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West Australian
29-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Aguia hits bonanza gold with first Colombian assay results
The assay lab lit up like a Christmas tree after Aguia Resources' first drill campaign at its Santa Barbara project in Colombia delivered bonanza hits of up to 44.2g/t gold and 78.3g/t silver. The results were backed up by visible gold and repeat intersections across the targeted vein system, setting the stage for a much larger exploration push. Seven diamond holes covering 756 metres of drilling have been completed so far on the Santa Barbara vein system, with assays returned from five. Standout drill results include 0.6m grading 25.43 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 78.3g/t silver from 88 metres depth with encouraging signs of visible gold in the core. Another hole hit 0.45m running at 15.0g/t gold from 59m including a 0.15m section grading a serious 44.2g/t gold and 74.2g/t silver, while a third hole struck 5.28g/t gold and 9.8g/t silver over 0.6m from 107.5m Notably, Aguia says every single hole has intersected mineralisation, confirming its structural model and revealing the veins extend at least 50m below the current underground workings. Drilling has tested 200 metres of strike so far and while the vein widths have typically tended to pinch and swell, the company added the structure remains intact and open in all directions. The remaining 18 diamond holes, covering 800m of fresh strike, will focus on the Mariana structure. Mariana is a parallel vein system to Santa Barbara and has already shown promise in previous surface work and mining activity. Underground channel sampling is proving just as interesting. Multiple assays have smashed through the ounce to the tonne, or 31g/t mark - with five samples pushing beyond 50 grams per tonne gold. One standout channel sample even returned an eye-watering 85.04g/t gold and 91.7g/t silver. The gold at Santa Barbara is mostly hosted in areas where cracks in the rock - or shear zones - have opened up and filled with quartz and carbonate veins. These sweet spots, known as 'dilation zones', have produced stronger sulphide development and higher-grade mineralisation, particularly in the earlier-stage vein phases. Aguia's geologists suspect a nearby felsic porphyritic intrusive rock could be the driving force behind the formation of the Santa Barbara gold system. If confirmed, the intrusive could also point to the presence of a larger epithermal overprint, similar to that seen at Continental Gold's nearby world-class Buriticá mine. Buriticá hosts a staggering 5 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 10.3g/t and 21 million ounces of silver going 40.8g/t, setting a lofty goal for Aguia's own project. With channel samples screaming high-grade and drill bits continuing to hit paydirt – pretty much every go, Aguia's Colombian adventure is shaping up as a potential company-maker. Results from holes six and seven are due in early August and could inject even more momentum into this emerging South American gold play. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
16-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Aguia hits paydirt with first hole at Colombian gold project
Aguia Resources has fired the starting gun on what could be a game-changing drilling campaign at its Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia, after early-stage results hinted at the discovery of a high-grade gold system lurking 40 metres beneath the existing mine. The ASX-listed explorer has sunk the first two holes of a 25-hole campaign and has already struck mineralised quartz veins and key fault structures. Importantly, the hits appear to confirm its geological model and tease at the potential of a much bigger gold system. The company's first drill hole intersected a 4-metre mica zone at surface, containing small quartz veining. The veining was followed by a separate 10-centimetre quartz vein at 6m depth. Further down the hole, the drill bit struck a 0.7m thick quartz vein at a depth of 107.4m, which lit up with visual sulphide mineralisation, including pyrite, sphalerite and galena. These sulphides are often linked to gold. Aguia says the deeper intersection appears to be an extension of vein 1, which has already been partially mined in a trial operation that processed 500 tonnes at an average of 20 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. The hole also cut through a key fault zone at 52m, confirming the structural complexity previously predicted by the company's geologists. The second hole, still being drilled to reach 138.6m depth, has struck the same near-surface veining and is showing a similar mineralised system beyond the fault. Together, the two drill holes have covered nearly 300m of drilling so far. The current drilling program is designed to target vein systems within a 7km-long mineralised corridor. Except for the first few holes, the drilling is planned to test near-surface mineralisation in holes that are shorter than 100m. Assays are pending. When the results are in, Aguia plans to map out the dip, strike and offset of the known gold-bearing veins for future mine planning and resource modelling. The gold at Santa Barbara seems to come from a mix of mesothermal and epithermal