TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Quebec-based exploration and project development firm Mason Graphite has announced a 658% increase in the compliant measured and indicated mineral resources at its flagship Lac Guéret graphite project in the north-east of the province.

Mason on Thursday announced that recent drilling had resulted in it lifting the resources to 50-million tonnes, up from 7.6-million tonnes, and the inferred resources rose to 11.9-million tonnes from 2.8-million tonnes.

Overall, the measured and indicated grade is 15.6% graphitic carbon (Cg), which validated the main parameters of the April preliminary economic assessment report, the company said.

This comprised a 22-year life-of-mine at a grade of 27.4%, with a low stripping ratio of 0.76:1 and operating costs of $390/t.

Mason noted that the enlarged resource could potentially lead to a more optimised pit design and improved economics in the next phase of technical studies.

The latest resource, calculated by Roche Consulting Group, included data from 170 drill holes in the GC zone, totalling 50-million tonnes grading 15.6% Cg, including a high-grade portion of 6.67-million tonnes grading 32.4% Cg, in the measured and indicated categories, and 11.86-million tonnes grading 17.1% Cg, including 2.64-million tonnes grading 30.5% Cg, in the inferred category.

“We are very pleased to see the success of our 2012 drilling programme materialise in this updated mineral resource estimate. We expect the scale of growth of our project to positively impact what is already expected to be an economical project. Results from the Lac Guéret project continue to reinforce our belief in the world-class potential of this asset,” president and CEO Benoît Gascon said.

The new mineral resource estimate was based on drill data from the GC zone, which represented only one of two mineralised zones identified on the property to date.

A total of 170 holes had been drilled in this area. The GC zone was found to have a strike length of about 1.2 km and the new mineral resource estimate had almost doubled the width of the deposit to about 600 m. The mineral envelope remains open in all directions and the company expected further growth with additional drilling.

At the GR zone, only 18 holes had been drilled to date. The zone is located less than a kilometre north of the GC zone. The GR zone was currently defined on an area spanning about 1 km by 110 m.

Mason expected to complete a feasibility study by the end of 2014.