Aura Minerals Inc. (“Aura” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that production at its Almas Mine (“Almas” or “Mine”) has commenced. The mine and plant are currently in operation and the Company expects to achieve commercial production at Almas by July 2023.
Rodrigo Barbosa, President, and CEO, commented, “We have hit a major milestone in our Company history today with the start of production of our first ever greenfield project completed in only 16 months and expected Capex of approximately US$78 million, with no material deviation from the project budget, despite challenges related to procurement, the pandemic and inflationary pressures. Our strategy of focusing on simple and scalable projects that are easy to build and easy to operate under the highest ESG standards, which we call Aura 360, is paying off. This efficient model has already resulted in significant benefits to both Aura and the local communities. We invested approximately 50 thousand hours on training and have 57% of direct labor hired from the local communities which we expect to further increase during the ramp-up of the operation and next year. We look forward to providing additional updates as we achieve commercial production and begin sales at Almas, and completing the ongoing Borborema Feasibility study with construction anticipated to commence by the end of this semester. With Almas online, we expect to deliver value not only to our shareholders but contribute to the economic growth of the region.”
Almas is an open pit gold mine located in the state of Tocantins, Brazil, and is wholly owned by Aura. Almas is the first greenfield project constructed by Aura. Average annualized gold production is estimated at 51,000 ounces during the first four years of the Project, with an estimated life of mine of 17 years, based on mineral reserves estimated in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure for Minerals Projects (“NI 43-101”). According to the Company’s Guidance announced on February 27, 2023 (Aura Announces 2022 Annual Financial and Operational Results and 2023 Guidance), available on Sedar, the Company expects 2023 production at Almas to be between 25,000 and 30,000 ounces of gold.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained within this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tiãozito V. Cardoso, FAusIMM, Technical Services Director for the Company. Mr. Cardoso is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.