Cabral Gold hits new zone in Brazil before output starts

Drilling at Cabral Gold’s (TSXV: CBR; US-OTC: CGBZF) Cuiú Cuiú project in northern Brazil has returned high-grade results that point to a new mineralized zone in the Jerimum Cima target as the company prepares to pour first gold in September.

Highlight hole DDH411 cut 8.9 metres grading 5.8 grams gold per tonne from 208 metres depth, including 1.8 metres at 28.4 grams gold, Cabral reported Thursday. That hole is regarded as a new mineralized zone located 200 metres south of the main zone at Jerimum Cima. The target is in Cabral’s larger Cuiú Cuiú project in Para state, about 2,500 km north of Rio de Janeiro.

“The identification of a new mineralized zone at Jerimum Cima . . . opens up the possibility of additional high-grade gold mineralization at the Jerimum Cima target which has already returned some spectacular drill results,” Cabral CEO Alan Carter said in a release, citing hole DDH385 that returned 9.5 metres grading 87.4 grams gold, in June.

“Further drilling will be required to determine the extent and along strike continuity of this new mineralized zone which remains open to the east, west and at depth.”

High returns, value

While Cuiú Cuiú’s deposit ranks as mid-tier for its size, it stands out for strong economics, including a post-tax internal rate of return of 78% and a post-tax net present value (at a 5% discount) of about $74 million at a base case gold price of $2,500 per oz., according to an updated prefeasibility study from last year.

The project has estimated initial capital costs of $37.7 million with a payback period of 10 months. It could produce 113,000 oz. over a 6.2-year life.

Cabral plans to start production in September from a heap leach oxide starter pit at the Moreira Gomes target inside Cuiú Cuiú, with commercial production targeted for the fourth quarter.

Company shares gained more than 2% to $1.38 apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $429.4 million. The stock has risen more than tripled over the past year.

Multiple hits

Another highlight hole, DDH393 returned 9.3 metres at 2.78 grams gold 207 metres depth, including 10.2 metres grading 1 gram gold and 1.7 metres at 7.2 grams gold.

Hole DDH396 cut 8.9 metres at 0.5 gram gold from 195.6 metres depth, including 11.1 metres grading 0.58 gram gold.

Drilling at Jerimum Cima aims to gather data for an initial resource for the gold-in-oxide blanket and the underlying primary mineralized zones. Drilling is also ongoing at the Machichie Main deposit and the Machichie West target and Cabral seeks to update the global resource later this year.

216,000 oz gold

Cuiú Cuiú hosts 13.6 million indicated tonnes grading 0.5 gram gold for 216,182 oz. of contained gold. Inferred resources total 6.4 million tonnes at 0.34 gram gold for 70,570 oz. contained metal.

The project is in Para’s Tapajós region, where artisanal miners flocked during a gold rush from the late 1970s until the late 1990s, according to the Brazilian Department of Mineral Production. Cuiú Cuiú itself is estimated to have produced 1.5 to 2 million oz. of placer gold amid the wider rush that booked 20 to 30 million ounces.

Cuiú Cuiú is located about 25 km northwest of G Mining Ventures’ (TSX: GMIN; US-OTC: GMINF) Tocantinzinho project.