Tuesday 6 October 2026
Afternoon EditionRSS
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

ZOTPAPER
Business

Aguia Resources hits record gold production at Santa Barbara project, breaks local cost coverage

September output of 36.75 ounces from 105 tonnes of ore generates A$218,000 in revenue, covering operating and overhead expenses for the first time

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Sources2 outlets
Aguia Resources has achieved a milestone at its Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia, with record September production covering the operation’s local costs for the first time, company managing director Timothy Hosking said.

Aguia Resources reported record production of 36.75 ounces of gold from 105 dry tonnes of run-of-mine ore at its wholly owned Santa Barbara project in September, generating gross revenue of A$218,000. The result surpassed August’s previous record of 32 ounces.

The ore averaged 10.88 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, with the most recent batch grading 12.75 g/t. All material was processed at the Quintana Processing Plant in Remedios, Antioquia, owned by Colombian Mint, yielding 1143.07 grams of gold and 2124 grams of payable silver.

Under the toll-processing agreement, Aguia receives 90 per cent of recovered gold after a processing charge of US$65 (A$91) per tonne. Revenue was calculated using a gold price of US$4135 (A$5900) per troy ounce, near record highs at around US$4100 per ounce.

Managing director and CEO Timothy Hosking said the results had for the first time allowed the company to cover its operating and overhead costs in Colombia, validating its strategy of targeting high-grade underground veins.

The project is located on the northern tip of the Serranía de San Lucas in Colombia’s Bolívar district, an area the company calls the country’s “richest gold belt”. The ore comes from a high-grade mesothermal gold vein system that requires careful mining to avoid dilution.

§

Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The project has reached a key financial milestone by covering its own local costs, suggesting it can become self-sustaining.
  • Achieved during a period of record gold prices, which boosts the project’s economics and highlights the advantage of high-grade operations.
  • Provides a proof-of-concept for small-scale, high-grade mining strategies in the region.

Background

Aguia Resources is an Australian company developing gold assets in Colombia. The Santa Barbara project is located in the Serranía de San Lucas, a gold-rich belt that has historically supported small-scale mining. The company processes ore through a third-party plant owned by Colombian Mint, allowing it to focus on extraction rather than building its own mill.

Key Perspectives

  • Aguia Resources: Sees the production record as validation of its high-grade underground strategy, with costs now covered locally.
  • Colombian Mint (Processing Partner): Benefits from processing fees and the gold recovery split, aligning its interests with Aguia’s output.
  • Critics/Skeptics: Small-scale underground operations face scalability challenges, and reliance on a single processing partner introduces operational risk if contract terms change or capacity becomes constrained.

What to Watch

  • Whether Aguia can sustain and increase monthly production while maintaining ore grades.
  • Gold price movements, as the project’s revenue is heavily influenced by the metal’s price.
  • Any announcement of mine expansion, new exploration targets, or changes to the processing agreement.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

How we workReport an errorSubscribe