Heliostar Metals (TSX:HSTR) has submitted environmental permit applications for its Ana Paula Gold Project in Guerrero, Mexico. The proposed underground operation would have approximately 65% less surface disturbance than the previously approved open-pit design.
The company filed an environmental impact statement and environmental risk study with Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, known as SEMARNAT. The applications remain subject to regulatory review and approval.
The revised design removes the open pit, reduces the waste rock dump and processing plant, and changes the plant’s location. It also incorporates dry-stack tailings and the use of tailings as paste backfill underground.
CEO Charles Funk says the submission moves Ana Paula closer to a planned construction decision in mid-2027.
“This process required bringing the existing permits into compliance and completing the design work for the upcoming Feasibility Study on the project,” Funk says.
“Heliostar is committed to meeting the high standards expected by our local communities, shareholders and those required by the Mexican Government.”
Heliostar is also advancing Ana Paula’s Feasibility Study, scheduled for completion in the June quarter of 2027, as previously reported by Mining.com.au.
The company estimates development could create approximately 1,500 construction jobs, followed by 600 permanent operating positions, primarily filled locally.
The permitting update follows Heliostar’s move to the TSX main board on 7 October.
The company says cash flow from its La Colorada and San Agustin mines supports its development pipeline. It targets annual gold production of 500,000 ounces by the end of the decade.
Heliostar Metals is a Canadian gold producer with operating mines and development projects in Mexico and the US.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Main image: Heliostar Metals
