Shares in Condor Resources (LON:CNR) fell by a penny to 9.75p this morning after the gold exploration group announced the results of a mineral resource estimation for its La India concession in Nicaragua. The JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource has come in at 4.58m tonnes at 5.9 grams per ton for 868,000 ounces of gold over the majority of the mineralised veins.

Anticipation of the report, which Condor had promised by the close of 2010, helped to drive the company’s shares up from 2.3p to 11p between mid-October and the end of last year, making it one of AIM’s best performing stocks in 2010. Condor said that the strict deadline set for the independent consultants SRK, meant that the report was not quite complete but that an updated statement would be released by the end of the first quarter of 2011.

Mark Child, the chairman of Condor Resources, said: “Since acquiring the concession in September 2010, Condor undertook a massive data capture exercise in a very short period of time. The sheer volume of data has presented unique problems, which have been largely resolved. Due to the self imposed deadline of announcing a JORC Mineral Resource to the stock market, the statement excludes three of the smaller veins and has only been completed in 2D. The data capture is on going. I am pleased to note that in SRK's opinion, a portion of the inferred mineral resource could be moved into the indicated category, without the need for exploration expenditure, once the remaining data validation is completed and a 3D model is produced to better represent the continuity of mineralisation by the end of the first quarter of 2011. It is also noteworthy that SRK’s block model has highlighted the continuity of the grade and distinct higher grade oreshoots to depth, which SRK highlight as an important feature of the deposit.”

The La India concession covers an area of 69 sq km and is 80% owned by Condor and 20% by B2Gold of Canada. Condor owns 100% of a further four contiguous concessions in La India Mining District which cover a further 96 sq km and include the JORC compliant inferred resource of 41,000 oz gold at Cacao defined by Condor in 2008.

La India Underground Mine, which is located on…

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