Operations

Segovia is a world-class, multi-million-ounce high-grade gold mining operation that has been producing gold for more than 150 years. The Segovia Operations are located in a gold mining complex in Colombia’s Segovia-Remedios mining district in the Department of Antioquia, approximately 180 kilometers northeast of Medellín. Within the Segovia Operations, the Company is current producing from four underground mines: Providencia, El Silencio, Sandra K and Carla. The core of the Segovia Operations are located with a unique freehold mining property (Mining Title No. RPP-140) dating from the 19th Century in which the Company owns the land, mineral and surfaces rights in perpetuity so long as it is carrying out exploitation. Over the last 11 years, under the operation of GCM Mining, Segovia has produced over 1.5 million ounces of gold with an average head grade of 13.67 g/t with more than 90% sourced from the Company’s mines and the balance from its Artisanal Small Miner model. Within the municipalities of Segovia and Remedios, which have a combined population of approximately 100,000, GCM Mining generates over 4,000 jobs and has developed community relations and various programs, as more fully outlined in our Sustainability section of this website and our 2020 Sustainability Report.

Ore is processed through the Company’s Maria Dama process plant utilizing a process flowsheet that includes crushing, grinding, gravity concentration, gold flotation, concentrate regrinding, concentrate cyanidation, Merrill-Crowe zinc precipitation and refining of both the zinc precipitate and gravity concentrate to produce a final gold/silver doré product. A new polymetallic processing plant is being constructed in 2021 to recover zinc, lead, gold and silver from tailings to provide an additional source of cash flow from the mining operations. Tailings from the Maria Dama plant are treated through a filter press operation that allows GCM Mining to dry stack the tailings in its El Chocho tailings Storage facility. GCM Mining also has a robust exploration strategy in process within its RPP-140 Mining title.

The capacity of the Maria Dama Plant at Segovia is being expanded in 2021 from 1,500 tpd to 2,000 tpd. The plant includes crushing, grinding, gravity concentration, gold flotation, cyanidation of the flotation concentrate, Merrill-Crowe precipitation and refining of both the Merrill-Crowe precipitate and gravity concentrate to produce a final doré. The Company’s onsite lab provides quick turnaround of development samples; exploration samples processed in SGS Medellin.

A new 200 tpd polymetallic plant at Segovia was commissioned in mid-October 2021 and has been operating in test mode as it adjusts the operation of the equipment and the dosage of the reagents to optimize concentrate production. The new plant produced 194 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 201 tonnes of lead concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2021 which have been stockpiled and are awaiting shipment in the first quarter of 2022. Payable production from the concentrates is estimated to total approximately 154,000 pounds of zinc, 254,000 pounds of lead, 18,400 ounces of silver and less than 100 ounces of gold, all of which will be finalized once the concentrates are shipped. GCM Mining is working to increase the daily processing rate of the new plant toward its normal capacity by the second quarter of 2022. 

GCM Mining’s business model incorporates local informal miners through its artisanal mining model (“ASM”), which historically has represented 10-15% of Segovia’s gold production. The Company has agreements with over 56 third party miner groups who mine in designated areas within its title. GCM Mining pays for recovered gold at a fixed price, processes ore (reducing mercury use) and sells the gold/silver. Benefits including health and safety training, reduction in environmental impact and economic growth.