Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) this week achieved first gold pour at its Mara Rosa mine in Brazil. The London-based miner operates three gold mines in Peru and Argentina: Inmaculada, San Jose and Pallancata. Mara Rosa is its first Brazilian operation, located in the state of Goias.
The project remains on schedule with commercial production expected towards the end of the second quarter of 2024, the company said, adding that Mara Rosa is expected to produce between 83,000 to 93,000 ounces of gold in 2024 at an all-in sustaining cost of between $1,090 and $1,120 per ounce.
Hochschild said Mara Rosa will provide near-term production at a significantly lower cost, with strong potential to find additional resources through the brownfield exploration program.
Based on a pre-feasibility study in 2018, the Posse deposit at Mara Rosa is estimated to contain 513,000 oz. of gold in the proven category from 9.6 million tonnes at 1.65 g/t gold and 574,000 oz. of gold in the probable category from 14.2 million tonnes at 1.26 g/t gold, for total reserves of 1.09 million oz. from 23.8 million tonnes grading 1.42 g/t gold.
“We are all very proud of the team for delivering Brazil’s newest gold mine,” CEO Eduardo Landin said in the statement. “Mara Rosa will be a low-cost operation that will create significant value for all our stakeholders. The first pour is testament to the hard work done by all our employees, contractors and local communities who have enabled us to construct this exciting operation on schedule and on budget.”
“We are now focusing on completing the ramp up of the processing plant to achieve commercial production. In addition, our brownfield team is continuing its program to further grow the resource base at a number of targets in the region,” Landin added.
