Aguia Resources (ASX:AGR) has recorded further improvements to its Santa Barbara Gold Project in Colombia, with head grades increasing by up to 10 grams per tonne at the processing plant.
The company describes this as a “significant improvement” from the previous average of 3–4g/t gold achieved in the nine months prior.
Aguia has fully implemented an optimised method for ‘high-grade’, narrow vein mining.
Total recoveries from the last batch included 10.31g/t gold, with an estimated head grade of 12g/t gold before losses.
Aguia has completed routine plant repairs and maintenance, with two shafts sunk under Vein #1 to start the next production and development ongoing on Vein #2 to prepare for production stopes.
CEO Timothy Hosking says the team has made “excellent progress” at Santa Barbara, reflected by the improved head grade.
“It demonstrates that the improvements implemented — being the optimised mining methods, plant improvements and grade control — are delivering the desired outcomes,” Hosking says.
“We achieved these grades only in the last gold pour for the month, so we expect May’s production to reflect the higher grade for a full month of production.
“In April, our efforts concentrated on expanding mine development to create additional faces on Vein #2 and on sinking two shafts beneath Vein #1 to initiate development of lower sublevels, targeting the high-grade zones and continuity revealed in last year’s drill program.
“Exploration remains a focus to better define the broader extent of Santa Barbara’s mineralised system, but our immediate focus is increasing gold production and maintaining these higher grades.”
Aguia Resources is a multi-commodity explorer with phosphate assets in Brazil and gold assets in Colombia.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Aguia Resources
