Condor will continue advancing the development of the two pits, located within 35 metres of the surface. The intention, it said, is to mine them early to quicken the payback period and enhance the project’s economics.
Condor Gold’s plan is to mine two small starter pits early to quicken the payback period and enhance La India’s economics.
La India’s initial pits contain 455,000 tonnes at 4.17g/t gold for 59,674 oz gold using a 2.00g/t cut-off grade. The main open pit, in turn, has a mineral reserve estimate of 6.9 million tonnes at 3.1 g/t gold for 675,000 ounces of gold.
Condor Gold staked concessions in Nicaragua, Central America’s largest country, in 2006. Since then, mining has significantly taken off in the country due to the arrival of foreign companies with the cash and expertise to tap into existing reserves.
The government of Nicaragua granted Condor Gold in 2019 the 132.1 km2 Los Cerritos exploration and exploitation concession, which expanded the La India project concession area by 29% to a total of 587.7 km2.
Condor also attracted a partner — Nicaragua Milling. The privately held company, which took a 10.4% stake in the miner in September 2019, has operated in the country for two decades.