rocks, with signs of repeated mineral activity. The veins are found in pinkish rock, called San Lucas gneiss, which contain broken rock textures with coarse galena and yellow sphalerite - both are signs of a strong gold system. The project's vein system appears to be showing striking similarities to two of Colombia's biggest gold hitters, the Segovia and Buriticá mines. When Canadian outfit Continental Gold unveiled its maiden resource at Buriticá in 2011, it stunned the market with 3.1 million ounces of gold and 11 million ounces of silver - all pulled from just 14 veins in the Yaraguá zone. Some of those veins were razor-thin at just 3cm wide and were often tightly packed within 50m of each other, much like Santa Barbara's mineralisation. It was no surprise when the company revealed an internal study in April estimating a jaw-dropping exploration target of two to four million tonnes of material grading up to 30g/t. To keep the momentum going and subject to success, Aguia is planning to bring a second drill rig in on the action to expand the program and target deeper extensions of the mineralised zones. Meanwhile, the past few months have been a hive of activity on site as Aguia busied itself with the restart of gold production. Underground, the old workings have been fully rehabbed with a fresh ventilation system, upgraded electricals and a slick new electric locomotive now running through the tunnels. Up top, the processing plant has had a facelift. It's now turning over 30 tonnes per day of ore, with a bump to 50tpd expected by July when a new primary crusher comes online. Perhaps the biggest win came six weeks ago, when Aguia cleared a key regulatory hurdle, locking in full government approval to sell its gold locally and internationally. With the green light in hand, the company has wasted no time cashing in - just as gold prices flirt with record highs of more than $5000 an ounce. With assays pending and the drills turning, Aguia is positioning itself for what could be a major gold discovery in the making. If grades come back as hoped, Santa Barbara might just turn from a speculative play into Colombia's newest underground gold story. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
The Age
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Aguia hits paydirt with first hole at Colombian gold project
The current drilling program is designed to target vein systems within a 7km-long mineralised corridor. Except for the first few holes, the drilling is planned to test near-surface mineralisation in holes that are shorter than 100m. Assays are pending. When the results are in, Aguia plans to map out the dip, strike and offset of the known gold-bearing veins for future mine planning and resource modelling. The gold at Santa Barbara seems to come from a mix of mesothermal and epithermal rocks, with signs of repeated mineral activity. The veins are found in pinkish rock, called San Lucas gneiss, which contain broken rock textures with coarse galena and yellow sphalerite - both are signs of a strong gold system. The project's vein system appears to be showing striking similarities to two of Colombia's biggest gold hitters, the Segovia and Buriticá mines. When Canadian outfit Continental Gold unveiled its maiden resource at Buriticá in 2011, it stunned the market with 3.1 million ounces of gold and 11 million ounces of silver - all pulled from just 14 veins in the Yaraguá zone. Some of those veins were razor-thin at just 3cm wide and were often tightly packed within 50m of each other, much like Santa Barbara's mineralisation. It was no surprise when the company revealed an internal study in April estimating a jaw-dropping exploration target of two to four million tonnes of material grading up to 30g/t. Aguia Resources executive chairman Warwick Grigor said: 'We have always been confident that we can build on the earlier trial mining and testing program to develop a small but highly profitable underground gold mine. The real speculative appeal comes from the possibility that we could be sitting on a large high-grade gold resource.' To keep the momentum going and subject to success, Aguia is planning to bring a second drill rig in on the action to expand the program and target deeper extensions of the mineralised zones. Meanwhile, the past few months have been a hive of activity on site as Aguia busied itself with the restart of gold production. Underground, the old workings have been fully rehabbed with a fresh ventilation system, upgraded electricals and a slick new electric locomotive now running through the tunnels. Up top, the processing plant has had a facelift. It's now turning over 30 tonnes per day of ore, with a bump to 50tpd expected by July when a new primary crusher comes online. Perhaps the biggest win came six weeks ago, when Aguia cleared a key regulatory hurdle, locking in full government approval to sell its gold locally and internationally. With the green light in hand, the company has wasted no time cashing in - just as gold prices flirt with record highs of more than $5000 an ounce. With assays pending and the drills turning, Aguia is positioning itself for what could be a major gold discovery in the making. If grades come back as hoped, Santa Barbara might just turn from a speculative play into Colombia's newest underground gold story.
