Aguia Resources has delivered a dramatic operational turnaround at its wholly owned Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia, driving processing plant head grades up to almost 12 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold. The impressive grade spike follows the company’s successful rollout of optimised extraction methods specifically tailored for high-grade, narrow-vein underground mining.
Aguia’s revamped mining strategy appears to have finally tamed the crippling ore dilution that had plagued operations for months, after the plant spent much of the past nine months processing diluted material grading a modest three to four grams per tonne of gold. The company’s new narrow-vein mining system has engineered an immediate turnaround, lifting recent run-of-mine plant feed grades above the key 10g/t gold target.
The final batch processing test run successfully yielded a total recovery of 10.31g/t gold, proving up the revised underground fragmentation and grade control protocols. Aguia says the latest batch reflects the true high-grade nature of Santa Barbara, confirming a head grade of 12g/t gold before factoring in minor processing losses.
At surface, the engineering crew has completed infrastructure upgrades needed to handle the higher-grade ore feed, with all routine plant repairs and maintenance now wrapped up under the phase one site works program. Aguia says the final capital task will involve commissioning a mechanised crushing setup to minimise handling losses. Excavation works, concrete foundations and steel framing have already been completed ahead of final installation.
“The team is making excellent progress at Santa Barbara and the improved head grade to 12 grams per tonne of gold reflects this,” said Aguia Resources managing director and chief executive officer Tim Hoskings.
Below surface, mine development has focused on opening up fresh, stable production faces. Underground crews have sunk two new shafts spaced 30 metres apart beneath the historical workings of Vein No. 1 to prepare for immediate mining on the lower sublevels. The shafts will target the high-grade zones and continuity revealed in last year’s maiden drill program, which intercepted mineralisation 6m below the main haulage tunnel.
That drilling delivered some eye-catching hits, including 0.6m at 25.43g/t gold and 78.3g/t silver from 88m alongside a 0.45m section from 59m running 15g/t gold, featuring a spectacular 0.15m slice grading 44.2g/t gold and 74.2g/t silver.
Additionally, the company plans to expand laterally along Vein No. 1 and continue shaft excavation towards a second sublevel ahead of stope preparation. Aguia says this deeper push will allow it to move past the 80-tonne low-grade material pulled to surface in April, which turned out to be too weathered due to its proximity to the surface.
Meanwhile, lateral development is progressing along both ends of Vein No. 2, where miners are driving raises 30 metres apart to prepare for breasting mining, a method of extracting ore horizontally across the face of the vein.
With Santa Barbara finally beginning to hit its stride, Aguia has been able to shift part of its focus back to Brazil, where the company recently secured the long-awaited operating licence for its flagship Três Estradas phosphate project in Rio Grande do Sul. The granting of the operating licence has allowed the company to put the pedal to the metal, immediately kicking off topsoil stripping works ahead of the start of open-pit mining operations.
Três Estradas holds a massive mineral resource of 105.06 million tonnes grading 4.11 per cent phosphorus pentoxide. A 2023 bankable feasibility study delivered robust project economics, outlining a forecast annual EBITDA of A$25 million from a 300,000 tonnes-per-annum operation. Aguia intends to market the organic product locally as “PAMPAFOS”, offering domestic farmers a direct substitute that is 30 per cent cheaper than imported fertilisers.
Next steps for Aguia at Santa Barbara include transitioning into its phase two mining and fine-tuning its optimisation program over the next few months. The program will target mining improvements across Veins 1 and 2, with Aguia slashing explosive use and costs, sharpening grade control and rolling out a new ore bin and conveyor system to streamline material handling underground.
With top-tier gold grades flowing in Colombia and a major mining operation kicking off in Brazil, Aguia appears beautifully positioned for a major growth surge. Savvy punters will be keeping a close eye on this dual-commodity player as the steady cash flow starts to ring the till.
