(Sharecast News) - Copper and gold explorer, developer and producer Rambler Metals and Mining updated the market on its mineral resources estimate and operations at the Ming Copper-Gold Mine in eastern Canada on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm said the updated resource estimate, depleted by production through to 8 December, included 23.663 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 1.81% copper, containing 944 million pounds of copper.
That represented a 5% increase in contained copper compared to the previous resource estimate in May, after mining depletion.
The company added that the inferred mineral resources included 6.395 million tonnes grading 1.7% copper, containing 239 million pounds of copper at a 1% copper cut-off.
Gold and silver assays from 2021 were unavailable as of 20 December, due to an industry-wide shortage of third party assay lab capacity, the board said.
As a result, its resource update was for copper only, with Rambler promising to update the resource and reserves again when precious metal assays were received.
It said all zones remained open for extension with further drilling, especially down dip from the current resource.
On the operational front, Rambler said that in order to maintain compliance with underground mining standards, recent work had focussed on remediating a deficiency in a section of the secondary egress in the underground, between the 701 and 735 levels, providing an escape route in case of emergency.
Access below that level to the 735 to 760 level in the Lower Footwall Zone and the 770 to 790 level in the Upper Footwall Zone was expected to be available in early February, at which time the sequential production from those stopes would provide around 660,000 tonnes of ore.
Rambler said it had assessed that the necessary work would take up to four weeks, after which ore production could continue in these areas.
During the remediation period, mining would focus on advancing development headings in ore, mitigating some of the stoping shortfall.
Copper production in December would total around 300 tonnes of contained copper from 496 tonnes planned, with no significant impact on the overall copper production in 2022.
The balance of the 2021 hedge was expected to be completed in January.
Production guidance for 2022 would be released in January, the board said, which would reflect the updated mine plan incorporating the upgraded resources.
"Safety is our first priority, and we will ensure that we comply with our legal obligations around health and safety, as with all matters, at all times," said president and chief executive officer Toby Bradbury.
"As part of improving the focus on the safe and effective operation of the underground, we have made a number of management changes including the appointment of a new mine superintendent and a highly experienced safety superintendent.
"We see significant upside in the growing efficiency of the mining operation and plan to realise the cash flow benefits in the coming months."
Dr Bradbury said that, although the company would be delayed in producing ore from certain areas of the mine by around four weeks, that "does not diminish" the value it expected to create with the access to the "world-class" resources at Rambler.
"The robustness of the mineral resource is further highlighted by the uplift of copper contained in resources.
"Compared to the March mineral resource estimate, this December update contains an additional 19,914 tonnes of contained copper metal in the measured and indicated categories.
"This additional metal has been identified through our infill drilling program and occurs in zones we will be mining from 2022 onwards."
The majority of that improvement came from the high-grade Ming North Zone, Toby Bradbury explained, which increased by 359,000 tonnes grading 5.31% copper in the measured and indicated categories for 19,068 tonnes of contained copper after depletion.
He said the company expected the zone would also provide an uplift in contained precious metals once the assays were returned.
"As further demonstrated by the diamond drilling, both grades and thicknesses are continuing to improve with depth at the Ming Mine.
"We are excited about the gold assays that we are yet to receive, particularly for the massive sulphide zones, as these are expected to further add to the story.
"The resources for gold and silver will be updated and released in due course, at which time we will also be in a position to declare updated mineral reserves."
At 1540 GMT, shares in Rambler Metals and Mining were down 1.54% at 32p.
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