In a new discovery of interest to the history of Medellín, experts discovered six new sites in Arví Park, which together cover an area of ​​40,000 square meters and will serve as a source of exploration and search for archaeological artifacts.

For years, objects dating back to indigenous cultures over 2,000 years ago, as well as from the colonial and republican eras, have been identified there. This time, archaeologists discovered 17 structures, such as earth, stone, or mud walls, that reveal the lifestyles and spatial appropriation of the communities that settled in that territory after the arrival of the Spanish in 1541.

In these six spaces, fragments of ceramic vessels and other artifacts used for purposes such as salt extraction and food preparation, and cooking by the ancient settlers were found. Samples of these pieces are being investigated to determine their characteristics and mineral components; analyses are also being conducted to determine what types of plants or elements the ancestors prepared for their food and to establish their age.

The studies can take between three and four weeks. In addition, fragments of pottery, glass, and tiles were recovered that reveal the artifacts used at that time. These findings are part of the contracts executed between EPM and the Arví Park Corporation, as well as the archaeological management plan for the area. It highlights the innovation in the creation of the archaeological reference collection inventory, which includes more than 16,000 pieces, as well as a database recording stone tools and fragments of ceramic, pottery, and glass vessels, among others.

Stone tools and fragments of ceramic, pottery, and glass vessels, among others. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

This work has made it possible to identify the imprint humans have left on the landscape of Santa Elena, that remains hidden in the forest. This territory was declared a Protected Archaeological Area by the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History in 2019 and a Site of Cultural Interest of National Character in 1998.

“We invite the community, researchers, students, and those interested in history and archaeology to visit us, write to us on our social media, and arrange guided tours with our archaeologists. Learning about our culture, our history, and how the city’s first inhabitants lived is part of the essence of being here,” said Óscar Cardona Cadavid, director of Arví Park.

As part of the public archaeology program, which seeks to inform and communicate to the local community and visitors about the rich heritage hidden in the forests of Arví, 23 educational activities have been held in recent months, including 20 archaeology workshops.

Archaeologists discovered 17 structures, such as earth, stone, or mud walls. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

The purpose is to tell attendees how an archaeologist works, the history of the area, and the most significant findings. In addition, three specialized seminars on archaeology and history will be presented, which will cover how the geological and natural landscape developed in the Aburrá Valley and the Santa Elena plateau; and how that landscape was transformed by the communities that inhabited it, among other interesting aspects. A total of 265 people were impacted by these educational activities.

The district administration invites visitors to return to Arví Park to explore ancestral routes, such as the Camino de La Cuesta, and to explore La Laguna, among other places that reveal the traces of history.
Arví Park is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Anyone can request a guided or self-guided tour to learn about the archaeological finds and experience other natural experiences the park offers.

Photo credit: City of Medellín.

The trial against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has entered a crucial phase, as more testimonies from former paramilitary leaders add to the accusations against the 2002–2010 President.

Last week, Pablo Hernán Sierra, alias Pipintá, a convicted paramilitary with over 220 sentences, testified virtually from the prison of Cómbita in the region of Boyacá. Once a member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), Colombia’s main paramilitary organization, Sierra’s testimony resurrected past claims that Uribe and his brother Santiago had ties to paramilitary groups during the 1990s in Antioquia.

Sierra alleged that an estate that belonged to the Uribe family and was later sold, the ‘Hacienda Las Guacharacas’, served as a base for the early groups of the paramilitary and implicated the former president in facilitating the legal foundation of the Convivir group ‘El Cóndor’ while serving as Antioquia’s governor.

The Convivir groups were legal rural security cooperatives created in the 1990s, but many later served as a front or recruitment base for the AUC. They blurred the line between state security and illegal paramilitary activity, facilitating the rise of the AUC across regions like Antioquia.

Sierra also recalled the two interactions he had with Uribe and his interviews with Senator Iván Cepeda, which became key in opening the current (and unprecedented) trial against Uribe.

