Quimbaya Gold has consolidated its license at its flagship Tahami project in Segovia, Colombia. Could you comment?

Over the past few years, during a time when the junior sector hasn’t received much attention from investors, we have methodically consolidated our area of interest at Tahami. This project lies near a significant gold producer (Aris Mining) and includes historical and artisanal mining zones. Essentially, we have been tracing a large geological system in areas where gold is already known to occur. We believe Quimbaya has an excellent chance of making the next high-grade gold discovery in Colombia. 

Our Tahami project now spans over 17,000 hectares across a district of kilometer-long orogenic veins. Our concessions are contiguous with Aris Mining’s Segovia operation. In addition to Tahami, Quimbaya also holds the Maitamac project in the prolific Cauca Belt, as well as the Berrio project in the Antioquia province.

With the shift in market sentiment, we have attracted a strong partner in Independence Drilling, Colombia’s largest national drilling company. 

What are the details of the share-based drilling partnership with Independence Drilling, and what benefits does the deal bring?

Having been active in Colombia for over 15 years, one of the first things I learned is that to work in Colombia, you must work with Colombians. The structure of our partnership is based on a five-year contract for 100,000 meters of drilling. With each campaign we complete, Independence Drilling has the option to be paid partly or entirely in shares. For our first 4,000-meter drilling program, they were paid 100% in shares. 

From our perspective, this structure allows us to preserve cash for other essential activities that help us keep our projects moving forward without having to raise money in the market.

When do you start drilling?

We are currently working through the permitting process and are very close to mobilizing our first drill rig, with drilling expected to commence by the end of Q2 this year. 

Quimbaya recently raised just over CAD$2.7 million. How do you observe the change in investor sentiment?

Our recent raise allowed us to clean up our balance sheet and pay down debt from our acquisitions while leaving us with enough working capital to ramp up our exploration activities. Alongside this exploding gold bull market, we are also seeing growing momentum within Colombia and Quimbaya is poised to take advantage because the upside of making a high-grade gold discovery is enormous for our shareholders. The real challenge is not finding gold — it’s finding the right people, in the right country and Quimbaya offers that.

Segovia has a culture of artisanal mining. What kind of relationship does Quimbaya have with local artisanal miners?

Because artisanal mining is very much a way of life in Segovia, we are committed to supporting the formalization of the artisanal mining sector on our claims. This way mining can be carried out responsibly and with the right tools at every level. We are proud to have established a strong working relationship with our local communities. In fact, we view artisanal miners as a very important asset as they are already finding and producing gold in the area. Our neighbor, Aris Mining, collaborates with small-scale mining groups known as Contract Mining Partners (CMPs), with about half of their production coming from these partnerships. This model generates millions of dollars and is something we find very inspiring.

What makes Quimbaya Gold a compelling investment case?

Our greatest asset is our people — a seasoned team with a track record of success in multi-billion-dollar exploration ventures. We are operating in one of the world’s most geologically prospective gold regions, directly adjacent to one of the richest gold mines globally. But what makes us truly special and won’t last for long is our current market cap of just CAD$20 million, right next to a CAD$1.3 billion market cap neighbor (Aris Mining). This makes us massively undervalued. Yes, we are at an earlier stage, but that’s where the real growth opportunity lies for shareholders, as the market always rewards small market cap companies when they make a big discovery.

Looking ahead, timing is everything. With drilling almost underway, new claims being added, gold prices climbing, and a clear path toward production, everything is aligning for a transformational period.