Overview
Colombia has long been recognized for its potential as a mining jurisdiction and has for several decades been a development target for large-scale mining. Because of the country’s unique geology, it hosts immense and rich deposits of multiple minerals, including gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, nickel, iron and zinc.
Colombia’s mining sector is one of the largest contributors to the country’s economy, especially with gold production in the mining districts of Nordeste Antioqueño, Buriticá, Marmato and San martín de Loba, among others. Mining in Colombia is driven by an established regulatory framework highly amenable to exploration and development. Under this framework — managed and enforced by the Colombian National Mining Agency — foreign investors are treated the same as domestic organizations and afforded the same rights.
To further expand the country’s mining industry, the National Mining Agency has also implemented a successive bidding process that awards special exploration and mining contracts with both an extended exploration phase and a discounted surface fee.
Like many other South American countries, much of Colombia’s mineral wealth is centralized in the Andes Cordillera. At the moment, it hosts several mid- to large-scale projects diversified across three geographic regions — east, central and west. Quimbaya Gold (CSE:QIM) has established itself in two of these three regions, with over 40,000 hectares of mining assets across three projects. The company is ideally positioned to become one of the most significant explorers in Colombia.
The company’s Maitamac Project is situated in an underexplored mineral district of Abejorral in the central cordillera. Known for its importance in Colonial times, the district and its surrounding regions host multiple world-class gold deposits and large-scale projects, including Atico Mining’s (TSXV:ATY) El Roble project, Denarius Metals’ (TSXV:DSLV) Zancudo, and Aris Mining’s (TSE:ARIS) Marmato project. Prudent Minerals (CSE:PRUD) first began exploring Abejorral in 2020, with the establishment of its highly prospective Abe Gold Project.
Quimbaya’s other two projects, Tahami and Berrio, are located in the Northeast Antioquia Region — the leading source of gold production in the country for centuries. The Segovia asset, held by GCM Mining (now known as Aris Mining), is arguably one of the most significant in the entire region. It’s also a close neighbor of the Tahami Project and shares a geological corridor with Berrio. Soma Gold’s El Bagre, Touchstone’s Rio Pescado, and Aris Mining’s Soto Norte are also near the Tahami Project. In 2023, Quimbaya expanded its claims in Segovia with 694 hectares of mining property.
In December 2023, the company closed its acquisition of Explogold Ingenieria y Consultoria SAS, Minera Buey Aures SAS and Soluciones Ambientales Del Nordeste SAS by way of share purchase agreements.
Quimbaya’s most valuable asset by far, however, is its people. The company has assembled a powerhouse team, combining extensive mining and corporate finance expertise with strong ties to communities throughout the country. Quimbaya’s leadership includes Ernesto Cardenas, creator of the first interactive mining register in the country.
CEO Alexandre P. Boivin brings a decade of expertise in mining and finance, and played a key role in raising funds for Quimbaya. Country manager Andres Felipe Rodriguez is the co-founder of the Colombian Exploration Association and the first large-scale prospector and discoverer of the potential of the mining district of Abejorral – Sonsón in Antioquia.
Factor in Quimbaya’s capital structure, and it’s easy to see why the company is so promising — and how it could easily become one of the leading junior mining companies in Colombia.
Company Highlights
Quimbaya Gold is one of 10 junior mining companies and one of the most promising early-stage exploration companies in Colombia.Quimbaya has acquired over 40,000 hectares of mining assets with significant potential for high-grade gold, silver and copper along with the possibility of discovering Colombia’s next world-class deposit.The company’s three projects are all situated in Antioquia, considered the best mining district in Colombia. All three projects are surrounded by successful gold production operations, providing the company easy access to critical infrastructure.Quimbaya has a good capital structure and tight float, with 68 percent of shares held by the company’s management and board of directors.Quimbaya employs a local team with strong community ties and an understanding of the region and its geology, including how to navigate Colombia’s current political and environmental requirements.Quimbaya offers great value compared to competitors, with a current market cap of roughly C$9 million.
Key Projects
Tahami
The Tahami project currently consists of two tiles representing 622 hectares at the easternmost side of Segovia and the San Lucas Range foothills. In addition, Tahami is pursuing nine possible applications of 5,803 hectares around some of the region’s most productive gold projects.
Tahami’s concessions also host four artisanal mines known as Salomon, Captain, North and South mines with historical data related mainly to a quartz-pyrite sheeted veins system placed in a wide shear zone developed by El Bagre fault action over Jurassic rocks of Segovia Batholith and Cretacic Volcano sedimentary sequences. Another interesting showing has been registered in the Tahami project, including quartz-breccia bodies and punctual stockwork zones.
The mines of the Tahami project share different origins. Porphyry-type alteration zoning is developing along Salomon and Captain and even more, is extending in the southeastern direction towards North and South mines. The intensity and extension of this hydrothermal alteration depict a huge geologic potential for a massive occurrence of medium-big scale gold-copper deposit. Additionally, other similar features compared to Aris Mining sheeted veins systems have been spotted in North and South mines, including geologic orientation of structures and mineralization hosted in massive quartz veins.