He explained his reasons for reaching out to Senator Cepeda back in 2011, when Cepeda was serving in the House of Representatives and was a member of the Human Rights Commission. According to Sierra, he asked for his case to be known by Human Rights Watch, hoping to secure protection within the prison system due to the risks he faced after making public allegations against Álvaro Uribe. “I was speaking out against the most powerful man in Colombia in the last 50 years,” he said. Sierra described Cepeda as Uribe’s “number one enemy” and noted that it became common for ‘ex-paras’ (former members of the paramilitary forces) commanders to turn to Cepeda after Uribe ordered their extradition. “Talking to Cepeda became a trend,” he added.

To Sierra’s claims this Monday were added those of other ‘ex-paras’, such as Carlos Enrique Vélez, alias ‘Víctor’, who is imprisoned in Palmira for his crimes as part of several AUC blocs. Vélez claimed that in 2017 he was approached by lawyer Diego Cadena, allegedly acting on behalf of Uribe, and offered a bribe to retract statements that tied Uribe to paramilitary activities. Vélez’s testimony adds to previous accusations from other witnesses stating that Cadena offered payments and legal favors in exchange for altering testimonies in Uribe’s favor. Cadena allegedly made payments and attempted to persuade various imprisoned witnesses around the country, such as Juan Guillermo Monsalve (videos of Cadena’s visit to him at prision La Picota in Bogotá were presented as evidence) and Carlos López, ‘Caliche’.

As more witnesses are expected to appear in the coming weeks—including others formerly involved in the AUC—this trial continues to stir tension in Colombia. The hearings, held before Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia in Bogotá, center on charges of bribery, procedural fraud, and bribery in a judicial proceeding —allegations Uribe has denied since the case began seven years ago.

Headline photo: On Thursday, April 3, 2025, former ‘ex-para’ commander Pablo Hernán Sierra (top right) testified in the trial against former president Alvaro Uribe (Image: Semana / Youtube)

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the credit ratings of Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. E.S.P. (ISA), maintaining its long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BBB’ with a negative rating outlook. The agency also affirmed ISA’s $330 million USD senior unsecured notes due 2033 at ‘BBB’ and upheld the company’s national long- and short-term ratings at ‘AAA(col)’ and ‘F1+(col), respectively, with a stable outlook.​

Key Rating Drivers

Low Business Risk Profile: ISA’s ratings reflect a low business risk profile, characteristic of the power transmission sector, which contributes approximately 80% of the company’s consolidated EBITDA. The remaining EBITDA is primarily derived from road concessions in Colombia and Chile, which include mechanisms to ensure minimum income or extend concession periods if traffic is low. The telecommunications segment is expected to contribute less than 2% to ISA’s consolidated EBITDA.​

Parent-Subsidiary Linkage: Fitch rates ISA two notches above its parent company, Ecopetrol (rated ‘BB+’ with a negative outlook), due to ISA’s strong business and financial profile. Regulatory ring-fencing mechanisms, material minority shareholders, and a track record of strong governance practices limit Ecopetrol’s capacity to extract value from ISA. ISA’s funding and cash management policies are managed independently of Ecopetrol, and any changes in corporate governance, business, or financial strategy could pressure ISA’s ratings, particularly if there is a structural increase in its dividend payout ratio.​

Investments and Leverage: Fitch anticipates that ISA’s EBITDA leverage will peak at 4.5x during 2026, up from 3.7x in 2024, with EBITDA interest coverage around 4.0x over the rating horizon. The company’s free cash flow is expected to remain negative during 2025-2027 due to its capital expenditure program and a dividend payout ratio of 50%. ISA’s committed grid-focused investment program is projected to reach $22.2 trillion COP from 2025-2028, with approximately 83% concentrated in regulated transmission grids and 14% allocated to road concessions. Geographically, Brazil accounts for 52% of these investments, followed by Chile (18%), Colombia (15%), Peru (11%), and Panama (4%).​

Geographic Diversification: ISA’s cash flow generation is diversified across Latin America. Fitch estimates that over the rating horizon, approximately 38% of the company’s consolidated EBITDA will come from Brazil, 27% from Colombia, 15% from Chile, and 20% from Peru. Less than 1% of ISA’s consolidated cash generation is expected from Panama and Bolivia.​

