Gran Colombia Gold (TSX:GCM) expects to complete in February the spin off its Marmato project, located in the country’s department of Caldas, into a separate listed company, executive chairman Serafino Iacono said at a trade conference in Vancouver, Canada.
The Canadian miner, which will retain a major stake in the
new listed company, said the move should help generate the funding required for
ongoing exploration, development of an underground mine and the expansion of
operations.
Caldas Gold, the new miner’s name, will initially have the
same executive team as Gran Colombia, but the project team will be different.
Planned work at Marmato includes the construction of a new
processing plant and additional tailings storage facilities to support an
increased level of production.
As part of the proposed mine plan, the company will look to
optimize mining activities in the upper existing mine, which produces
24,000-to-26,000 ounces a year of gold. It will also aim at increasing
production and reducing cash costs.
The Toronto-based miner plans to concurrently begin
development of the Deeps mineralization underneath the current mine for a
modern, mechanized mining operation.
Gran Colombia acquired Marmato, in the heart of the Middle
Cauca gold district, in 2011, through a merger with Medoro Resources.
The underground gold mine is expected to have a minimum
12-year productive life, generating over 1.5 million ounces of the precious
metal during that time.
Rocky road
In the last decade, the project has been plagued by
controversy. Residents of the 500 year-old Marmato town, mostly opposed the
miner’s intention of flattening a mountain to create an open pit. That is no
longer an issue, as Gran Colombia has opted for underground mining at Marmato.
The property has also been unlawfully occupied. The first
group of illegal miners took over the area in 2016, blocking roads
and costing Gran Colombia $2 million in daily losses.
In 2017, the miner filed a $700 million lawsuit against Colombia, under
the Colombian-Canadian free trade agreement, after the government ordered the
company to cease operations at the El Burro site in Marmato, requesting
further consultation with locals.
The asset is located in a region that has been exploited
since pre-Colonial times by the Quimbaya people. The Spanish colonists assumed
control of the zone’s mines in 1527 and the area has been in almost continuous
production ever since.
Marmato’s known riches were key to support the cause of
Simon Bolivar, a revolutionary leader who liberated much of South America from
Spanish rule. According to historians, Bolivar used the mines as collateral
with British banks to secure funding for a war of independence against Spain.