TSX-V-listed Denarius sees an opportunity to start up operations at the Zancudo project, which includes the former producing Independcia mine, later this year, chairperson and CEO Serafino Iacono said on Wednesday.
The company plans to start up operations within the existing mine workings and veins by a local contract miner, while it carries out in-fill drilling to upgrade existing mine workings, upgrade the current resources and for mine planning purposes.
Denarius on Wednesday announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the project, including total referred resources of 2.8-million tonnes, grading 6.5 g/t gold and 112 g/t silver, totalling 576 000 oz of gold and ten-million ounces of silver. At a gold-equivalent grade of 8 g/t, the inferred resources totals 718 000 gold-equivalent ounces.
Iacoco said that MRE provided a solid foundation on which Denarius could execute its strategy for Zancudo. He said it was “reminiscent of who the group initiated operations at Segovia, in 2010, after it was acquired by Gran Colombia”.
Meanwhile, Denarius also announced that it had rationalised its assets in Colombia through a mutual agreement with Aris Mining to terminate the Guia Antigua licence, with Aris Mining’s Segovia mining title.
“. . . with the decision to hand the Guia Antigua project back to Aris Mining, we have secured approximately $2.2-million of cash that will be used to fund our initial investments already underway at the Zancudo project related to road construction, infrastructure rehabilitation and acquisition and installation of onsite crushing equipment,” said Iacoco.