Regulatory Risk: ISA’s diversification effectively hedges its exposure to regulatory risk, as most of its revenues are derived from regulated transmission grids. An upcoming regulatory reset in Colombia for the transmission business is expected during 2025-2026. While there is limited visibility on the final tariff scheme, Fitch believes the outcome will not significantly pressure ISA’s financial metrics, as the reset is included in the company’s consolidated revenues.​

Applicable Country Ceiling: ISA’s applicable country ceiling is that of Peru, rated ‘A-‘, as the cash flow generated by Peruvian subsidiaries covers more than 4.0x the company’s hard currency gross interest expense in Fitch’s forecast horizon. Therefore, a lowering of Peru’s country ceiling could affect ISA’s ratings, particularly in a multiple-notch downgrade scenario.​

Peer Analysis

ISA’s credit profile is comparable to regional peers such as Transelec S.A. (BBB/Stable), Consorcio Transmantaro S.A. (CTM; BBB/Stable), Sociedad de Transmision Austral S.A. (STA; BBB/Stable), Empresa de Transmision Electrica, S.A. (ETESA; B/Stable), Alupar Investimento S.A. (BB+/Stable), and Transmissora Alianca de Energia Eletrica S.A. (Taesa; BB+/Stable). All these companies benefit from a low business risk profile and predictable cash flow. ISA’s higher rating compared to Taesa, Alupar, and ETESA is mainly due to its geographic diversification.

ISA operates in Colombia, Brazil, Chile, and Peru, while Taesa’s and Alupar’s operations are concentrated in Brazil, and their ratings are negatively affected by Brazil’s ‘BB+’ country ceiling. ETESA’s ratings reflect delays in coupon payments, lowering the Government Related Entity (GRE) score to 15 from 50 with Panama (BB+/Stable). ISA has a similar scale of operations and EBITDA generation compared to Redeia Corporacion S.A. (A-/Stable), the sole transmission system operator and electricity transmission network owner in Spain.​

Rating Sensitivities

Negative Rating Action: Factors that could lead to a downgrade include a sustained increase in leverage above 4.5x on a consolidated or non-consolidated basis due to deteriorating cash generation or increased debt levels beyond Fitch’s base case scenario; regulatory changes that significantly pressure ISA’s cash flow; changes in the company’s business and financial strategy, particularly regarding dividend distribution practices and corporate governance; a negative rating action on Ecopetrol; or a multi-notch downgrade of Peru’s country ceiling.​

Positive Rating Action: Although unlikely in the short to medium term, a positive rating action may be considered if total consolidated leverage falls below 2.5x. The negative outlook could be revised to stable if Ecopetrol’s outlook is revised to stable from negative.​

Liquidity and Debt Structure

As of December 2024, ISA reported cash on hand exceeding $5.9 trillion COP, reflecting healthy internal cash flow generation, manageable debt amortizations, and increased access to local and international capital markets. Approximately 37% of this cash is restricted, primarily to cover contractual obligations in the road concession business. Cash on hand plus cash flow from operations is expected to cover ISA’s short-term debt by more than 1.25x, aligning with investment-grade companies. ISA’s long-term debt amortization schedule is spread until 2056, with manageable maturities at the holding company level for 2025.​

Issuer Profile

ISA is a Colombian holding company focused on energy transmission, road concessions, and telecommunications, with operations in six countries.

Photo credit: kentoshima1984 from Pixabay.

Ookla, a provider of internet speed testing and analysis, has released its report on the state of fixed and mobile networks in Colombia for the second half of 2024. The findings, based on data from Speedtest, analyze the performance of mobile operators and internet service providers (ISPs) across the country.

According to the Ookla report, Claro emerged as the fastest mobile operator in Colombia during the second half of 2024 when considering all technologies combined. Claro recorded a median download speed of 26.89 Mbps and a median upload speed of 12.08 Mbps.

In the fixed broadband sector, Movistar was identified as the fastest ISP in Colombia during the same period. Movistar registered a median download speed of 265.34 Mbps and a median upload speed of 235.21 Mbps.

The Ookla report also assessed the gaming experience provided by mobile operators and ISPs. Claro was found to offer the best mobile gaming experience in Colombia, while Movistar registered the best gaming experience among fixed broadband providers. The methodology for determining the gaming experience was not detailed in the provided information.

