Gold miner Endeavour Mining has recorded a significant addition in high-grade resources at the Le Plaque discovery at its flagship Ity mine, in Côte d’Ivoire.

The definition of seven new targets is also expected to boost confidence in delineating further resources.

“We are very pleased with the maiden resource at Le Plaque, as it confirms the [significant] potential we see at Ity,” Endeavour exploration and growth executive VP Patrick Bouisset commented in a statement released on Monday.

“Our results to date have been outstanding, both in terms of the very high grade nature and mineralisation extension,” he added.

Le Plaque’s indicated resource increased from 85 000 oz to 476 000 oz and has the potential to continue to significantly increase.

Continued low discovery costs of $15 per indicated resource ounce have been achieved.

The Le Plaque deposit now comprises three zones – Plaque Main, Epsilon and Le Plaque South, all of which are open at depth and in multiple directions, with mineralisation confirmed by step-out drilling.

Preliminary metallurgical tests indicate gold recovery rates of at least 90%.

The Le Plaque drilling campaign is ongoing with at least 20 000 m planned for the second half of this year, with the aim of delineating further resources and reaching reserves status by year-end.

Seven additional nearby targets were identified following an extensive reconnaissance drilling campaign.

Since drilling began in the first quarter of 2018, a strong focus has been placed on understanding the potential of the wider Le Plaque area; 413 holes were used for resource delineation out of the 1 361 holes drilled in the wider area.

Reconnaissance drilling has outlined that Le Plaque only represents 20% of the large anomalic area located in the northern part of the Floleu licence, where at least seven additional other targets were identified.

Bouisset indicated that, looking ahead, the company was excited by the potential in the Le Plaque area.

Before year-end, Premier expects to further increase its resource base and define a maiden reserve.

Bouisset indicated that, in a broader sense, the success achieved by Premier, notably at Houndé, Ity and Fetekro, just two-and-half years since the implementation of the company’s

strategic exploration plan in late 2016, demonstrated that it continued to add value while remaining on track to reach its discovery cost target of less than $20/oz.

Le Plaque, located 6 km south of the processing plant, is a high-grade discovery made on the northern part of the wholly-owned Floleu exploration licence.