Feb 5 2011
Prodigy Gold Incorporated (TSX VENTURE:PDG) has provided the following update and project timeline for its 100% owned Magino Mine gold project located in Ontario.
Prodigy is in the process of revising the current gold resource estimate, emphasizing the open pit mining potential of the project. The revised resource estimate is on schedule and is expected to be released by late February 2011. The company has also initiated a previously announced in-fill and resource expansion drill program (please see News Release dated January 13, 2011). Assay results from the first drill holes are expected shortly.
The Magino Mine project currently has Measured and Indicated Resources of over 2 million tonnes grading 6.74 gpt for a total of 453,000 ounces gold. Total Inferred Resources are estimated at 5.8 million tonnes grading 6.29 gpt for a total of 1,178,000 ounces gold at a cutoff of 3 gpt gold (InnovExplo 43-101 compliant Technical Report issued 28 May, 2009, available on the Prodigy Gold web site). The revised resource estimate will use a lower cut off grade, appropriate for open pit mining, and also utilize new drill data not included in the previous resource estimate.
Gold mineralization at Magino measures 1,400 metres by 700 metres, and presently extends to a depth of greater than 600 metres. Drill hole and surface data demonstrates the potential to expand the size of the gold resource, both within the area already drilled and along strike and down dip from known gold mineralization. The geologic database shows significant and continuous lower grade gold mineralization enveloping the higher grade areas. Preliminary modeling of the deposit has identified a large volume of gold mineralization that may be minable using low-cost open pit methods, increasing the size of the resource.
The Preliminary Economic Assessment, expected in early April 2011, will examine the economics of a potential open pit mine at Magino with mill capacities of up to 15,000 tonnes per day which would be capable of producing as much as 150,000 ounces gold per year. The economic assessment will target cash costs of less than $500 per ounce. Underground mining may comprise a separate phase of the mine life. A full feasibility study is due out in the first quarter of 2012. The proposed scope of the PEA is based upon an internal analysis and is not an assessment of the project as defined by NI 43-101. The ultimate scale and scope of the project will be determined during the PEA process.
Source: Prodigy Gold Incorporated