Analyzing network performance across Colombia’s most populous cities, the report indicated that Medellín exhibited the fastest median mobile download speed at 32.17 Mbps. In the fixed broadband category among these cities, Cartagena surpassed others with the fastest median download speed of 180.35 Mbps.

The Ookla “Colombia Speedtest Connectivity Report H2 2024” provides an overview of the internet speeds and performance metrics of the country’s major mobile and fixed broadband providers during the latter half of 2024. The data is derived from user-initiated tests conducted on Speedtest. The full report, including further details and analysis, is available on the Ookla website.

Photo credit: América Movil.

RappiPay has announced the appointment of Paolo Di Marco as the new CEO of its Compañía de Financiamiento (financing company) in Colombia. This entity was established through a strategic alliance between Rappi and Davivienda.

Di Marco, an economist from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana with an MBA from New York University‘s Stern School of Business, previously held the positions of CFO and Head of New Businesses at RappiPay. In these roles, he was involved in strategic planning, financial operations, and the development of new business lines.

Before joining RappiPay, Di Marco was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he participated in the financial services, digital, and analytics practices. During his tenure at McKinsey, he led various transformation projects for banks and insurance companies in Latin America.

According to RappiPay, Di Marco assumes leadership of a company that has become a participant in Colombia’s digital financial services sector within four years. RappiPay currently offers savings accounts for individuals and businesses, in addition to the RappiCard, a credit card issued by Davivienda. The company reports having over 400,000 users in the Colombian market and states that its RappiCuenta and RappiCuenta Empresas have accumulated over 300 billion pesos in deposits.

RappiPay is a financing company authorized and supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia. It operates as a 50/50 joint venture between Rappi and Banco Davivienda, aiming to provide users with financial solutions. The RappiCard is a credit card from Banco Davivienda S.A. operated in conjunction with Holding RappiPay.

Paolo Di Marco. Photo credit: RappiPay.

At the end of 2024, Medellín reported 118,441 active companies, which represented a 3.5% increase compared to 2023. These results were achieved thanks to the connection between the public and private sectors, the reactivation of the University-Business-State Committee (CUEE), and the trust between unions, the public sector, and citizens, says the office of Mayor Federico Gutierrez.

While Colombia as a whole saw a decline in business creation, Medellín strengthened its business network, especially in sectors such as commerce, restaurants and hotels, insurance and finance, and the manufacturing industry, which showed greater dynamism during 2024.

“According to data provided by the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia, we will close 2024 with a business base of 118,441. That represents an increase of 3.5% compared to 2023. This means that, in a context in which the country has been declining in business creation, Medellín shows strong entrepreneurial and business dynamics and, above all, a capacity for collaboration between universities, businesses, and the state. Furthermore, it allows for continued job creation, as well as economic and social dynamics, which translates into well-being for citizens and their families,” said the Secretary of Economic Development, María Fernanda Galeano Rojo.

Between January and December 2024, 21,480 new businesses were created, according to figures from the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia. This growth demonstrated renewed confidence in the city and the commitment of local entrepreneurs. Business creation is a fundamental pillar for generating well-being in the community and for Colombia’s progress from the regions, driving economic and social development.

These results reflect the commitment, innovation, and determination of local entrepreneurs, who continue to invest in job creation in Medellín. This has been reflected in the last four DANE surveys, in which the Antioquia capital recorded the lowest unemployment rate in the country, reaching 6.5% in the October- December quarter.

Photo credit: City of Medellín.

The Feria de las 2 Ruedas Colombia (F2R), international trade show for the motorcycle and light mobility industry in the Americas, is preparing for its seventeenth edition. The event is scheduled to take place from May 15 to 18, 2025, at Plaza Mayor in Medellín. Organizers project an attendance of 90,000 visitors from over 45 countries, with 500 confirmed exhibitors and 127 scheduled events.

