Warwick Grigor

Aguia Resources is on the cusp of securing a processing facility close to its Tres Estrades phosphate project in Brazil that should see it avoid paying through the nose for a brand new one and lead to an earlier production ramp up by mid-2025. The identification of existing processing plants within an economic trucking distance of Aguia's orebodies presents a unique opportunity to cut costs and accelerate production timelines.

Aguia Resources has endured a forgettable few years, but with new management and a new plan in place for its South American projects, a road to riches may well lie just ahead. The company is aiming to deliver strong early cashflow from its high-grade Santa Barbara gold mine in Columbia to provide the cash needed to fire up its organic phosphate operations in Southern Brazil.

Aguia Resources is charging towards production at its Santa Barbara gold project in the Columbian State of Bolivar following key project procurements ahead of underground developments slated for later this year. The company believes that for relatively little capital expenditure, it can be producing first gold at the high-grade, low-tonnage operation by as soon as next year’s first quarter.

Aguia Resources has reinterpreted its high-grade, polymetallic gold-copper-silver-zinc El Dovio play in Colombia as an orogenic lode gold-silver style of mineralisation that was followed later by copper and zinc. The company’s new designation contrasts sharply with its previous casting as a volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphide (VMS/VHMS) deposit and indicates that the base metal component results from emplacement during later tectonic processes.

Aguia Resources has finally won a longstanding court battle, clearing the path to first production in 2025 at its Três Estradas phosphate project in southern Brazil. A lawsuit filed in 2021 by the Federal Public Prosecutors Office with the support of local ranchers sought to block a processing license that had been granted to the Aguia in 2019, following environmental approval.

Aguia Resources will lease, rather than build, a 100,000tpa phosphate processing plant in Southern Brazil, fast-tracking expected production to mid-2025 and sidestepping a multi-million-dollar capex bill. With an up-front cost of A$1.3 million, the 10-year lease will incur a A$43,000 monthly rental, equating to just A$5.13 a tonne.

Aguia Resources will shortly kick its uber high-grade Santa Barbara gold project into production. The Columbian project was worked by previous operators years ago and is now only weeks away from a restart. Previous bulk samples from Santa-Barbara went through the pilot plant at an impressive 20 grams per tonne gold and some veins are grading an ounce to the tonne gold.

Amid a grand celebration of the WA ASX-listed small cap company community on Friday night, Larvotto Resources triumphed to take out the coveted Bulls N’ Bears “Peak Performer of the Year” award after achieving a peak share price hike of 993 per cent. Estrella Resources took out the other major award and is the Bulls N' Bears “Runner of the Year”, claiming a 240 per cent share price jump from January to November 2024.

Aguia Resources is fast approaching first gold pour at the company’s ultra high-grade Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia as it ramps up the mine and its processing plant to treat 50tpd of ore for the shiny yellow metal. The first 25 tonnes of ore has now been mined and loaded into a series of agitator tanks in preparation for the carbon-in-leach solution.

Six months after picking up the once-dormant high-grade Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia through a takeover of Andean Mining, Aguia Resources has triggered a gold rush with a maiden pour of the yellow metal. The initial pour kicked off much needed cashflow at a critical time for Aguia as it pushes forward with expansion plans to shortly increase its processing capacity to 50tpd.

Aguia Resources has nailed down a 10-year binding lease agreement to process organic phosphate from its Três Estradas project near Caçapava do Sul in southern Brazil’s agricultural heartland. Aguia will operate the plant at a monthly cost of BRL$163,000 (A$43,000) and a BRL$5m (A$1.4m) one-off payment to the owners. Aguia has an option to extend the lease for a further 10 years. First production is slated for later this year.

Aguia Resources has locked in $1.5 million in fresh capital after completing a placement of 40 million shares at 3.8 cents each, setting the stage for an aggressive drilling campaign at its high-grade Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia. The new cash will support expansion of the company’s gold processing plant to 50 tonnes per day, kick off a comprehensive drilling program and cover general working capital needs.