Calibre Mining Corp. (TSE: CXB) (OTMRKTS: CXBMF) recorded a consolidated full year gold production of 242,487 gold ounces, beating its stated guidance of between 230,000 to 240,000 ounces in 2024.
The company made this announcement and more on Wednesday as part of its quarter financial statements. The specifics included 207,220 ounces in Nicaragua and Nevada taking up 35,267 ounces for the year.
Calibre ended Q4 with USD$186.7 million in cash, including USD$131.1 million in cash and USD$55.6 million in restricted cash. The company strengthened its leadership team by appointing a chief operating officer and a vice president of technical services for Nicaragua.
Exploration at the Limon Mine Complex yielded outstanding results, with high-grade gold mineralization and new discoveries. Quarterly drill results at Talavera and the VTEM Gold Corridor demonstrated exceptional potential at Limon, including:
- 12.57 g/t Au over 7.1 metres, including 26.65 g/t Au over 3.3 metres;
- 12.96 g/t Au over 19.9 metres;
- 10.59 g/t Au over 13.5 metres;
- 9.97 g/t Au over 6.9 metres;
- 14.64 g/t Au over 7.5 metres.
Drilling at Valentine as part of the expanded 100,000-metre drill program uncovered significant gold mineralization outside of the known mineral resources, extending up to 1,000 metres southwest of the Leprechaun open pit. Grades exceeded mineral reserve grades by over 40 per cent, with highlights including:
- 2.43 g/t Au over 172.8 metres, including 3.84 g/t Au over 90.9 metres;
- 2.12 g/t Au over 95.4 metres;
- 2.26 g/t Au over 78.3 metres.
Based on this exploration success, Calibre plans to add more drill rigs in 2025 to accelerate the 100,000-metre discovery and resource expansion program.
Read more: High grades in Nicaragua expected to raise Calibre Mining’s mineral resource
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Valentine project continues opening preparation
The Valentine project remains on track to begin gold production in Q2 2025, with significant progress across multiple areas. The Tailings Management Facility is complete and receiving water, while the SAG and Ball Mill advance toward pre-commissioning.
Structural, mechanical, and piping work continues in the grinding, ADR, reagents, and gold room areas, and the construction of CIL leaching tanks is complete, with mechanical and electrical work underway.
The overland and coarse ore stockpile conveyor is progressing, and the reclaim tunnel is preparing for apron feeders. The primary crusher installation is complete and ready for commissioning, and pre-commissioning activities are well underway. The initial project capital costs, excluding sunk costs, remain approximately CAD$744 million.
“Looking ahead, 2025 is shaping up to be a transformational year for Calibre with first gold production from Valentine on schedule for Q2,” said Darren Hall, president and CEO for Calibre Mining.
“With Valentine fully operational, Calibre transitions into a robust, multi-asset, diversified mid-tier gold producer. Valentine is poised to become a long-life, cornerstone asset in Canada, initially delivering approximately 200,000 ounces of gold annually with significant exploration upside.”
Hall said the significant progress made on technical studies to support a phase two expansion at Valentine. Initially, the design planned to increase throughput from 2.5 million tonnes per year to 4 million tonnes per year by 2029.
However, the team is now working to expedite plans to scale production up to 5.4 million tonnes per year. In 2025, the focus will shift to detailed engineering and scheduling, aiming to secure long lead-time items before the year ends.
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Read more: Calibre Mining finds high grade gold mineralization outside of its Valentine Mine resource
Calibre has found new zones of gold mineralization
On July 15, 2024, Calibre expanded its discovery and resource expansion program to 100,000 metres, targeting high-priority areas along the highly prospective 32-kilometre VLSZ.
To date, the team has focused diamond drilling on 8 kilometres of the VLSZ, defining 64.6 Mt at 1.90 g/t gold for 3.95 Moz of Measured and Indicated Resources and 20.7 Mt at 1.65 g/t gold for 1.10 Moz of Inferred Resources.
On November 25, 2024, Calibre identified new broad zones of gold mineralization. Drilling revealed multiple intercepts featuring visible gold, high-grade intersections, and extensive zones of continuous mineralization across several holes. These were also all located outside known mineral resources.
Highlights from the Frank Zone drill program, southwest of the Leprechaun pit, include:
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2.43 g/t Au over 172.8 metres Estimated True Width (“ETW”) including 3.84 g/t Au over 90.9 metres ETW;
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2.12 g/t Au over 95.4 metres ETW; 2.26 g/t Au over 78.3 metres ETW;
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10.21 g/t Au over 2.9 metres ETW; 5.50 g/t Au over 6.0 metres ETW;
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1.73 g/t Au over 11.0 metres ETW; 13.39 g/t Au over 0.9 metres; and
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8.34 g/t Au over 1.0 metres ETW; and 11.15 g/t Au over 0.9 metres ETW.
The 2025 guidance outlines gold production, Total Cash Cost (TCC), All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC), and growth capital for operations in Nicaragua and Nevada. The consolidated exploration guidance will now include planned drilling activities in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
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Calibre Mining is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
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joseph@mugglehead.com
