Aguia Resources Ltd. has reported record monthly gold output from its Santa Barbara project in Colombia, reaching a major financial milestone by covering its local operating and overhead costs for the first time.
The miner produced approximately 37 ounces of gold in September, up from 32 ounces in August, extracted from 105 dry tonnes of run-of-mine ore.
Operations maintained strong high-grade characteristics with an average head grade of 10.88 grams per tonne of gold (g/t), while recent batch assessments returned grades as high as 12.75 g/t.
Gross revenue reached AU$218,000, supported by a realised gold price of US$4,135 per Troy ounce. Total output yielded 1,143.07 grams of gold alongside 2,124 grams of payable silver.
To optimise recoveries, Aguia routed all September production to the Quintana processing plant in Remedios, Antioquia. Operated by Colombian Mint, part of the Sun Valley Investments group, the arrangement provides Aguia with 90 per cent of recovered gold, less processing fees of US$65 per tonne.
Aguia CEO Timothy Hosking said: “Although volumes are still modest at ~37 ounces of gold produced, the grade and recoveries achieved clearly demonstrate the potential value that can be realised from a scaled-up operation.
“Our processing agreement with Colombian Mint is yielding excellent outcomes and we are assessing avenues where we can better capitalise on third party processing expertise while our team focuses on ore extraction volumes and recommencing exploration activities to define a mineral resource estimate.”
To drive expansion, Aguia streamlined operations, trimming its mine workforce by 15 per cent to curb expenses while acquiring extra equipment to extend three shafts below main vein levels.
The company aims to ramp up underground extraction from 100 tonnes per month to more than 200 tonnes per month before the first quarter of 2027.