RE: Northern Miner21 May 2022 12:31
5) The most important projects making their way through the development pipeline are B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE-AM: BTG) and AngloGold Ashanti’s (NYSE: AU; JSE: ANG;) joint venture on the Gramalote project. Harris has noted continued postponements of the JV’s feasibility study. “They keep saying it’s for optimization purposes, but the fact is Colombia has a presidential election at the end of May. I’m sure a part of that is also waiting to see how the land lies in a couple of months,” he said
Meanwhile, AngloGold’s Quebradona project keeps running into permitting roadblocks. Just recently, an appeal on the environmental permit application was archived, leaving the company to start the process from scratch.
Also in Colombia is the Soto Norte gold project, which Aris Gold (TSX: ARIS: US-OTC: ALLXF) has taken over. “There’s a lot of community relations damage management to be undertaken before they can really resume a development path,” Harris said.
The most advanced stage project in Ecuador is Dundee Precious Metals‘ (TSX: DPM) Loma Larga gold project. This project, too, has been held up by a protracted community engagement process to iron out the path forward.
However, recent development successes include Lundin Gold‘s (TSX: LUG; NASDAQ: LUG) Fruta del Norte gold project and the Chinese-owned Mirador copper project.
The Ecuador development pipeline also looks healthy, with SolGold‘s (TSX: SOLG; LSE: SOLG;) Apala deposit at Cascabel being a project of note and Solaris Resources’ (TSX: SLS; US-OTC: SLSSF) Warintza copper project rapidly coming through the pipeline.
Courtesy of Grumpy