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

Aris Mining currently operates the Segovia Operations and the Marmato Upper Mine in Colombia. These are its primary mines, and they operate underground looking for gold in the facilities. This year, they have reported a steady amount of gold production and sales in their Colombian mines as they continue to plan their expansion in the upcoming year.

The company recorded around 210,163 ounces of gold successfully mined in the Segovia Operations, while its Marmato Upper Mine is recorded to have produced around 25,216 ounces of gold. The quarterly production of the Segovia Operations remains within a steady frame, while the Marmato Upper Mine appeared to have dipped over 2,000 ounces in its last two quarters in comparison to the first two.

The company also touted its other successful ventures within the report, which includes the successful acquisition of the Soto Norte venture in Colombia, as well as its merger with GCM Mining.

The Soto Norte venture is being seen as a potential moneymaker for the company, due to its high-mineral reserves and low operating costs, and capital overhead. Aris Mining CEO Neil Woodyer (above photo) even said at the time of acquisition that they believe they can produce over 450,000 ounces of gold from the new site, Mining Digital reported.

The company is currently waiting for environmental licensing on the site, hoping to start a new gold, silver, and copper mine in the area soon.

Woodyer says that they are planning to expand the Marmato location with its continued construction of the Marmato Lower Mine, and that they are planning on spending $19 million on expanding the lifetime of the mines as well as increasing mineral reserves.

The outlook on Aris Mining appears to be positive coming into 2023, as Fitch Rating continues to give the company a B+ credit rating. In its last credit check in July, Fitch affirmed that the future business outlook of the company appears to be “stable” and positive.

Photo: Twitter @ArisMining

At the meeting, 30,452,708 shares were voted, representing approximately 31.19% of the issued and outstanding shares of GCM Mining, 29,577,593 shares, or 97.13% voted for the merger, and 875,115 shares representing 2.87% voted against it.

The transaction is expected to close on September 26, 2022, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary closing conditions. Following closing, Aris Mining will be a gold producer with two producing mines, two advanced development projects, and an advanced stage exploration project in the Americas.

Ian Telfer, Aris Gold Chair said that “The combined group creates a top-in-class company with multiple tier one assets. After Aris Gold became operator of the Soto Norte joint venture, joining forces with GCM became a logical next step. Our increased scale will also broaden our future opportunities to continue building a 1 million ounce plus producer over the next few years.”

Serafino Iacono, Executive Chair of GCM, stated: “Each team has unique strengths with GCM being the Colombian leader for responsible, sustainable mining practices. Together with Aris Gold’s Board and management, the combined group brings a track record of building sizable and successful mining companies; this transaction further diversifies the company’s portfolio and reaffirms Colombia as an area of focus. While I am stepping down from a day-to-day executive role, I will remain a director and advisor on matters in Colombia as well as an enthusiastic securityholder.”

“We are building a gold mining business with scale, cash flow, a strong financial position with US$397 million of cash and US$260 million of additional committed funding, and a high-quality growth pipeline. Our teams are well known to each other, and together we will optimize the delivery of the growth projects to unlock shareholder value,” added Neil Woodyer, CEO of Aris Gold.

Photo: GCM Mining

As always, the event also features extensive programming on silver and copper along with gold and other precious metals commercially important to the Colombian mining sector.

Finance Colombia’s Loren Moss is slated to present on technological innovation in the mining sector.

Call for papers

Programming for the event has already begun, though organizer Paul Harris says that we: “would like to invite anyone interested in presenting to email us the topic and a brief summary for consideration by the programming committee. As a reminder, our website is www.ColombiaGold.co which we are working to update.”

CGS Economic Development Awards

Harris added: “We also request nominations for the CGS Economic Development Awards which seek to recognize innovative and impactful projects development by companies to further the economic opportunities in the communities within which they work.”

Sponsorships & Exhibitor Opportunities

CGS Medellin will feature a range of sponsorship opportunities, while the Intercontinental Hotel will enable the event to host a larger commercial exhibit space. Interested exhibitors should email Monica at direccion@eme2.co to request the brochure.

CGSMedellin Draft Program

Regulatory & Social Environment

• Mining regulation panel moderated by Jorge Neher, Dentons Cardenas
• Mining finance trends, Antonio Pichardo, BNP Paribus

Environment

• Water and mining, protecting and sharing water resources, Patrick Williamson, Intera
• Developing a forest strategy for a mine development project, Juan David Ramirez, Gramalote/B2Gold
• The role of NGOs: a collaborative approach on compensation, Conservation International.
• Eco mining strategy, Alfonso Monge

Mining Trends

• Mining Trends, Javier Quintana, EY
• Engaging communities for success, Guillen Calvo, Insuco
• Mining risk management system, Luis Aparicio, Terranova Consulting

Innovation

• Drones and their application in Mining 4.0, George Sobelman, Procontours
• AGDAS full-waveform distributed array IP for copper and gold exploration, Jose Arce, Arce Geofisicos
• Integrated tailings dewatering plant, Cameron Stockman, Responsible Mining Solutions
• Loren Moss, Technology for Mining

Gold

• GCM Mining, Segovia
• Aris Gold, Marmato & Soto Norte
• Royal Road Minerals, Antioquia and Nicaragua
• Antioquia Gold, Cisneros
• Los Cerros, Miraflores
• Guayabales, Collective Mining
• GCM Mining, Toroparu
• Gold Mining, La Mina-Garrucha

Copper

• Copper opportunities in Latin America, Francisco Acuña, CRU
• Max Resource, Cesar
• MCC, Colombia porphyry copper belt
• Cobrasco, Rugby Mining
• Reducing the carbon footprint, Julio Iturriaga, Alvarez & Marshal

CGS Awards