Aura Minerals tables Q4 results, 2025 production targets
Aura Minerals Inc. [ORA-TSX, ORAAF-OTC] has announced its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024 as well as production forecast for 2025.
Aura is a mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on operating and developing gold and base metals projects in the Americas. The company has four operating mines, including the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, the Apoena (EPP) and Almas gold mines in Brazil, and the Minosa (San Adres) gold mine in Honduras. The company’s development projects include Borborema and Matupa, both in Brazil.
Borborema is expected to produce 748,000 ounces of gold over an initial 11.3-year mine life from an open pit gold mine, according to a feasibility study, which sees the potential for additional production. With construction already under way, the company expects commercial production to start in the third quarter of 2025.
In 2024, we doubled our [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization] EBITDA to US$267 million with average gold prices of nearly US$2,400 an ounce – well below current levels – while keeping costs firmly under control with our all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) at US$1,320 an ounce, below the industry average,’’ said Aura President and CEO Rodrigo Barbosa. “Almas operation overcame a challenging first half to deliver an outstanding full-year performance, producing 54,129 ounces at an AISC of US$1,139 per ounce,’’ he said. “This success sets a strong foundation for Borborema, which remains on track and on budget for its 2025 startup, promising higher average production and costs below average AISC.’’
Total production in the fourth quarter of 2024 reached 66,473 gold equivalent ounces (GEOs), 1.0% below the third quarter of 2024 and consistent with the same period last year. Total production for 2024 reached 267,232 GEO at current prices, a 13% increase when compared to 2023 at current prices.
All in all, the 2025 production guidance expects production of 266,000 to 300,000 GEO, representing an increase of 33,000 GEO when compared to 2024 at current prices and up to 37,000 GEO at constant metal prices.
Aura recently struck a definitive deal to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Bluestone Resources Inc. by way of a plan of arrangement in a deal worth US$74.3 million.
Under the deal, Aura acquired a 100% stake in Bluestone’s Cerro Blanco gold project and the adjacent Mita Geothermal project in Jutiapa, Guatemala. Cerro Blanco is a near surface high grade gold deposit. The Mita Geothermal project is an advanced-stage renewable energy project licensed to produce up to 50 megawatts of power.
On Thursday, Aura shares edged up 0.27% or $0.06 to $22.57. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $22.81 and $8.38.