Aguia hits Colombia gold record and breaks even

While newly installed extraction fans will improve ventilation, reaching cash-flow breakeven has allowed Aguia to trim the fat by reducing its mine workforce by 15 per cent during the month. The company is also working to restart exploration and define a mineral resource estimate.

Management says the 320-hectare project still has plenty of blue sky, with much of the ground untouched by modern exploration. Adding some historical intrigue, earlier operators processed a 500-tonne bulk sample at head grades above 24g/t - impressive numbers that provide geological context rather than a current resource or guide to present production.

For Aguia, Santa Barbara is one half of a South American operating story that also includes phosphate assets in Brazil, where the company has been building towards commercial sales from its phosphate projects. The gold mine’s first month standing on its own two feet gives the Colombian business a new base as it scales.

Attention could soon swing back to Brazil, with management expecting to update shareholders on its Brazilian phosphate assets next week. Sales are already materialising from stockpiled phosphate material and operations are continuing, potentially giving Aguia a second source of operating revenue alongside its growing Colombian gold business.

Having proven it can mine profitably at a small scale, the next test is whether more underground access can turn a 37-ounce record into a repeatable climb in output. Aguia has the gear moving and the gold grade to make the next step count.

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