Continental Gold gets approval to start digging

Continental Gold (CNL-T) has the green light to start underground development at its Buritica project in Colombia.

While the company has had its environmental impact assessment (EIA) approved, it is in need of modifications to the EIA to push ahead on development.

It now has its first amendment to that EIA approved and as a result it can get started on digging a 1-km access tunnel in the Higabra valley. It also has won the right to develop a six-km switchback road that will run from the paved road at Buritica down into the Higabra valley.

Continental plans to build its mine and milling operation for Buritica in the Higabra Valley.

The company says the tunnel will give it the underground drilling access it needs to infill drill its resources for the Yaragua and Veta Sur systems and also says the tunnel will eventually serve as the main access for all underground development.

With the approval in place Continental plans to start an aggressive exploration drill program to expand on drill results received from Yaragua, where it recently intercepted 4.5 metres grading 20.3 grams gold and 102 grams silver and Veta Sur, where it intercepted 10.2 metres grading 83.8 grams gold and 285 grams silver.

Buritica currently has measured and indicated resources of 1.1 million tonnes grading 17.8 grams gold, 42 grams silver and 0.8% zinc, and inferred resources of 6.9 million tonnes grading 11.4 grams gold, 43 grams silver and 0.6% zinc.

Continental says construction of the road and access tunnel will start in the fourth quarter of this year.

The next step on the permitting front is to file a second amendment to the EIA which should cover the remaining infrastructure required to build a mine. It plans to file the amendment in the second quarter of 2013.

Buritica covers 289.2 sq km in Colombia’s Antioquia department and is fully owned by Continental. The company has completed over 140,000 metres of drilling and preliminary metallurgical results showed 97.04% gold recoveries and 95.65% silver recoveries.

The project hosts a high-grade carbonate base metal gold vein deposit (CBM) with two separate stages of mineralization that overprint one another in places resulting in higher grades.

Continental is currently producing gold at the site on a small scale from a 30 tonne per day plant.