Indicated resources now stand at 180 million tonnes at 1.13 grams per tonne gold for 6.5 million ounces of gold, using a 0.5gpt cut-off.

The project has an additional 500,000oz at 1.2gpt gold in the inferred category.

The latest upgrade incorporated the results of the latest infill drilling program, which comprised 35 holes for 15,684m.

The upgrade paves the way for a maiden ore reserve, to be released mid-year as part of the prefeasibility study.

Cardinal managing director Archie Koimtsidis said the resource would support a long mine life.

“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,” he said.

A recent preliminary economic assessment outlined 4.5 million tonne per annum, 7Mtpa and 9.5Mtpa development optiona, with capital costs ranging from US$275 million to $426 million, all-in sustaining costs between $701-$794/oz and annual production from 159,000oz up to 330,000oz.

“The higher-grade areas of the deposit, close to surface, will be targeted within the stage one 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,” Koimtsidis said.

“The stage one 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 1.5gpt gold based upon the PEA results and the throughput size selected.”

Cardinal remains confident of further resource growth at Namdini, with mineralisation remaining open along strike and down-dip.

Shares in Cardinal rose by 5.5% to A57c, valuing the company at $200 million.

Cardinal, which is also listed in Toronto, will present at PDAC this week.