(Sharecast News) - West Africa-focussed explorer and developer Cora Gold reported significant development progress at its flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in its final results on Monday, as it remained pre-revenue.
The AIM-traded company said its updated mineral resource estimate saw a 14% increase in total estimated ounces, with a resource of 24.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.15 grams of gold per tonne, amounting to 920,000 ounces.
Notably, the oxide indicated mineral resource increased 22% to 509,000 ounces.
In October, Cora received the environmental permit following the completion and submission of the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA).
The firm also published the project's optimised economics in November, based on a gold price of $1,750 per ounce.
It said the key figures included a 52.3% internal rate of return, a 1.2-year payback period, a $71.8m first full year free cash flow, a $234m free cash flow over the mine's life, a $997 per ounce all-in sustaining costs, a 6.8-year reserve mine life, a yearly average production of 56,000 ounces, and a pre-production capital investment of $90m.
Following the end of the fiscal year, Cora Gold completed a fundraising initiative in the first quarter through equity and convertible loan notes, securing a total of $19.8m.
The funds would support the start of development activities at Sanankoro in 2023.
"2022 has been a significant year for Cora as we approach construction readiness at our Sanankoro Gold Project," said chief executive officer Bert Monro.
"The bulk of our attention focused on the delivery of our definitive feasibility study and optimised project economics, which were published in November.
"This work underlined the robust technical and economic fundamentals of the Sanankoro project, and highlighted in particular the potential strong free cash flow of $71.8m in the first full year, based on a $1,750 gold price."
Monro said that equally important was the low technical risk, explaining that with an open-pit free digging oxide operation, Cora had the benefit of lower operating costs and also a low strip ratio.
"Our ongoing commitment to the responsible and sustainable development of Sanankoro has been supported by the appointment of an environmental, social and governance (ESG) manager in January 2022.
"The ESG team have continued their important work to support and engage with local communities near the Sanankoro project, and strengthening communication channels as we approach construction.
"2023 is set to be a pivotal year for Cora and we remain focused on commencing construction in as short a time frame as practicable once permitting and financing is completed."
At 1041 BST, shares in Cora Gold were down 2.63% at 3.7p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Cora Gold (CORA)