standout intercepts from the same program included 6.30 metres grading 41.46 grams gold from 60 metres depth in hole FDN-C25-260, 10.5 metres at 22.76 grams gold in FDN-C25-261 from 80 metres depth, and 6.3 metres grading 33.71 grams gold from 39 metres depth in FDN-C25-259.“I’m pleased to report outstanding results from our 2025 programs, which continue to demonstrate the significant potential around Fruta del Norte,” Lundin Gold president and CEO Jamie Beck said in the release.“At FDNS, the conversion program achieved the highest-grade intercept ever drilled, a major milestone as we advance toward an initial mineral reserve estimate early next year – less than two years since discovery.”Lundin Gold shares gained 3.5% to C$107.91 apiece on Friday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of C$25.3 billion ($18 billion).FDNS, discovered in 2024 along the southern limit of the main orebody, is an epithermal vein system that hosts 12.35 million inferred tonnes grading 5.25 grams gold for 2.09 million oz. contained metal. It sits within the broader Fruta del Norte reserve and resource base, which reached a record at the end of 2024 and underpins a 12-year mine life at one of the world’s highest-grade operating gold mines.Extended mine lifeThe latest intercepts build on a series of high-grade results from FDNS and the nearby FDN East target reported earlier this year. In July, Lundin Gold highlighted holes such as FDN-C25-238, which cut 9.05 metres grading 139.53 grams gold, and FDN-C25-234, which returned 4.2 metres at 220.32 grams gold, both at FDNS, helping to define new high-grade lenses outside the existing geological model.At FDN East, about 100 metres east of existing underground workings, recent drilling has outlined an epithermal vein system with multiple subparallel structures traced over roughly 500 metres of strike and still open. The latest program there returned 10.8 metres at 14.10 grams gold from 332 metres depth in hole UGE-E-25-328, including 2.4 metres grading 56.09 grams gold; and 15.05 metres at 9.27 grams gold from 226.3 metres depth in UGE-E-25-360, including 4.2 metres grading 17.51 grams gold.Beck said the results show FDNS is “a larger mineralized system” than previously understood and that FDN East is “a new epithermal vein deposit near existing infrastructure, offering meaningful upside.”Following the success and work on emerging porphyry targets on the wider land package, Lundin Gold has expanded its 2025 drilling plans from 80,000 metres to at least 120,000 metres, with 17 rigs turning in what it calls the largest program ever undertaken on the Fruta del Norte concessions.New reserveSince January, underground drilling at FDNS has focused on upgrading the inferred resource to indicated status so it can be folded into Fruta del Norte’s mine plan. Lundin Gold has completed 16,282 metres across 97 holes at FDNS this year, with results improving confidence in the geological model, defining higher-grade zones and extending mineralization beyond the current resource envelope.All new data will feed into an initial reserve and updated resource estimate for FDNS and FDN East targeted for the first quarter of 2026, alongside mine engineering studies on geotechnical, metallurgical and infrastructure requirements.The work is part of a rolling near-mine strategy aimed at maintaining or extending Fruta del Norte’s mine life. The operation began commercial production in 2020 and produced a record 502,029 oz. gold last year. The company has been using drilling around the original orebody to replace reserves and add new ounces, while studying how and when to bring satellite zones like FDNS into the production schedule.High-gradesLundin Gold updated Fruta del Norte’s resource estimate in February, reporting proven and probable reserves of 22.06 million tonnes grading 7.81 grams gold for 5.54 million oz. contained gold. Measured and indicated resources, including reserves, stand at 30.62 million tonnes grading 7.17 grams gold for 7.06 million oz., with a further 13.95 million inferred tonnes at 5.27 grams for 2.36 million oz., largely reflecting growth from FDNS.Those reserve grades are several times higher than the average global reserve grade of about 1.26 grams gold at producing mines, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, underscoring Fruta del Norte’s position in the upper tier of underground gold operations. Lundin Gold says continued success at FDNS, FDN East and regional porphyry targets along the Zamora copper-gold belt will be key to sustaining that profile.The company has described Fruta del Norte as “among the highest-grade operating gold mines in the world” and is betting that the emerging satellite deposits can help keep it that way as the current 12-year mine plan evolves.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com