Aris Mining Produced Nearly 105,000 Ounces of Gold in Colombia in First Half of 2023

Earlier this month, Canadian mining company Aris Mining (TSX: ARIS) reported income of $68 million USD from its mining operations in the first half of 2023, producing over 104,906 ounces of gold from its Segovia and Marmato mining sits in Colombia, according to the firm’s second quarter report

The Vancouver-based firm also highlighted its plans to expand some of its mining projects and partnerships within the country for the latter half of 2023 in an effort to increase its gold production.

Overall in the first half of the year, Aris Mining reported net earnings of around $2.9 million USD, adjusted earnings of $26 million USD, and an average sales price of $1,888 per ounce of gold.

The company’s Segovia operations, which accounted for the vast majority of its gold production with 94,395 ounces of gold in the first two quarters, saw a large portion of its output come from its partner-operating mining model, yielding over 41,663 ounces from this strategy in the six-month period.

Since its merger with GCM Mining in September 2022, the company has been focused on expanding its mining operations across the Andean country, including the use of more of this contractual “partner-operated” model in Segovia of working with “small-scale” “artisanal” miners in the area. 

“Our ‘for-profit’ partnerships with community-based groups introduce two distinct operating cost structures at the Segovia operations,” said Neil Woodyer, Aris Mining CEO, in the statement. “During H1 2023, the all-in sustaining costs from our owner-operated mining operations were $1,007 per ounce of gold. In contrast, the AISC from partner-operated mining operations was $1,236 per ounce of gold. It’s notable that our partner-operated cost structure primarily hinges on a percentage of the spot gold price.

“Anticipating an upswing in partner-operated mining activities for the latter half of 2023,” he continued, “we have developed projections based on an average gold price of $1,900 per ounce. As a result, we are revising our overall 2023 outlook for the Segovia Operations AISC to a range of between $1,125 and $1,175 per ounce of gold.”

The company is also planning to start construction on the Marmato Lower Mine by late 2023. The expansion is expected to allow the current Marmato Upper Mine to continue producing 20,000 to 30,000 ounces of gold per year.  The Upper Mine produced 10,511 ounces in the first half of 2023.

Meanwhile, much of the focus of the company’s expansion plans hinges on its Soto Norte project, which Woodyer said has its mine location  confirmed recently, moving the project closer towards completion. 

“Notably, this project has recently received confirmation of its location outside the Páramo de Santurbán, a protected area of the Andes mountains,” he said. “This affirmation comes after a favorable delimitation process completed in June 2023, involving local communities and government authorities in the four municipalities associated with the project.”

Overall, Aris Mining is expecting a consolidated gold production of 220,000 and 240,000 ounces from all of its mining operations by the end of 2023.

Photo: GCM / Aris Mining