Vancouver-based Soma Gold Corp. (TSXV: SOMA) (WKN: A2P4DU) (OTC: SMAGF) has confirmed that the first shipment of mineralized material from the formalized Diamantina mine has been received at the El Limon mill in Zaragoza, Antioquia. This delivery follows a formalization process that lasted more than five years under Colombian law. The contractual agreement allows the company to purchase material from small-scale miners in exchange for a percentage of the gold contained in each shipment.

The Diamantina mine is currently permitted to produce up to 40 MT per day. The company intends to reach this production rate by mid-year, while 1,700 MT of existing stockpiled material is being moved to the mill for processing. This site is the first of 24 small mines on the 43,000-hectare property currently in various stages of the formalization process. These 24 mines represent a portion of the approximately 60 small-scale operations located on the company’s concessions. Management expects additional mines to complete the process and begin supplying the El Limon facility later in 2026.

“Formalization of small miners has been a key part of our strategy for many years, and it is gratifying to see the first one complete.” — Geoff Hampson, CEO of Soma Gold Corp.

To support the increased volume from both company-owned assets like the Aurora and Escondida mines and third-party formalized miners, the El Limon mill was restarted in the third quarter of 2025. Material may also be processed at the El Bagre mill, where new ore-sorting equipment is being installed. This equipment arrived in Colombia recently and is expected to be operational by the second half of 2026. Once commercialized, the ore-sorting system is projected to increase the throughput at El Bagre from 450 TPD to a range between 700 and 750 TPD.

Development at the Nechi mine is also progressing, with the Programa de Trabajos y Obras (PTO) application expected to be submitted in April 2026. If approved by the end of the year, the Nechi mine is projected to provide an additional 250 TPD to the El Bagre facility, potentially adding approximately 25,000 AuEq ounces to annual production.

Total gold equivalent production for 2025 was 18,670 ounces. This figure was below previous projections, which the company attributed to a two-month work stoppage and subsequent difficulties in hiring qualified personnel and addressing mechanical issues during the restart phase. In a separate corporate development, the board of directors approved the grant of 1,118,334 stock options at an exercise price of $2.06 CAD per share, along with 159,910 restricted share units and 76,756 deferred share units to directors and employees.

Soma Gold Corp. operates mineral concessions along the Otu fault in Antioquia, maintaining two mills within 25 kilometers of each other with a combined capacity of 675 TPD. The company also maintains an exploration property near Tucuma, Para, Brazil, which is under option to Ero Copper Corp. (TSX: ERO) (NYSE: ERO).

The Colossa Mine, a small-scale artisanal operation previously exploited in the 1800s, lies within a mineralized trend along the Otú Fault, covering multiple historical mines across a 1.8 km corridor. Soma says that its ongoing exploration indicates high-potential gold zones, further evidenced by stream sediment results and recent channel samples.

The Colossa Mine’s quartz veins, positioned in a unique orientation relative to the Otú Fault, resemble the configuration of veins at Aris Mining’s El Silencio mine in Segovia, raising expectations of further vein extensions. Soma Gold has scheduled an initial 500-meter diamond drill program in late 2024 to further explore these zones.

Since 2023, all Soma exploration samples have been processed by ALS Lima for standardized fire-assay and ICP-MS analysis due to lab improvements at Soma’s Operadora mine lab. Soma’s properties in Antioquia now cover over 56 km of the Otú Fault, including other significant mines along the district’s mineralized trend.

Soma Gold Corp. holds mining interests in Antioquia, Colombia, and Para State, Brazil. The company’s El Bagre Mill is currently operational, with funds from production directed toward regional exploration efforts.

Above photo: Stream sediment samples collected in the vicinity of the Colossa Mine. (CNW Group/Soma Gold Corp.)