G Mining Ventures Corp. (TSE: GMIN) (OTCMKTS: GMINF) received key operating licenses for its Tocantinzinho (TZ) gold mine this week. These are the last necessary authorizations required for commencing commercial production by the end of 2024.
The licenses cover excavation and operation of a processing plant, tailing facilities and a newly laid airstrip. Once production begins, the mine will be the third-largest gold producing asset in the nation.
“I am thrilled by the achievement of this major milestone and continue to be excited as I witness the steady progress being made in commissioning the plant,” chief executive Louis-Pierre Gignac said in a statement, “allowing us to achieve commercial production in the very near term.”
Located in Brazil’s Pará state, the mine holds about two million ounces of gold. Eldorado Gold Corp (TSE: ELD) sunk over C$120 million into the project before G Mining acquired it in Q4, 2021. It is expected to produce about 187,000 ounces per annum for its initial eight years of operation.
The site sits in the Tapajos region, which experienced a gold rush between the tail end of the 1970s and late 1990s. Placer mining operations in the region extracted approximately 25 million ounces of gold during that period.
The timeline. Graph: G Mining Ventures
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First gold poured last month
Receipt of the project’s final licenses followed another key milestone. G Mining’s first gold pour at the mine in July yielded about 440 ounces of gold.
“We are excited about Tocantinzinho’s future and its significant role in Brazil’s gold mining industry,” Gignac said in July.
Brazil, and Latin America in general, are known for hosting many prolific gold operations.
Nicaragua in particular has become a haven for gold producers like Calibre Mining Corp (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) and Mako Mining Corp. (TSX-V: MKO) in recent years.
Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico hold Latin America’s largest gold reserves — according to Trading Economics.
Graph: Statista
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