We are preparing the second drilling campaign in geology, there is an area we have identified called topohondo that we know has very interesting values and there are geologists sampling this area, preparing the operation.
Regarding the mine, we are working in the Choneto vein and we are advancing through two structures, of low power but with quite good mineralization. We are extracting 4-6 tons per day.
The vein of the ravine is showing interesting amounts of free gold, we are sampling this area, it promises a lot.
We are preparing the gold peak pit to start working, we are 20-22 meters from the La Maria vein. Approximately in mid-October we will be extracting ore from this zone so we will be working on 4 different fronts.
Regarding the plant, it is operating normally but we had some decompensation problems and we concluded that we had a mercury contamination problem. What we have done is to disassemble the mill, clean it and reassemble it, we have to remove those traces of mercury caused by external ore washing.
Apart from this, the result of the plant is being good, we have had to stop the plant but only for 6 days.
In infrastructures, everything is finished except for a footprint plate on the ascent to the laboratory, we have completed the enclosure and the entrance to the plant. The safety infrastructure is also completed and the cabins are finished.
Questions from the community
Are the veins mentioned included in La Maria? Yes, all of them.
Is the mercury issue penalized to the company that has been given the plant for it? Yes, they will not work with their material again because it is a very serious issue.
Does this incident affect the priming of the plant? The priming of the mill is exactly the same, the mill remains with a part of it, now we are going to clean it and remove the gold accumulated there.
Difference between the Guayaquil and La Maria processes? Concentration and leaching. In Vereda we have concentration, that is, we take the mineral and through mechanical processes and with less impact what you do is concentrate the mineral of interest and discard what is of no value. In Maria’s leaching process, first the concentrate is concentrated to purify the concentrated part and at the moment you only obtain gold and silver, it is less sustainable.
Are you going to increase human resources? For the moment no, we have the workers we need.
Does the price of energy affect investments? In Colombia, prices are different, there has been a rise but not to the levels of Spain.