Maitamac
Covering a total of 26,102 hectares, Maitamac’s six claims are surrounded by multiple areas of high gold mining potential owned by the Colombian state. These areas all have the potential to be fully transferred to Quimbaya through the Colombian State’s mining business trading program. Several gold occurrences throughout the claims have already been reported and Quimbaya has identified at least two initial targets — Los Bonitos and La Morelia.
Maitamac is near Prudent Minerals’ Abe Gold project, with quartz vein-hosted mineralization along a 30-meter wide structural corridor for over two kilometers which is open in all directions. Mined mineralized shoots in the project average a gold grade of 26 grams per ton.
Berrio
The Berrio project’s initial 1,218 hectares title already houses six gold-positive targets. Quimbaya is pursuing six additional applications for gold and silver covering a total of 7,535 hectares. Berrio has the benefit of being close to established and accessible infrastructure including paved roads, water, electricity, accommodation facilities and an airport. The project has historically been the site of extensive artisanal mining, gradually transformed into small-scale industrial mining as is the case of El Vapor Mine.
El Vapor Mine hosts different systems of gold mineralization in a shear zone formed by the Nus fault in a trend of 2 kilometers in length where Segovia Batholith and Metasediments of Segovia are also exposed. Because several showings and artisanal mines have been reported in the area, the Colombian State selected numerous areas around Berrio Project as mineral areas of interest to research and determine mineral potential.
Management Team
Alexandre P. Boivin – CEO
Alexandre P. Boivin boasts a decade of expertise in Colombian mining, corporate finance, capital markets and business development. He’s played a key role in raising funds, spearheading project development and handling exploration and product deals. Boivin’s corporate finance and capital markets background have been key in raising capital for project development.
Alexandre De Beaulieu – Chairman
Alexandre de Beaulieu is a serial entrepreneur and former private banker. He has spent the past 20 years fostering and investing in several companies in Latin America, focusing on project development and private equity.
Jean-Luc Peyrot – Director
Jean-Luc Peyrot is an esteemed Swiss banker and former CEO of Credit Suisse for France and Monaco. He now advises on Latin American private equity deals from Panama. Peyrot is a board member of LWCDV and fintech startup Mo Technology.
Juan Sanchez – Director
Juan Sanchez has 10 years of experience as a manager in the mining sector. He has been active in commodities trading and financial services in Europe and South America. He is currently the Colombia Country Manager for the Swiss trading company Open Mineral AG.
Bill De Jong – Director
Bill De Jong is a lawyer at DLA Piper, specializing in securities and mining groups. Having served on numerous boards, he brings more than a decade of experience in law and corporate development, advising on financings, M&As and more.
Olivier Berthiaume – CFO
Olivier Berthiaume is a dedicated CFO and former independent accountant with a decade of experience. He excels in managing financial operations, offering budget guidance and driving strategic decisions across diverse organizations.
Andres Felipe Rodriguez – Country Manager
Andres Felipe Rodriguez co-founded the Colombian Exploration Association and played a pioneering role in Abejorral Antioquia’s mining district. He has worked in Colombia’s mining sector for 11 years.
Pietro Solari – Investor Relations
Starting his career in 1980 at United Mining Corporation, Pietro Solari spent 40 years in banking before investing in various sectors’ private equity deals in Latin America.
Fernanda Martinez – Geologist
Fernanda Martinez is an exploration geologist with nine years of experience. She has worked with Agnico Eagle, AUX Colombia, Eco Oro and multiple institutions with mineral potential for State-owned strategic mineral areas.
Ernesto Cardenas – Engineer
Ernesto Cardenas is a systems engineer and founder of Sigmin, a company specialized in the generation of new mining assets in Colombia. He is also the creator of Colombia’s first interactive mining register.
Francois Goulet – Technical Consultant
Francois Goulet is a registered geologist with the Ordre des géologues du Québec and holds a master’s degree in structural geology. As the ex-CEO of Harfang Exploration Inc., Goulet has extensive international experience in mining projects in tropical and northern environments. He also sits on the board of AEMQ
Jean Depatie – Technical Advisor
For 45 years, Jean Depatie has led mining firms including Glamis Gold, Novicourt and Consolidated Thomson Iron Mines. He has contributed to several multi-billion dollar transactions.
Carolina Florez – Legal Advisor
Carolina Florez is a Colombian corporate lawyer specialized in AML, mining, corporate and regulatory law. She manages M&NC Partners, advising on M&A and auditing needs while also serving in the mining sector.
Rejean Gosselin – Technical Advisor
Rejean Gosselin has spent 35 years founding and promoting junior mining companies worldwide. He is credited with gold and base metal discoveries in both Canada and Mexico