Sydney Morning Herald
16-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aguia hits paydirt with first hole at Colombian gold project
The current drilling program is designed to target vein systems within a 7km-long mineralised corridor. Except for the first few holes, the drilling is planned to test near-surface mineralisation in holes that are shorter than 100m. Assays are pending. When the results are in, Aguia plans to map out the dip, strike and offset of the known gold-bearing veins for future mine planning and resource modelling. The gold at Santa Barbara seems to come from a mix of mesothermal and epithermal rocks, with signs of repeated mineral activity. The veins are found in pinkish rock, called San Lucas gneiss, which contain broken rock textures with coarse galena and yellow sphalerite - both are signs of a strong gold system. The project's vein system appears to be showing striking similarities to two of Colombia's biggest gold hitters, the Segovia and Buriticá mines. When Canadian outfit Continental Gold unveiled its maiden resource at Buriticá in 2011, it stunned the market with 3.1 million ounces of gold and 11 million ounces of silver - all pulled from just 14 veins in the Yaraguá zone. Some of those veins were razor-thin at just 3cm wide and were often tightly packed within 50m of each other, much like Santa Barbara's mineralisation. It was no surprise when the company revealed an internal study in April estimating a jaw-dropping exploration target of two to four million tonnes of material grading up to 30g/t. Aguia Resources executive chairman Warwick Grigor said: 'We have always been confident that we can build on the earlier trial mining and testing program to develop a small but highly profitable underground gold mine. The real speculative appeal comes from the possibility that we could be sitting on a large high-grade gold resource.' To keep the momentum going and subject to success, Aguia is planning to bring a second drill rig in on the action to expand the program and target deeper extensions of the mineralised zones. Meanwhile, the past few months have been a hive of activity on site as Aguia busied itself with the restart of gold production. Underground, the old workings have been fully rehabbed with a fresh ventilation system, upgraded electricals and a slick new electric locomotive now running through the tunnels. Up top, the processing plant has had a facelift. It's now turning over 30 tonnes per day of ore, with a bump to 50tpd expected by July when a new primary crusher comes online. Perhaps the biggest win came six weeks ago, when Aguia cleared a key regulatory hurdle, locking in full government approval to sell its gold locally and internationally. With the green light in hand, the company has wasted no time cashing in - just as gold prices flirt with record highs of more than $5000 an ounce. With assays pending and the drills turning, Aguia is positioning itself for what could be a major gold discovery in the making. If grades come back as hoped, Santa Barbara might just turn from a speculative play into Colombia's newest underground gold story.