According to data from the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI), Colombia has become a significant player in the motorcycle sector. Motorcycles reportedly constitute 61.94% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. In 2024, 833,178 new motorcycle registrations were recorded in Colombia, positioning it as the tenth-largest market globally in terms of demand. Additionally, statistics show that just over 93% of the motorcycles registered in the country are assembled locally in one of the eight plants located across five departments.

The F2R aims to serve as a platform for showcasing industry innovations and trends, as well as a networking space for companies, professionals, and enthusiasts. The event includes business, academic, sporting, and cultural activities intended to foster strategic alliances and strengthen the sector in the region.

F2R is anticipated to generate economic benefits for Medellín, with an estimated economic impact of $29.6 million USD, according to figures from the Medellín Mayor’s Office. Hotel occupancy is projected to exceed 78%, as reported by Cotelco. The fair is also expected to create employment opportunities and stimulate various sectors, including commerce, tourism, entertainment, and gastronomy.

The Feria de las 2 Ruedas is collaborating with the Medellín Mobility Secretariat on the “Te Queremos Vivo” (We Want You Alive) campaign, an initiative focused on raising awareness among motorcyclists about accident prevention and adherence to traffic regulations. Additionally, sensitization activities will be conducted during the fair in conjunction with the Medellín Mobility Secretariat and the National Road Safety Agency (ANSV), reinforcing the event’s commitment to safer mobility.

Organizers have announced that the F2R 2025 will feature new experience spaces, business events, and academic forums, with further details to be released in the coming weeks. The agenda is expected to include participation from key brands in the mobility sector.

Event Details:

Date: May 15 to 18, 2025 Location: Plaza Mayor, Medellín

Schedule:

Thursday, May 15: 12:00 pm. – 08:00 pm. Friday, May 16: 10:00 am. – 08:00 pm. Saturday, May 17: 10:00 am. – 08:00 pm. Sunday, May 18: 10:00 am. – 07:00 pm.

Photo credit: Loren Moss

Colombia is facing a $450 million USD lawsuit from mining company Zijin Continental Gold, and now the case has sparked a political scandal. A leaked document and the failure of a planned partnership between an international law firm and a little-known Colombian entity have raised serious questions about how the government is handling the defense.

The conflict started in late 2023, when the mining company sued Colombia for security failures and unlawful mining activity in its gold mine in Buriticá, Antioquia. The company claimed the government failed to provide security in the area, where armed groups like the ‘Clan del Golfo’ operate and illegal mining is widespread. After an attack in which two people died, the company was forced to stop its operations and took the case to international arbitration, claiming that the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement was violated.

To defend the country, Colombia’s legal agency (ANDJE) began looking for international legal support. They invited firms to send proposals and asked them to consider teaming up with Colombian lawyers. Hughes Hubbard & Reed (HHR), a U.S.-based law firm that in its proposal mentioned a possible partnership with a Colombian firm called Astrea, emerged as the top candidate.

However, in March 2025, former senator Jorge Enrique Robledo raised alarms over this partnership. He claimed that Astrea was created just one month before the selection process and had no experience in the kind of legal work required. Robledo warned of possible corruption and sent a letter to President Gustavo Petro asking him to stop the contract, as he revealed through a video posted on X, and later on, through a press release.

By the end of March, HHR had already pulled out of the partnership in light of the controversy, saying there was never a formal agreement with Astrea. ANDJE claimed everything was done legally and denied that including a Colombian firm had any impact in the selection process. César Palomino, Director of the ANDJE, formally requested preventive support from the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia and the Office of the Comptroller General of Colombia to ensure the transparency and legality of the process, as reported by local radio station Caracol.

However, on April 2, the Colombian radio station W Radio published the original invitation sent to international firms, showing that partnerships with Colombian firms did, in fact, improve a firm’s score in the selection process, which contradicted earlier public statements from the ANDJE.

In response, Yebrail Haddad, deputy director of the ANDJE, admitted that while Astrea was never going to be hired directly, it was mentioned as part of HHR’s plan. “Unfortunately, the agency cannot hire national firms because they lack the needed experience,” he said to W Radio. “Historically, we’ve always asked for at least one Colombian lawyer or, in this case, a firm. That’s where the name Astrea came from. But the agency never planned to sign a contract with them.”

