USD $4,111.97
Goldman Single-pit Ore Reserve supports more than 13 years of planned production at 3.0Mtpa.
Tesoro Gold Limited (ASX:TSO) has declared a maiden Ore Reserve of 42.8 million tonnes at 0.93g/t gold for 1.28 million ounces at the Ternera deposit within its El Zorro Gold Project in Chile.
The Ore Reserve is contained entirely within a single open pit and represents about 87% of the 1.47 million ounces in Ternera’s Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource. It comprises 2.8Mt at 1.05g/t Au for 93,000oz in the Proved category and 40.1Mt at 0.92g/t Au for 1.19Moz in the Probable category.
Tesoro said the Reserve supports a project production life of more than 13 years at a planned processing rate of 3.0Mtpa, with an average grade of 1.16g/t Au over the first 10 years. The proposed operation is based on conventional open-pit mining and a crushing, grinding, gravity and carbon-in-pulp processing flowsheet.
The Reserve pit was designed from a shell selected using a US$3,000 per ounce gold price, with a 0.30g/t Au cut-off grade. No Inferred Mineral Resources were included in the Ore Reserve.
The work is underpinned by Pre-Feasibility Study-level mine designs, schedules and modifying factors. Tesoro is targeting completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study during 2026 and continues to test extensions to Ternera and other discovery targets across the El Zorro district.
Tesoro Gold managing director Zeff Reeves:
The Ternera Gold Deposit represents a rare, single open pit development opportunity in a world-class mining friendly country. Establishing this initial 1.28Moz Ore Reserve is a significant step for our El Zorro Gold Project.
The Reserve is supported by more than 160km of diamond drilling completed at Ternera since its initial discovery and the recent significant upgrade to geological confidence of the Mineral Resource base. Importantly, this Reserve contains approximately 87% of the gold currently classified within the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource. That is a strong conversion outcome and is reflective of the consistency of mineralisation at Ternera.
We now have a substantial Ore Reserve contained entirely within a single open pit which supports more than 13 years of production at the planned 3.0Mtpa processing rate.
This gives us a strong development base at Ternera, which still has significant upside to be unlocked from further drilling.
We will continue advancing the technical and development workstreams for El Zorro in parallel with drilling as multiple rigs pursue extensions to the existing Ternera Resource and high-priority discovery targets across the broader El Zorro Gold District.
