Santa Barbara Gold

The Santa Barbara Gold Project (Santa Barbara) is comprised of approximately 320 hectares in two contiguous mining concessions and strategically located in the core of a prolific gold camp on the northern tip of the Serranía de San Lucas, which is known as the “richest gold belt” in Colombia.

Santa Barbara is host to a high-grade mesothermal gold vein system in which a pilot plant with 30 tonnes per day capacity has previously processed 500 tonnes bulk sample in individual 10 ton batches, with average recoveries of 24 g/t Au. It represents an early cashflow opportunity for Aguia expected to be by the end of 2024. Work has already commenced to design and upgrade the pilot plant and exploration development plans to a continuous fully operating plant capable of processing 50 tonnes per day. The construction will take approximately 6 months at a cost of AUD $2million.

The project is 100% owned by Aguia and is surrounded by numerous active small-scale mining operations and artisanal miners. It sits next to the Pueblito Mejia and Norosí Special Reserve Areas of Mining (ARE) with numerous active small-scale miners demonstrating the richness and gold potential of the district. The project was previously advanced by Baroyeca Gold & Silver Inc. (TSX-V.BSG) (Baroyeca) before being acquired by Andean Mining Limited in July 2023.

A total of seven gold-bearing veins were examined and sampled by Baroyeca, while several more mineralised veins were discovered which require further detailed exploration. Based on observations of mineralised exposures, artisanal diggings, pits, tunnels and adits, individual veins have an estimated minimum strike length of 50 metres and up to  > 400 metres. They are generally parallel, trending from N020^o to N060^o, and overall steep to sub-vertical dips. Vein widths may reach up to 0.5 metres, but veining does pinch and swell, and in some cases, splits, or bifurcates following right lateral faults.

Underground sampling on Veins #1 and #2 developed at the Santa Barbara exploration development tunnel returned average channel sampling grades over the full strike of the veins exposed in them of 38.91g/t Au and 31.0g/t Au respectively. Vein widths vary from 10 cm to 0.6 metres. Underground sampling at the Mariana Mine vein returned similar gold grades seen at the Santa Barbara mine with vein widths of up to 50cm.

Underground development on Veins #1 and #2 at the Santa Barbara exploration tunnel has  exposed continuous gold mineralisation for more than 200 metres strike, and still open to the SW. Bulk samples collected from this development made up a 500 tonne bulk sample intended for consistency of gold grades and preliminary metallurgical testing in the 30 tpd pilot plant constructed on-site.

Veins are characterized by a gangue of quartz, and minor carbonates (calcite, Mn-calcite), chlorite and sericite. Sulphides range from 10% to almost 80%, with pyrite being the dominant sulphide (>50% of the total sulphide content)) with variable amounts of galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. The gold to sulphides ratio seems to be consistent along the entirety of the vein.

In total, more than USD$1.5M was previously invested on the project since 2015, by previous operators including acquisition costs, permitting, compliance, infrastructure, pilot plant construction and underground development.

Diagram 1: Santa Barbara heavily mineralized Vein #1 in exploratory tunnel.

Diagram 2: Santa Barbara principal vein traces and rock assay results from surface samples.

The Santa Barbara project has a gold pilot processing plant capable of processing the mineralized material from the identified veins, and is comprised of two stages of crushing, two stages of milling, followed by cyanide leaching tanks. The plant is already prepared to complete the leaching and precipitation process tank where gold precipitates are to obtained for on-site smelting.

The mineralised material was extracted from Vein #1 during the years 2020 and 2021 as part of a larger than average bulk sampling program designed under the supervision of a Qualified Person and completed by the previous operator.

The exploratory tunnel was designed to enable blasting and splitting of the vein from the waste host rock for subsequent collection and pre-concentration of higher-grade mineralized material at the mine portal. This material was then bagged, with each bag being weighed individually until an approximate 10 tonne batch was completed. Bags were randomly scrambled while stockpiling, loaded and discharged for homogenization purposes. The batch was then fed through the on-site 30 tpd pilot plant. The 500-ton bulk sample was completed in September 2021 at the Santa Barbara project which returned mill head grades with a weighted average of >24g/t Au for Vein #1 (Santa Barbara vein).

Pilot plant equipment the Santa Barbara Gold.