Luminex Resources has unveiled a maiden resource at its Camp deposit, part of its Condor project in southeast Ecuador, of 11.9 million inferred tonnes grading 2.95 g/t gold equivalent for 1.1 million gold-equivalent oz.
Camp contains the highest grade gold mineralization of five deposits Luminex has outlined at Condor.
At a 1.5 g/t gold-equivalent cutoff grade, it contains 865,000 oz. gold, 7.4 million oz. silver, 7.1 million lb. copper, 22.5 million lb. lead and 173 million lb. zinc at grades of 2.26 g/t gold, 19.5 g/t silver, 0.03% copper, 0.09% lead and 0.66% zinc.
The resource was based on 14,800 metres of drilling in 28 holes completed in 2019 and 2020.
Luminex believes Camp, an intermediate-sulphidation epithermal deposit with relatively high grades, has potential to be mined via underground methods.
The steeply dipping mineralization extends from surface to around 600 metres vertical depth, and 400 metres along strike.
The deposit remains open at depth, to the southwest, towards the Soledad Bajo zone which remains to be tested, and to the northwest, where mapping and sampling indicate the Camp NW target could represent an extension of the deposit that has been displaced 100 metres north by a fault.
The company has unveiled a maiden resource at its Condor project in southeast Ecuador, of 11.9 million inferred tonnes grading 2.95 g/t gold equivalent for 1.1 million gold-equivalent oz.
Further drilling is planned at the Camp deposit, as well as the Soledad Bajo target this year.
The Prometedor and NW Camp targets are also being advanced towards drill testing. However, the drill program has been temporarily paused in light of the covid-19 pandemic.
In addition to the new Camp resource, Luminex updated existing resources at Condor using a gold price of $1,500 per oz. (previously $1,400).
Total indicated resources at Condor, including the Santa Barbara, Soledad, Los Cuyes and Enma deposits are 72.1 million tonnes grading 0.77 g/t gold equivalent for 1.8 million oz. gold-equivalent. Total inferred resources come to 169.6 million tonnes grading 0.83 g/t gold-equivalent for 4.5 million gold-equivalent oz.
Luminex owns 90% of the Condor project, located 30 km south of Lundin Gold‘s Fruta del Norte gold mine in Zamora-Chinchipe province. A 10% interest is held by a pension fund for Ecuador’s armed forces personnel.
The company also holds the Tarqui project in Ecuador, where BHP is earning an initial 60% interest, and the Pegasus A&B projects, where Anglo American is earning an initial 60% interest.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)