Shares in Nicaragua-focused Condor Gold (LON:CNR) (TSX:COG) climbed on Thursday after it said it had “significantly” de-risked its flagship La India gold project, in the country’s west.
The miner has acquired 85% of the land within the permitted site, including the key areas such as location of the processing plant, tailings storage facility, open pit and waste dump area.
Condor Gold noted the engineering design of La India’s tailings storage facility was 40% completed, with preliminary plans for the layout of mine infrastructure already finalized.
Chairman and chief executive Mark Child said the progress “significantly” de-risked the project.
The miner has also concluded mine and waste dump schedules for a number of production scenarios, including a high-grade open pit option. Such operation would produce between 80,000 and 100,000 ounces of gold a year.
A second scenario involves adding the Mestiza and America pits, which would bring production up to 120,000 ounces of the precious metal annually over seven years.
Going for more land
Mark Child said Condor Gold intended to buy the remainder of the land this year and begin site preparation.
The company’s shares jumped 6.5% in London to £53.25 on the announcement, but ended up closing at £50. The mine developer has a market capitalization of £58.66 million.