Dual-listed Condor Gold has been granted an extension to the timeframe to acquire land in Nicaragua or to reach legal agreements with landowners for a new mine producing 80 000 oz/y to 100 000 oz/y.

Condor Gold in August last year received an environmental permit to operate a mine processing up to 2 800 t/d of mineralised ore at its La India project, but had to satisfy certain conditions to start construction within 18 months of the grant.

The company reported on Tuesday that, although it had made progress, it had not completed the land acquisition for the mine site infrastructure in the required timeframe and that it had been granted an extension.

Condor recently announced a private placement of new ordinary shares to raise £4.04-million will be used to meet the terms of the permit, including the purchase of land for the mine site infrastructure, technical engineering and other studies required prior to construction.

Further, the company said that it was making good progress with the completion of two environmental impact assessments, which would be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resource in the second half of 2019 for the high-grade Mestiza and America satellite feeder pits as well.

These pits would have the potential to increase production from openpit material by 50% to 120 000 oz/y gold for a seven-year life-of-mine.

The feeder pits have in aggregate 206 000 t at a grade of 9.9 g/t, for 66 000 oz contained metal, in the indicated category and 1.02-million tonnes at 4.6 g/t, for 152 000 oz contained gold in the inferred category.

Upon completion of the permitting of the two feeder pits, about one-million ounces of gold in the indicated and inferred category will be permitted for extraction, producing about 800 000 oz gold.

Condor said that, at a later stage, it would permit the underground mineral resources of 1.27-million tonnes at a grade of 5.8 g/t gold, for 238 000 oz gold in the indicated category and 5.47-million tonnes at a grade of 5.1 g/t gold, for 889 000 oz gold in the inferred category.