The Tucano gold and silver mine, in Brazil, could resume operations before the end of the year, building up to 100 000 oz/y over the medium term.
The Tucano mine was placed on care and maintenance in September last year, when Great Panther ran into financial trouble.
Canadian mining company Tucano Gold, part of the Pilar Gold collection, has now entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mina Tucano and Tucano Resources Mineração, each for BRL1.00, along with the submission of a proposed payment plan to creditors.
Purchased by Great Panther in 2019, Mina Tucano holds a 100% interest in the Tucano gold mine hosted on a 1 973 km2 land package on the highly prospective Vila Nova Greenstone Belt of the Guyana Shield.
The operation includes a 3.5-million-tonne-a-year carbon-in-leach plant and has produced more than 1.5-million ounces since it was opened in 2005.
Great Panther published an updated 43-101 report on June 8, 2022, with proven and probable reserves of 12.9-million tonnes at 1.59 g/t for 656 000 oz. Its measured, indicated and inferred resource is 1.8-million ounces with significant scope for expansion.
Having established Pilar Gold and Laiva Gold, the Tucano Gold team has gained a wealth of experience, giving Mina Tucano access to greater sources of funding and shared technical expertise.
With combined mill capacity of 7.3-million tonnes a year, the group is on track to achieve 300 000 oz/y of production from Tucano Gold, Laiva Gold and Pilar Gold by 2025.
Tucano notes that it has received strong expressions of interest for its seed financing round that is priced at a fraction of the replacement cost to build such a world-class complex today.
“We believe the time is right to buy a large, long-life gold mine like Mina Tucano before the next upward cycle in gold in 2024, and follows Laiva Gold’s acquisition of Europe´s largest gold mill in Finland earlier this year.”
Investors in the seed round of Tucano Gold will receive a free share in its exploration spin-out Tucano Gold Exploration in the first quarter of 2024. Tucano Gold Exploration will hold arguably the largest and most prospective set of tenements on the Guyana Shield.