Cardinal Upgrades Indicated Mineral Resource To 6.5moz

As a result of an additional 15,684m of HQ diamond drilling within 35 holes since the last Mineral Resource estimate in September 2017, the infill drilling program has been successful in delivering a substantial conversion of the Inferred category ounces into the Indicated Mineral Resource category which is now at 6.5Moz of Indicated Mineral Resources and 0.5Moz of Inferred Mineral Resources.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 5Moz of gold contained in 180Mt at 1.13g/t Au at a cut-off of 0.5g/t Au within the Indicated Mineral Resource category
• 5Moz of gold contained in 13Mt at 1.2g/t Au at a cut-off of 0.5g/t Au within the Inferred Mineral Resource category
• Remains open along strike and down dip
• Maiden Ore Reserve estimate and Pre-Feasibility Study due mid-2018

Cardinal’s Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director, Archie Koimtsidis stated:

“We are extremely pleased that our intensive infill drilling campaign has significantly upgraded our confidence in the Namdini deposit with an overall lift in Indicated Mineral Resources from 4.3Moz to 6.5Moz.  Further to this, we are confident that Namdini can continue to grow with more drilling given it remains open both along strike and down dip, with mineralisation intersected down to 650 vertical metres, and still open.

“This upgrade to the Mineral Resource is more than a 50% increase in the Indicated category from the estimate published in the September 2017 NI 43-101 technical report and supports a long mine life as demonstrated by the results of the recently announced Preliminary Economic Assessment.

“With the majority of the Indicated Mineral Resource continuous from surface to an approximate vertical depth of 400m, we anticipate a conversion of Mineral Resources to Ore Reserves within a simple, single, large-scale open pit, with a very low strip ratio of 1.2 to 1 over the life of mine as the preferred mining method. 

“The higher-grade areas of the deposit, close to surface, will be targeted within the Stage 1 pit in the early years of production, as the recent results of our PEA study indicate, this pit will be the area most likely to repay capital investment soonest. The Stage 1 pit will see approximately 400,000oz to 900,000oz produced over three to four years at an average head grade of approximately 1.3 to 1.5 g/t Au based upon the PEA results and the throughput size selected.”

MINERAL RESOURCE UPGRADE

This Mineral Resource update incorporates the results from the latest infill drilling program which was completed in Q4 2017 totalling approximately 15,684m in 35 drill holes.  The primary aim of the drilling program was to infill the deposit within the conceptual pit to focus on converting the remaining Inferred Mineral Resource to the Indicated category.  This drill program also incorporated grade control, pit geotechnical, hydrogeology and tailings infrastructure drilling.  With all of these programs completed, we will be able to produce an Ore Reserve estimation as part of the Pre-Feasibility study which is currently scheduled to be completed in mid-2018.