There is still a way ahead for this legal dispute to be resolved, and it traces back to when Continental Gold began operations in Buriticá. Continental was originally a Canadian company that worked closely with the local community and won their support. But things changed after China’s Zijin Mining bought the company in 2019: Locals say Zijin cut off communication and ignored the community’s needs. For more context on this story—and how Continental Gold went from community ally to an adversary— we recommend reading this background story.

Headline photo: The Higabra Valley Tunnel at Continental Gold’s Buriticá goldmine in Antioquia. (Photo: Continental Gold Inc.)

The question on everyone’s lips is what impact Donald Trump’s recent madness has on trade with Colombia. The coffee federation is already ringing alarm bells, but they hardly need to worry, given that the US doesn’t have its domestic producers – the rest will be a case of wait and see. Fortunately, over 50% of exports are oil & mining, which have low demand elasticity; even products such as coffee & flowers should also be fairly well protected – overall, nearly 70% of exports to the US. It is also worth noting that exports to China are accelerating fast as trade increases.

Talking of trade, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística – DANE Colombia reported that exports unsurprisingly dropped 0.8% in February. This was driven by a 17.5% decline in commodities with both oil and coal suffering. On the bright side agricultural exports increased by 18.7% however with domestic demand continuing to drive imports expect another lumpy deficit for the month.

At the beginning of the week, in a surprise to the majority of analysts, the Banco de la República – Colombia voted 4-3 to leave overnight rates at 9.50% – exactly where they were in December. This somewhat quashes the theory that Gustavo Petro has ‘stacked’ the central bank with his people after replacing two governors recently. Committee chairman Leonardo Villar continued with his cautious tone – the concern is primarily the rapid expansion of the economy and the potential impact on inflation. Thus far in 2025, CPI has drifted up slightly, with manufacturing production, retail sales, and import data all pointing toward a warming price situation.

That said, the fight that has been brewing for a year, broke out, with Petro directly accusing the central bank of politicking, simply trying to put a brake on an expanding economy to reflect poorly on him. Personally, in terms of this decision I’m not convinced however, over the past 6 months there has definitely been some meddling, given the collapse in inflation. There is no way rates should still be at 9.5%.

The president will at least be boosted by the latest unemployment data for February, with the national figure at 10.3% versus 11.7% a year ago. Adding to the positive impression is that it is the lowest February number since 2017. That said, the employment base is growing, and it still leaves 2.7 million without work – the caveat, of course, is that Colombia’s informal employment stands at 50%+, and knowing the exact number of people not working is tough.

Aside from this, another week of political riff-raff, boring in the extreme.

Have a great day.

Roops.

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Photo credit: Banco de la Republica.

Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSE: CNL) (TSX: CNL) has announced its plans for an expanded drill program following the completion of recent financing totaling $63.4 million CAD (approximately $46.7 million USD based on the exchange rate at the time of the announcement).

According to the company’s announcement on April 2, 2025, Collective Mining’s treasury now exceeds $78 million USD, which the company states will fully fund an expanded 70,000-meter drill program in 2025. The revised program will deploy up to ten diamond drill rigs across the Guayabales and San Antonio projects, representing the largest drill program in the company’s history. Additionally, the company intends to accelerate baseline environmental, hydrological, and metallurgical studies to expedite the permitting process in the future.

Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman of Collective Mining, spoke about the Apollo System, the company’s primary discovery at the Guayabales Project, which has emerged as a large-scale, bulk tonnage, and high-grade system resulting from grassroots exploration. He further stated his belief that Apollo represents a significant discovery within the Guayabales Project and that continued drilling could lead to additional discoveries. Sussman also noted the potential porphyry indications at the San Antonio Project as a positive development.

