JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Dragon Mining has completed an update of its ore reserves, increasing its total proved and probable reserves to 2.32-million tonnes, grading 3.1 g/t gold for 232 000 oz – the highest tonnage level since Dragon started activities in the Nordic region.

The updated reserve represents an overall increase of 29% in tonnage and 22% in gold ounces.

In Finland, Dragon increased the mine life for its Jokisivu gold mine to four years, while successful drilling campaigns carried out at the Orivesi gold mine has resulted in an additional year of ore reserves being identified.

This has provided the company with confidence that its ore reserves are suitable until mining starts at the Faboliden gold project, in Sweden.

“When including the ore reserves for the project, where it is working on environmental approval, the company now has sufficient ore reserves to last until 2024,” Dragon said in a statement on Friday.

In addition to site-specific mining, metallurgical cost and revenue factors, the updated ore reserve estimates for the Orivesi and Jokisivu gold mines used a gold price of $1 280/oz.

The updated ore reserves for Jokisivu total 1.01-million tonnes at 2.9 g/t gold for 95 200 oz, representing a 103% increase in tonnes and a 65% increase in ounces after depletion for mining to September 30, 2017.

The company will continue ongoing drilling programmes and studies at Jokisivu to evaluate the open extensions of the Kujankalio and Arpola deposits and their associated satellite zones as the mine advances deeper.

The updated ore reserves for the Orivisi gold mine totals 71 000 t grading 5.5 g/t gold for 12 500 oz as at September 30, 2017. This represents a 54% increase in tonnage and 58% increase in gold ounces.

Kaapelinkuma saw a 10% decrease in tonnage after the updated ore reserves owing to a better definition of mineralised zones following the detailed reverse circulation drilling programme that was completed last year.

The increase in gold ounces is attributed to an increase in grade.

At the Svartliden production centre, in Sweden, reserves remain unchanged at 1.16-million tonnes at 3.1 g/t gold for 115 000 oz.