Calibre delivers on hub and spoke gold strategy
Calibre Mining Corp. [CXB-TSXV, CXBMF-OTC] said Wednesday it is delivering high-grade ore from the Pavon Central mine in Nicaragua to the nearby Libertad mill at an average rate of 1,000 tonnes per day.
The company said mining at its Pavon Central open pit operation commenced in January, 2023, a development that is part of the company’s “hub-and-spoke” strategy which brings in ore from various satellite pits, the “spokes,” to be processed at a centralized facility in the Libertad Complex.
“I am very pleased with the team’s efforts to safely deliver to the Pavon Central mine ahead of schedule and on budget,’’ said Calibre President and CEO Darren Hall.
“Pavon Central marks another significant milestone as we leverage the surplus processing capacity at the Libertad mill,” he said. “With 1,000 tonnes per day averaging in excess of 7.0 g/t gold delivered to Libertad in February, Pavon Central will be a significant contributor to our grade driven production growth during 2023 and beyond.’’
Calibre shares advanced on the news, rising 0.87% or $0.01 to $1.15 on volume of 603,950. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $1.65 and 52 cents.
Calibre completed the acquisition of Fiore Gold in January, 2022, establishing the company as a multi-asset, multi-jurisdictional gold producer with operations in Washington State, Nevada and Nicaragua.
In October, 2019, Calibre acquired B2Gold Corp.’s [BTO-TSX, BTG-NYSE] interest in the El Limon and La Libertad gold mines, the Pavon gold project and additional mineral concessions in Nicaragua for US$100 million.
Prior to the closure of that deal, Calibre had a 100% interest in over 413 square kilometres of mineral concessions in the Mining Triangle of Northeast Nicaragua, including the Primavera Gold-Copper project and Santa Maria Gold Project.
Additionally, the company has optioned to Iamgold Corp [IMG-TSX, IAG-NYSE] (176 square kilometres) and Centerra Gold Inc. [CG-TSX, CAGDF-OTC] (353 square kilometres) concessions covering an aggregate area of 429 square kilometres and is a party to a joint venture on the 33.6 square kilometre Rosita D. gold-copper-silver project with Rosita Mining Corp.
Major shareholders in Calibre include B2Gold, with 30%, mining financier Pierre Lassonde, and management.
During 2021, Calibre initiated mining at Pavon Norte, the first of three known gold deposits hosting mineral resources in the district.
Combined 2021 end-of-year mineral reserves for Pavon Norte and Central open-pit mines stood at 165,000 ounces at an average grade of 5.07 g/t. Pavon Central hosts an average reserve grade of 6.49 g/t gold, notably higher than the average 3.28 g/t gold grade a Pavon Norte. As a result, Pavon Central is expected to contribute to the company’s 2023 and 2024 production growth.