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Andrew Todd
Aguia Resources has delivered its best production results to date from its Santa Barbara gold mine in Colombia, with August figures showing record output of 942 grams of gold at an impressive grade of over 10 grams per tonne (g/t). The performance more than doubles the project’s previous best month, which saw 468 grams of gold produced at 5g/t.
The company says its impressive grade and production jump generated total revenue of $171,000 for the month, with half of its ore pushed through a new third-party processing trial with the Colombian Mint. That trial returned a lofty head grade of 15.05g/t gold for 637.4 grams of payable gold, with a stated value of A$123,200, in addition to 1226.8 grams of payable silver.
Under the arrangement, Aguia receives 90 per cent of the recovered gold after a processing charge of US$65 per tonne, demonstrating a viable path to near-term cash flow while the company optimises its own plant.
The company says its substantially stronger performance comes on the back of a disciplined operational overhaul. Following site management changes, Aguia’s first-half costs fell sharply in 2026 compared with the previous six months. Capital expenditure was slashed by 80 per cent, operating expenditure dropped 56 per cent and overheads fell 38 per cent, reducing total operating expenses by an impressive 57 per cent.
‘The third-party processing trial with Colombian Mint delivered a strong payable gold return from our high-grade ore.’
Aguia Resources managing director and chief executive officer Timothy Hosking
Management says the improved results are a direct consequence of tighter grade control, reduced dilution from underground mining and more selective mining of Santa Barbara’s high-grade gold veins, which naturally widen and narrow along their length. The company is now delivering consistent run-of-mine ore grading above 10g/t gold, with plant feed grades even peaking at 20.4g/t.
While the August production was based on just 100 tonnes of material, Aguia is now targeting a staged increase to 200 tonnes per month over the next 90 to 120 days.
Aguia Resources managing director and chief executive officer Timothy Hoskings said: “The third-party processing trial with Colombian Mint delivered a strong payable gold return from our high-grade ore and provides a potential pathway to support near-term cash flow while our team remains focused on underground development, dilution control and selective extraction of higher-grade material.”
While Santa Barbara may be grabbing the gold headlines, Aguia is also rapidly expanding a second revenue stream in southern Brazil through its Três Estradas phosphate project, which produces the company’s organic fertiliser for the country’s agricultural heartland.
The Três Estradas plant is already running ahead of expectations, with the company recently locking in a whopping A$2.3 million in sales of its “Pampafos” organic phosphate product within just six weeks of commissioning. The plant features a capacity of more than 200,000 tonnes per annum.
The early sales success suggests a clear local appetite for Aguia’s domestically produced fertilisers, particularly products such as Pampafos. Policy is quickly shifting in the company’s favour too, after Brazil’s federal senate recently approved a Fertiliser Industry Development Program (Profert), a major push designed to support domestic fertiliser production and reduce the nation’s heavy reliance on imports.
With cash flows from both of its operations now growing and a recent $3 million capital raise, Aguia plans to return to exploration in Colombia in the fourth quarter. Drilling will chase extensions to Santa Barbara’s high-grade vein system, which remains largely untouched by modern exploration.
As costs seemingly come under control and a clear strategy emerges to scale up high-grade production using a combination of its own plant and third-party processing, Aguia appears to have found its rhythm in Colombia. While production is still modest, the early revenue is encouraging and a disciplined ramp-up could turn Santa Barbara’s high-grade veins into a serious cash generator for the South American-focused producer.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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