Gran Colombia to recover lead, zinc at Segovia
Gran Colombia Gold Corp. [GCM-TSX; TPRFF-OTCQX] said Tuesday March 16 that it is on track to produce between 200,000 and 220,000 ounces of gold in 2021 from its high-grade Segovia operations in Antioquia, Colombia.
In February 2021, Gran Colombia produced 15,354 ounces of gold and 18,922 ounces of silver at Segovia, bringing the total for the first two months of the year to 30,415 ounces of gold and 37,519 ounces of silver.
Gran Colombia is a Canadian-based gold and silver producer with a focus on Colombia, where it is currently the largest underground gold and silver producer in that country, with several underground mines in operation at its Segovia and recently spun out Marmato operations. The majority of the company’s production comes from the Segovia Operations, which are located in the Segovia-Remedios mining district in Antioquia, roughly 180 kilometres east of Medellin, north-west Colombia. Segovia produced 196,362 ounces of gold in 2020, and 214,241 ounces of gold in 2019.
Gran Colombia owns approximately 44% of Aris Gold Corp. [ARIS-TSX; ALLXF-OTCQX], a company previously known as Caldas Gold Corp., that is currently advancing a major expansion and modernization of tis underground mining operations at its Marmato Project in Colombia.
The company also holds an 18% equity interest in Gold X Mining Corp. [GLDX-TSXV], and a 36% stake in Denarius Silver Corp. [DSLV-TSXV], plus 26% of Western Atlas Resources Inc. [WA-TSXV].
On Tuesday, Gran Colombia shares advanced on the news, rising 0.534% to $5.65. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $8.40 and $2.88.
“Segovia continues to be a world class mining title with a rich history of mineral exploitation,” said Gran Colombia CEO Lombardo Paredes. “We have confidence in our ongoing exploration program to continue to add reserves and resources, replacing what we are mining each year,” he said.
The company’s next reserve and resource update will be available at the end of this month.
Meanwhile, the ongoing mine development program continues to open new areas for mining and in February the company surpasses the 1,500 tonne-per-day average for an entire month for the first time since a plant expansion was completed last year.
The next phase of the plant expansion to 2,000 tonnes per day is proceeding well and should be completed by the second half of this year, the company said.
Historically, mineral exploitation in the Segovia title has also included lead and zinc. A new recovery plant under construction at Segovia will come on stream later this year, allowing the company to recover commercial quantities of zinc, lead, gold and silver into concentrate from tailings.
“This not only represents an additional source of cash flow from our mining operations, it further improves our environmental impact by eliminating these minerals from the tailings going into our storage facility,” the company added.