VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Colombia-focused explorer Bellhaven Copper & Gold has upgraded the La Mina resource, in Colombia, increasing confidence in the National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate and further de-risking the project.

The TSX-V-listed company reported Monday that La Mina now contained 1.01-million ounces gold equivalent contained in the indicated resource category and 430 000 oz gold equivalent contained in the inferred resource category at a base case 0.25 g/t gold cutoff grade.

At the breakeven cutoff grade of 0.1 g/t, La Mina, which comprises the La Cantera and Middle Zone prospects located 500 m apart, holds 1.23-million ounces of gold-equivalent contained in the indicated resource category and 530 000 oz of gold equivalent in the inferred resource category.

Importantly, Bellhaven notes that the resource update incorporates additional drill holes as well as updated metal prices, metallurgical recoveries and mining/cost factors. It excludes the prospective La Garrucha prospect, located about 800 m to the east.

Bellhaven stated that about 70% of the mineral resources were now classified as indicated while, under the previous 2012 preliminary economic assessment, all of the resources were defined as inferred.

Further, the company points out that the resources are now in-pit constrained mineral resources, as opposed to the previous in situ resource estimate.

Meanwhile, Bellhaven expects to collar enough drill holes at the La Garrucha prospect next year so as to provide the basis for calculating a mineral resource estimate for this prospect.

Chairperson and CEO Dr Paul Zweng noted that the aeromagnetic anomaly over the nearby La Garrucha prospect is substantially larger than that over either the La Cantera or Middle Zone prospects, since drill holes collared at La Garrucha have yielded multiple 100-m-plus intercepts of 1 g/t gold (or better) grades.

The company’s TSX-V-listed stock closed down 13.21% on Monday at C$0.46 apiece.