Liberty Gold Corp. (LGD:TSX; LGDTF:OTCQB) released, on time, an "impressive" updated resource estimate for its Black Pine project in Idaho, which met expectations for tons and in situ ounces, reported PI Financial analyst Chris Thompson in a Feb. 8 research note.
"The resource estimate confirms our view of Black Pine's potential to deliver about 200 oz of gold in average annual production over a healthy 10-year-plus life of mine," Thompson wrote.
Even Greater Resource Possible
The revised resource totals about 3,000,000 (3 Moz) of gold, and the potential exists to expand it even further to 4 Moz or higher, Thompson highlighted.
"Cutoff grade sensitivity reflects the potential for still more resource growth unlocked by economic/operational refinement as illustrated by global resources that total about 4.26 Moz in situ at a 0.1 gram per ton (0.1 g/t) cutoff grade," wrote Thompson.
Liberty Gold aims to further expand the resource and boost the resource grade. Accordingly, the company is in the process of drilling another 32,000m. Additional ounces could come, too, from 40 other already-drilled holes, the results of which are pending.
Thompson pointed out several key features of the new resource:
1) Quality remains high. About half of the total 3 Moz are in a higher category, "defined at a significant bump in cutoff grade," from that of the maiden 2021 resource estimate, up to 0.5 g/t from 0.2 g/t. Also, about 80% of the total in situ ounces at both 0.2 and 0.5 g/t cutoff grades fall into the Indicated category.
2) Ounces in 1 g/t range grew. This higher-grade group expanded at about the same pace as the overall resource did.
3) Rangefront zone drove growth. This more recently discovered zone accounts for about 25% of the overall resource, "a reflection of management's exploration expertise and discovery success," commented Thompson.
4) Discovery zone contributes most. This zone remains the highest contributor to the updated overall resource, at about 50%. Though the M zone accounts for 120,000 ounces at 0.7 g/t, it, too, is important strategically, given it is close to existing mine infrastructure.
Liberty continues various types of work at Black Pine, metallurgical, hydrological, geotechnical, environmental, and permitting, for the upcoming prefeasibility study, Thompson noted, all while keeping down costs. Total acquisition and exploration costs related to Black Pine up to year-end 2022 were US$16 per in situ ounce, which is "a remarkable achievement," Thompson noted.
PI Financial has a Buy rating and a CA$0.90 per share target price on Liberty Gold, currently trading at about CA$0.54 per share.
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1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
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Disclosures for PI Financial, Liberty Gold Corp., February 9, 2023
Analyst Certification: I, Chris Thompson, hereby certify that all of the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject securities or issuers. I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report. I am the research analyst primarily responsible for preparing this report.
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The affiliates of PI Financial Corp. are PI Financial (US) Corp., PI Financial Services Corp., and PI Capital Corp. Analysts are compensated through a combined base salary and bonus payout system. The bonus payout is amongst other factors determined by revenue generated directly or indirectly from various departments including Investment Banking. Evaluation is largely on an activity-based system that includes some of the following criteria: reports generated, timeliness, performance of recommendations, knowledge of industry, quality of research and investment guidance, and client feedback. Analysts and all other Research staff are not directly compensated for specific Investment Banking transactions.
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