Aguia Resources (ASX: AGR) confirms gold-bearing veins at Santa Barbara as Colombian drilling ramps up

Can Aguia Resources convert early Santa Barbara drill results into a defined high-grade gold resource?

Aguia Resources Limited (ASX: AGR) has advanced drilling at its newly acquired Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia, completing two key diamond drill holes that validate the project’s structural model and indicate the presence of mesothermal and epithermal vein systems. These early-stage results mark a significant milestone in Aguia Resources’ strategic expansion from Brazilian phosphate exploration into high-margin precious metals across South America. With assays pending and visual inspection showing promising mineralisation, the Australian exploration company now faces the challenge of translating geological promise into a resource-backed valuation uplift.

The Santa Barbara project forms the cornerstone of Aguia Resources’ December 2023 acquisition of unlisted Andean Mining Limited. This takeover, finalised in June 2024, granted Aguia full ownership of Andean’s high-grade copper, gold, and silver assets, including the pilot-scale Santa Barbara mine, the Atocha silver-gold project, and the El Dovio VMS-style copper-gold project—all located within Colombia’s emerging mineral belt. Aguia Resources currently trades at A$0.039 per share, with a market capitalisation of A$56.99 million and a strong 1-year return of 85.71 percent.

What do the initial Santa Barbara drill results reveal about vein continuity and geological structure?

Aguia Resources has completed the first two holes—SB-25-01 and SB-25-02—at the Santa Barbara site as part of a broader 25-hole diamond drilling program aimed at delineating mineralised structures. Drill hole SB-25-01 intersected a 0.7-meter thick mineralised quartz vein at a downhole depth of 107.4 meters, located roughly 40 meters beneath the current underground development. The vein exhibits mesothermal and epithermal mineralisation, with pyrite, galena, and sphalerite identified in visual inspection—minerals commonly associated with high-grade gold systems.

A fault zone was intersected at 52 meters, confirming predictions from Aguia’s in-house structural model. Drill hole SB-25-02 further validated this interpretation by intersecting vein extensions consistent with post-fault offsets. Both holes also revealed a more than 4-meter-wide zone of intense sericite alteration and small quartz veinlets, consistent with epithermal mineralising events. These findings bolster the model that Santa Barbara’s vein system represents the upper offset section of a larger system connected to the Mariana fault structure.

The company’s conceptual model, supported by artisanal tunnel mapping and structural mapping across fault blocks, outlines an extensive network of gold-bearing veins displaced along right-lateral strike-slip faults. These early holes will serve as a geotechnical and structural foundation for follow-up drilling, resource modelling, and eventual mine planning.

How is Aguia Resources integrating Andean Mining’s Colombian assets into its diversified exploration strategy?

The acquisition of Andean Mining marked Aguia Resources’ entry into Colombia’s fast-developing mineral sector. Beyond Santa Barbara, the portfolio includes the Atocha and El Dovio projects. The Atocha project has previously yielded intercepts of 20.14 g/t gold and 723 g/t silver over 0.8 meters, while El Dovio hosts volcanogenic massive sulphide-style mineralisation, with prior drill results such as 8.14 g/t gold and 6.92 percent copper across 5.8 meters.

Santa Barbara is the most advanced of the three, with a 30-tonne-per-day pilot plant having processed 500 tonnes of ore at average recoveries of 20 g/t gold. Aguia Resources believes this project offers an early cash flow opportunity while deeper drilling continues to evaluate the long-term resource potential. The pilot infrastructure provides an operational platform for rapid scale-up, contingent on further delineation of economically viable zones.

Strategically, the transition from a phosphate exploration company in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul region to a multi-commodity resource firm reflects broader trends across the junior mining sector, where diversification into precious and base metals is increasingly common due to market demand volatility and capital access differentials.

What technical strategies is Aguia Resources using to define resource continuity and economic potential?

Aguia Resources is executing a detailed resource definition strategy through shallow diamond drill holes, most under 100 meters in length, designed to intersect key vein systems—including Vein #1 and Vein #2—at predictable depths. The current campaign will test vein continuity, dip variations, and structural relationships necessary for reliable grade and tonnage estimation.

Downhole orientation tools, digital logging systems, and total station surveys are employed to maintain core accuracy and spatial positioning. The project’s QA/QC protocols include the insertion of blanks and certified reference standards, with assays being conducted by SGS for gold and silver fire assays.

Geologists believe that the Mariana fault system may control vein displacement and duplication, potentially increasing the resource inventory across both the northern and southern fault blocks. The use of artisanal tunnels and trenching along strike to confirm vein continuity adds low-cost geological insight, supporting the company’s 3D modelling efforts.

A second drill rig is expected to be mobilised to expedite the program and target deeper sections of the vein system, subject to available funding. Investors and institutional partners are closely watching this phase, as success would unlock the potential for an initial JORC-compliant resource estimate within 12–18 months.

How are investors and analysts responding to Aguia Resources’ gold expansion strategy in Colombia?

Aguia Resources’ market performance—up nearly 86 percent over the past 12 months—suggests growing investor interest in its transition into a multi-metal exploration company. Institutional analysts familiar with the Lassonde Curve framework describe Aguia as entering the “discovery phase,” a period historically correlated with sharp valuation increases following early drill success.

While the company’s A$56.99 million market capitalisation places it within the micro-cap segment of the ASX, the acquisition of advanced-stage and permitted projects like Santa Barbara provides a differentiated risk profile compared to greenfield explorers. The existence of pilot processing infrastructure, permitted mining licenses, and a functioning exploration base in Colombia gives Aguia an advantage over peers who must first de-risk land tenure and regulatory exposure.

However, key investor questions remain unanswered until lab assay results validate visual estimations. Financial institutions will likely remain cautiously optimistic pending tangible evidence of gold grades, tonnage continuity, and economic cut-off assumptions suitable for small-scale underground development.

What are the next key milestones in Aguia’s South American precious metals development plan?

In the near term, Aguia Resources will focus on completing its initial 25-hole drill program at Santa Barbara. If successful, this will be followed by successive campaigns aimed at expanding the known vein system across the 7-kilometer strike length mapped on the property. The next phase will likely include deeper drilling, underground modelling, metallurgical test work, and potential scoping or PEA-level studies.

Assay results from SB-25-01 and SB-25-02, due in the coming weeks, will serve as the first quantitative proof point of the project’s mineral potential. Any confirmation of high-grade intersections will accelerate both investor interest and the possibility of further equity-based capital raising to fund exploration.

Looking ahead, the integration of Atocha and El Dovio into the broader exploration and development pipeline will allow Aguia Resources to adopt a portfolio approach to South American mining—balancing near-term production with long-term exploration optionality.

If current structural and metallogenic models are validated, Aguia Resources could emerge as one of the few ASX-listed juniors with a viable, scalable gold operation in Colombia—a market increasingly recognised for its mineral potential and improving investor climate.