Could you introduce Aris Mining?

In September 2022, Aris Gold and Gran Colombia Mining (GCM) merged to create Aris Mining with the vision to build a leading gold mining company in Latin America with headquarters in Vancouver and Bogotá. We operate two gold mines in Colombia—Segovia and Marmato—which together produced 211,000 oz of gold in 2024. In addition to these producing assets, we own 51% of the 8.5 million oz Soto Norte development project in Santander, Colombia, as well as Toroparu, a copper-gold development project in Guyana. Across all of our assets, our portfolio includes 7 million oz of proven & probable reserves and 20 million oz of measured & indicated resources, and an incremental 10 million oz in the inferred category. Along with our extensive gold reserves, we have the necessary capital to execute our growth strategy and a strong track record of building mining companies, having previously founded Endeavour Mining and Leagold. We are applying the same "buy-and-build " strategy to grow Aris Mining.

Aris is on track to become a half-million-ounce gold producer in the next two years through expansions at Segovia and Marmato. Could you walk us through these expansion plans? 

Segovia is one of the highest-grade mines in the world, with an average reserve grade of 10.8 g/t Au. We are increasing its throughput capacity from 2,000 to 3,000 t/d by de-bottlenecking the processing plant’s milling capacity, which will take us from ~200,000 oz/y to ~300,000 oz/y gold production. Once we commission the second ball mill in Q2 2025, we will start ramping up and expect to achieve full production in H2 2025. As a result of that ramp-up profile we expect to achieve gold production of about 210,000 – 250,000 oz this year and 300,000 oz next year. Meanwhile, at the Marmato underground mine in Caldas, we are constructing a new mine beneath the existing Marmato Upper mine, which currently processes ~1,000 t/d. The Lower mine will have a new dedicated 4,000 t/d mill, which is expected to ramp up production in H2 2026. Once the Lower Mine reaches full production we expect the Lower and Upper Mines together to produce more than 160,000 oz/y over a mine life of 20 years. Combined, these two mines will enable Aris Mining to produce between 450,000 and 500,000 oz/y of gold annually, starting in 2027. We are in a strong financial position, with over US$250 million in cash at the end of FY24 and ongoing cash flow generation at Segovia, allowing us to fund our future growth. Additionally, Wheaton Precious Metals has committed to providing an additional US$82 million to support the Marmato Lower Mine development.

What drove Aris to increase its ownership of the Soto Norte Gold-Copper Project? 

Soto Norte is probably the best undeveloped gold development project in Latin America, with 8.5 million oz of gold (measured and indicated) at a 5.5 g/t Au grade. When we first acquired a 20% stake in the project, along with the management rights, we realized that our JV partners, Mubadala, had designed a very large, excessively expensive and inherently risky project. In 2023, we started a technical and economic assessment looking at the possibility of a scaled-down project that would be both easier to build and finance, as well as more socially acceptable from a community perspective. We initiated pre-feasibility studies for smaller-scale, simplified, and more efficient mining operations with smaller processing facilities. 

Could you tell us about the partnership between Aris Mining and small-scale mining groups?

Segovia, Marmato and Soto Norte are all located in historic mining areas and we have built strong relationships with our local stakeholders primarily through our collaboration with local small-scale mining groups, known as Contract Mining Partners (CMPs), to purchase mill feed from them and process it at our facilities. Through the program, we also empower local miners to build their own mining businesses by sharing geological, technical, and mine planning knowledge, offering training on HSE procedures, and sometimes providing working capital financing. Approximately 50% of our gold production at Segovia comes from CMP sourced mill feed and generates an attractive AISC sales margin of 35% to 40%. 

The partnership approach has had a huge impact on our reception at the community level, with the local miners becoming our greatest advocates.