Aguia Resources Limited (ASX:AGR) said its Santa Barbara gold and silver project in Colombia produced a record amount of gold in September 2026, according to an announcement released to the ASX on 6 October 2026. The company said that, for the first time, the output covered the corporate and operating costs of its Colombian operations.

September production

According to the announcement, Mining in September produced 105 dry tonnes of run-of-mine material at an average head grade of 10.88 grams of gold per tonne. All of it was sent to the Quintana Processing Plant in Remedios, Antioquia, a third-party Facility owned by Colombian Mint, part of the Sun Valley Investment group.

The plant recovered 1,143.07 grams of gold, or 36.75 troy ounces, together with 2,124 grams of payable silver. The company said this was its best month to date, compared with about 32 ounces in the prior month. It reported gross Revenue of AUD$218,000, based on a gold price of US$4,135 per troy ounce.

Under the processing agreement, Aguia receives 90% of the gold produced, less processing costs of US$65 per tonne. The company said run-of-mine grade remains above 10g/t gold, with a recent batch assessed at 12.75g/t. It said it will continue sending production to Colombian Mint to improve recovery and returns.

Costs and expansion plans

In September the company reduced its mine workforce by 15% to lower operating costs. It also bought more mining equipment to develop three shafts below the main levels of Veins #1 and #2, and extraction fans to improve ventilation after blasting.

The company said it aims to lift production from about 100 tonnes of ore per month to 200 tonnes per month. The announcement gives slightly different timing for this target: the highlights refer to reaching 200 tonnes per month before the first quarter of 2027, while the discussion section refers to more than 200 tonnes per month by the end of 2026.

Managing director and chief executive Timothy Hosking said: "Although volumes are still modest at ~ 37 ounces of gold produced, the grade and recoveries achieved clearly demonstrate the potential value that can be realised from a scaled up operation."

He said the company is looking at ways to make more use of third-party processing while its own team concentrates on ore extraction volumes and on restarting exploration to define a Mineral Resource Estimate.

Important qualifications

The announcement's JORC Table 1 states that there are no Mineral Resource Estimates on any of Aguia's Colombian projects. It also says that data spacing at Santa Barbara is not yet sufficient to report a Mineral Resource Estimate, although this may change with future drilling. This suggests the project is a small-scale mine without a JORC-defined resource.

Production volumes remain small. At about 37 ounces a month, the operation is at an early scale. Revenue also depends on the gold price, recoveries at a third-party plant and the processing terms with Colombian Mint.

Company context

Aguia describes itself as a multi-commodity company with pre-production phosphate projects in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and gold projects in Colombia. The Santa Barbara property is held through its Colombian subsidiary, Minera La Fortuna SAS.

Mr Hosking said the company expects to update shareholders next week on its phosphate Assets in Brazil, where it said sales are materialising from stockpiled material and operations are continuing.

Analysis: Covering in-country costs is a meaningful step for a small producer, because it reduces how much the Colombian operation relies on head-office funding. However, it reflects one month of low-volume production. Future figures will show whether the planned move to 200 tonnes per month can be achieved while keeping grades and recoveries at September's levels.