The Marmato district has been exploited since pre-Colonial times by the Quimbaya people. The Spanish colonists assumed control of the Marmato mines in 1527 and the area has been in almost continuous production ever since. The gold resource of Marmato was so significant that Simon Bolivar, the revolutionary leader who liberated much of South America from Spanish rule, used the mines as collateral with British banks to secure funding for a war of independence against Spain.
Caldas Gold’s Marmato Project comprises the existing producing underground gold and silver mine in the Upper Zone, including the right to mine in the lower portion of the neighbouring Echandia license area, the existing 1,200 tpd processing plant and the area encompassing the Deeps Zone mineralization, all located within the mining license area referred to as Zona Baja. The current mine has been in operation since 1991. The Marmato Project has excellent infrastructure, being located by the Pan American Highway with access to Medellin to the north and Manizales to the south, and has access to the national electricity grid which runs near the property.
The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed in 2019 charts a path for expansion of mining operations at the Marmato Project, ultimately comprised of two distinct operations, the existing Upper Zone operation and a new Deeps Zone operation which sits directly below the Upper Zone vein system. In 2019, the Upper Zone mine produced 25,750 ounces of gold. Implementation of a mine optimization program is expected to reduce total cash costs per ounce and to increase gold production in 2020 to between 32,000 and 37,000 ounces and thereafter to a range of 35,000 to 40,000 ozs for the next 15 years.
A Prefeasibility Study (PFS), currently in process and expected to be completed mid-2020, is focused on the development of the Deeps Zone mineralization, construction of a new 4,000 tpd plant and new dry stack tailings storage facilities. Mechanized mining, using an underground longhole stoping method, is expected to commence in 2023 with an additional estimated 1.6 million ounces of gold recovered over a 16-year mine life.