Guayabales Drill Program Overview

For the remainder of 2025, up to eight drill rigs will be focused on the Guayabales Project with the following objectives:

• Apollo System: Up to seven rigs will be operational:
  • Up to three rigs will test recently discovered, high-grade sub-zones to potentially increase the overall grade of the system. Previous drilling in these sub-zones has reported bulk tonnage and high-grade intercepts, including drill hole APC104-D5, which intersected 106.35 meters at 9.05 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) within a larger 497.35-meter interval grading 3.01 g/t AuEq.
  • Up to three rigs will test the recently discovered Ramp Zone, where multiple high-grade intercepts have been reported, including drill hole APC105-D1, which intersected 75.80 meters at 8.01 g/t AuEq, including 21.00 meters at 24.16 g/t AuEq. The company has secured additional rigs capable of drilling up to 2,000 meters, expected to arrive in June, to test the Ramp Zone at greater depths.
  • Two smaller rigs will conduct drilling from the surface to a depth of 150 meters within the Apollo system. This program aims to expand and define shallow mineralization and test drilling gaps within the block model, where current spacing is up to 100 meters. Prior shallow drilling yielded high-grade intercepts from the surface, including APC-35, which intersected 86.55 meters at 4.85 g/t AuEq (3.52 g/t gold, 16 g/t silver, 0.12% copper, and 0.34% tungsten oxide).
• Tower, ME, X, and Trap Targets: Up to two diamond drill rigs will test these targets throughout the year:
  • One rig is currently drilling at the Tower target, a new grassroots-generated target located west-southwest of the Apollo system. Precious metal-rich outcrop samples have been found within three multi-mineral soil anomalies. Initial assay results are anticipated in late Q2 2025.
  • One rig is being mobilized to the ME target, situated midway between the Apollo system and Aris Mining Corporation’s Marmato mine to the southeast. Five shallow holes drilled in 2023 at the ME target intersected a precious metal-rich breccia system, with APC-81 intersecting 111.25 meters at 1.00 g/t AuEq. A recent reinterpretation suggests a potential for Ramp Zone-style mineralization (gold-silver-bismuth-tellurium) at deeper elevations within the ME target. Drilling is expected to commence towards the end of April 2025, with initial assay results anticipated in early Q3 2025.
  • The company plans to mobilize a single rig in the second half of 2025 to test the grassroots-generated X target for the first time. Mapping and surface sampling have identified a large, heavily altered breccia body with a precious metal-rich soil and rock chip anomaly adjacent to a copper and molybdenum-rich soil anomaly. The X target reportedly shares surface characteristics similar to the Apollo System, located approximately 1,100 meters to the north.

San Antonio Project Overview

Drilling commenced at the San Antonio project in late January 2025 as part of an initial 2,500-meter program.

• One rig is currently drilling at the Pound Target, with a second rig scheduled to begin drilling before the end of April 2025. Two initial holes drilled in 2021 at the Pound Target intersected long intervals of modestly grading, precious metal-dominant mineralization from the surface, with both holes ending in mineralization. Drill hole SAC-8 intersected 710 meters at 0.53 g/t AuEq. A recent reinterpretation of the Pound Target suggests that the previous drilling intersected the outer phyllic pyrite halo of a potentially significant porphyry system. Both holes showed increasing copper grades with depth, and the copper/zinc ratio indicates a vector toward a potential porphyry source at depth. Two new diamond drill holes were completed in 2025, with a third underway. The first hole, SAC-10, intersected pyrite-dominant, phyllic mineralization before being terminated due to rig capacity. The second hole, SAC-11, intersected pyrite-dominant mineralization in altered metagabbro rock, transitioning into quartz and chalcopyrite porphyry veins at 500 meters depth, with copper-bearing chalcopyrite mineralization increasing in intensity until the end of the hole. Minor amounts of bornite were also noted toward the end of the hole. The company is encouraged by the visual logging, which suggests the mineralized metagabbro is near a porphyry intrusive. Assay results are pending.

Collective Mining Ltd. was founded by the team that developed and sold Continental Gold Inc. to Zijin Mining for approximately $2 billion in enterprise value. Collective Mining is focused on gold, silver, copper, and tungsten exploration in Caldas, Colombia. The company holds options to acquire 100% interests in two projects located within an established mining camp with ten fully permitted and operating mines. Management and insiders reportedly own approximately 33.4% of the company’s outstanding shares. Collective Mining is listed on the NYSE American and TSX under the trading symbol “CNL” and on the FSE under the trading symbol “GG1”.

Targets at the Guayabales Project to be Drilled in 2025. Photo credit: Collective Mining.