Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) has reached a significant milestone this week by achieving the first gold pour at its Mara Rosa mine in Brazil. This marks a pivotal moment for the London-based mining company, which already operates three gold mines in Peru and Argentina: Inmaculada, San Jose, and Pallancata. Mara Rosa represents Hochschild’s inaugural venture into Brazilian mining, situated in the state of Goias.
The project remains firmly on schedule, with commercial production slated for the latter part of the second quarter of 2024, according to the company’s recent statement. Hochschild anticipates that Mara Rosa will yield between 83,000 to 93,000 ounces of gold in 2024, with an all-in sustaining cost ranging between $1,090 and $1,120 per ounce.
Highlighting the strategic significance of Mara Rosa, Hochschild emphasized its potential to offer near-term production at substantially reduced costs, coupled with robust prospects for discovering additional resources through the brownfield exploration program.
Drawing from a NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Study conducted in 2018, the Posse Deposit at Mara Rosa is estimated to contain approximately 513,000 ounces of gold in the proven category, sourced from 9.6 million tonnes at a grade of 1.65 grams per tonne of gold. Additionally, the probable category accounts for 574,000 ounces of gold from 14.2 million tonnes at a grade of 1.26 grams per tonne, resulting in total estimated reserves of 1,087,000 ounces from 23.8 million tonnes at a grade of 1.42 grams per tonne of gold.
Eduardo Landin, CEO of Hochschild Mining, expressed pride in the team’s achievement, stating, “We are all very proud of the team for delivering Brazil’s newest gold mine.” He added, “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.”
Landin further emphasized the company’s focus on completing the ramp-up of the processing plant to achieve commercial production, alongside the continued efforts of the brownfield team to expand the resource base at various targets within the region.
