Mining Americas up 14% on Mexico open pit mine permit news
Mining Americas Inc. [MAI-TSX, MAIFF-OTCQX], said the Mexican Federal Environmental Department (SEMARNAT) has approved the key permits required for development of its 100%-owned Cerro de Oro open pit, heap leach gold mine located in northern Zacatecas State.
Mining Americas, a company that recently changed its name from Minera Alamos Inc., said specifically SEMARNAT has approved the land use change and environmental impact assessment for the project.
The company’s share price rallied on the news, rising 14.15% or 80 cents to $6.45. The shares now trade in a 52-week range of $7.50 and $3.45.
Mining Americas is a growing North American gold production and development company with projects in Nevada, Arizona and Mexico. Its asset portfolio includes the Pan Operating Complex in White Pine County, Nevada, consisting of the Pan mine and adjacent permitted Gold Rock project.
The company also owns the Copperstone project in La Paz County, Arizona, a permitted advanced underground gold project. The assets in Mexico include the Cerro de Oro project, an open pit gold development project.
The company aims to become a leading U.S.-focused intermediate gold producer by growing production at its Pan Operating Complex and developing a pipeline of permitted, low-capital projects while expanding gold resources across its portfolio.
The company finalized agreements to acquire the Cerro de Oro project in September, 2020. Following additional drill programs and study work, in late 2022, the company announced an updated mineral resource estimate and the results of a preliminary economic assessment.
The mineral resource estimate, using a gold price of US$1,700 per ounce, consisted of a pit-constrained, inferred resource of 67 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.37 g/t for a total of 790,000 ounces of gold.
Under the resource estimate as a basis, the 2023 PEA envisioned a conventional open pit, heap leach operation with an initial mine life of 8.2 years, average strip ratio of 0.3:1, total gold production of 477,000 ounces and average annual production of 58,000 ounces (65,000 ounces in years one to four). Initial capital costs were estimated to be US$28 million.
“With these permits now approved, we will start planning the advancement of Cerro de Oro towards a construction decision,’’ said Mining Americas CEO Darren Blasutti. “Cerro de Oro was shown to be a robust, open pit, heap leach gold project at a base case gold price of US$1,600 an ounce based on the 2023 PEA,” he said. “We are excited now to evaluate the project on the context of significantly higher gold prices and their potential positive impacts to be the size and the economics of the project.”
Blasutti went on to say that will Cerro de Oro permits approved, the company now has key permits in place for all of its cornerstone growth projects, including the construction stage Copperstone underground gold project in Arizona and Gold Rock open pit heap leach project adjacent to the producing Pan Mine.
“We look forward to continuing to advance construction at Copperstone, making a construction decision for Gold Rock later this year, and progressing Cerro de Oro to a potential construction decision.’’