Precious metals company Hochschild Mining has increased estimated resource levels at its Snip gold project in British Columbia, with the firm now expecting it to contain an estimated 840,000 ounces of gold at the indicated level.
Hochschild Mining said on Tuesday that the increased resources estimate, the first to be released by Hochschild for the project and follow on from operations manager Skeena Resources’s July 2020 maiden estimate, was a marked improvement when compared to the 244,000 ounces previously projected.
The FTSE 250-listed firm also said it now expects to see 723,000 ounces of gold at a less certain inferred category, up from 402,000 ounces previously.
Hochschild was in the process of earning-in 60% of the project under an agreement with Skeena.
Chief executive Ignacio Bustamante said: “Estimated indicated mineral resources have more than tripled while inferred resources have almost doubled compared to the 2020 estimate with grades at more than 10 grams per tonne.
“These results validate our decision to exercise the option to start earning-into the project and provide encouragement for the 2022 drill programme, which began earlier this month.”
As of 0930 GMT, Hochschild shares were down 1.03% at 114.90p.