West Australian
20-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Aguia drill rigs roll in Colombia to chase gold bonanza
Aguia Resources has fired up the diamond rigs at its high-grade Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia with a 25-hole, 2500-metre program designed to unlock a potentially huge discovery in the system's rich mesothermal vein network. The company will also pepper the existing stockwork to clear a path for expanded underground production and set the stage for a maiden JORC resource towards the end of the year. Definition drilling will follow up on known mineralised zones at the Santa Barbara and Mariana workings, some already with shallow underground access. The company says the holes will typically be less than 100m deep and chase the Santa Barbara main vein and an associated structure known as Vein Two. Deeper holes will then test the system's downdip potential. Aguia says confirmation of both grade and continuity at depth and along strike is the first item on its wish list, which will underpin its resource modelling and development plans. The rig will then push deeper into discovery mode, shifting the focus to a broader exploration blitz across a 7-kilometre stretch of mapped surface veins. The hunt is on to uncover repetitions and extensions of Santa Barbara's main mineralised structures - and if the bit hits paydirt, Aguia could be staring down a geological jackpot. The program is being guided by an in-house 3D structural model that has already hinted at a northerly trending domino-style fault system, which likely offsets and repeats the high-grade veins. The model has proven its worth, with artisanal workings turning up exactly where the geologists predicted and opening up a promising new southwest extension of the system. Aguia's Santa Barbara vein system appears to be shaping up as a potential standout in Colombia's gold scene, showing striking similarities to big-name deposits, such as Segovia and Buriticá. All three are mesothermal systems known for high-grade gold and silver and Santa Barbara is already mirroring the other two in vein structure and gold-silver grade potential. When Canadian-based Continental Gold released its resource at Buriticá in 2011, it unveiled 3.1 million ounces of gold and 11M ounces of silver from just 14 veins in the Yaraguá zone. In some instances, the veins were as narrow as 3 centimetres thick and often spaced less than 50m apart. In comparison, Aguia says Santa Barbara's footprint and density already match that scale. Like Aguia today, Continental ran a low-tonnage pilot plant during early exploration at Buriticá - a mirror-image strategy that could hint at what could be in store for Santa Barbara. The company says drill pads have already been prepared and road access re-opened to the old timers' mining sites. More rigs are set to mobilise when the results start flowing in. If the results fall into place, management believes the Santa Barbara play has the potential to turn from a modest start-up operation into a high-margin, multi-million-ounce prize. In March, the company released a geological assessment estimating a game-changing exploration target of 2M tonnes to 4Mt grading at 20-30 grams per tonne (g/t). The past two months have been a busy time for Aguia at Santa Barbara, after it officially re-opened the mine with a first gold pour. Trial mining by the previous owners showed head grades of up to 24g/t gold and Aguia is seeing comparable results from its current operations. The underground workings have now been rehabilitated with a new ventilation system, upgraded electricals and an electrical locomotive. The processing plant has also been refurbished. It is capable of treating 30 tonnes per day (tpd) of ore and on its way to a 50tpd uplift by July, with the addition of a new primary crusher. Adding to the momentum, the company jumped a critical bureaucratic hurdle two weeks ago by locking in a full government nod to flog its gold domestically and internationally. Although approval was expected, the timing was not. With signed paperwork in hand, Aguia has been able to get on with gold sales and capture prices currently trading near all-time highs at $5000 per ounce. While Aguia has had its hands full reigniting the Santa Barbara gold project for early-stage cash flow, it has also been quietly laying the groundwork for a second revenue stream from organic phosphate production in southern Brazil. The company recently locked in a 10-year lease on a fully operational Dagoberto Barcelos plant, just 100km from its Três Estradas deposit. With a modest monthly fee and a one-off payment of $1.36 million, Aguia is forecasting first production by July. The plant, currently rated at 100,000 tonnes per annum, is in line for a few strategic upgrades that could triple its capacity and help the company close in on its original $22M annual EBITDA forecast. Initial feed will come from the Pampafos deposit, but drilling is already underway at nearby Mato Grande and Passo Feio to cut haulage costs and beef up margins. With a second plant on the radar and demand for organic fertilisers booming across Brazil, Aguia's phosphate ambitions could soon match the excitement brewing at Santa Barbara. If all goes to plan, the next few months could be critical for Aguia. The prospect of two operating revenue streams and an exciting exploration drilling program chasing a massive gold windfall during booming yellow metal prices is likely to have punters focused on the news flow. It could also be the making of a junior explorer seeking to mature into a mid-tier miner. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
