Collective Mining Targets 10M Ounces at Apollo, Eyes 2031 Production

Key Points

• Collective Mining is prioritizing Apollo at its Guayabales project, aiming to expand the resource from more than 5 million ounces to 7–8 million ounces and ultimately 10 million ounces through additional drilling, especially in the higher-grade Ramp Zone.
• The preliminary mine concept would start with a relatively low-strip-ratio open pit, then add underground operations and potentially reach 15,000 tonnes per day. Processing could include gravity recovery, flotation and carbon-in-leach circuits to recover gold, silver, copper and tungsten.
• Collective plans to begin a roughly 3-kilometer exploration adit within weeks, complete another resource update by late 2027 or early 2028, and target environmental permitting by mid-2028, with potential production beginning in 2031.

Collective Mining NASDAQ: CNL outlined plans to expand the Apollo deposit at its Guayabales project in Colombia, advance an exploration adit toward the deposit and target a potential production start in 2031 during the Noble Capital Emerging Growth Virtual Equity Conference.

Chief Executive Officer Ned Jalil said the company’s management team has prior experience in Colombia through Continental Gold, which developed the Buriticá mine before its sale to Zijin Mining in 2020 for more than $2 billion. Jalil said Collective had more than $90 million as of June 30 and that management and insiders held more than 45% of the company’s ownership, according to the presentation.

Apollo Resource Growth Takes Priority

Jalil described Apollo as Collective’s cornerstone asset at Guayabales, located in Colombia’s Caldas Department about 1.75 kilometers from Aris Mining’s Marmato mine. He said the project benefits from nearby highway, power, water and labor infrastructure, including access to the Pan-American Highway and the Cauca River.

The company released its maiden mineral resource estimate for Apollo in September. Jalil said the open-pit portion of the resource has indicated grades above 2 grams per tonne gold equivalent, while the deeper Ramp Zone contains grades in the range of 4 to 5 grams per tonne gold equivalent.

Collective is pursuing additional drilling at Apollo, particularly in the Ramp Zone, where Jalil said only about 20% has been drilled. He also pointed to opportunities to add mineralization in shallow areas of the planned pit and in undrilled portions of the deposit’s middle zone.

“Priority number one is Apollo,” Jalil said during the question-and-answer session. “We want to grow that resource. We want to hit our mark of 7 million-8 million oz and then 10 million oz.”

He said the combined indicated and inferred resource at Apollo exceeds 5 million ounces, while stressing that Canadian National Instrument 43-101 rules do not permit the company to present a combined total in its formal resource tables.

Jalil said recent drilling in previously untested portions of the pit could potentially convert material that had been classified as waste rock into mineralized blocks above the company’s 0.3 gram-per-tonne gold-equivalent cutoff. If confirmed in a future resource update, he said that could reduce the projected strip ratio for the open pit.

Potential Mine Plan and Processing Approach

Collective’s preliminary development concept would begin with an open pit, which Jalil characterized as having a strip ratio below 2-to-1 during the early years of mining. The company would use that period to develop underground operations, with higher-grade underground material potentially being blended with open-pit feed beginning in approximately the second or third year.

Over time, Jalil said the operation could transition to a fully underground mine operating at a potential 15,000-tonne-per-day rate. The company is considering sublevel open stoping for the underground portion, along with paste backfill to return tailings underground.

Apollo contains gold, silver, copper and tungsten. Jalil said Collective has completed metallurgical testing, including six composite samples representing different areas of the deposit, and is considering a processing circuit incorporating gravity recovery, flotation and carbon-in-leach processing.

• Copper-rich material could be processed through flotation to produce a copper concentrate containing gold and silver credits.
• Material with limited copper content, including material from the Ramp Zone, could be processed through carbon-in-leach circuits to produce gold and silver doré.
• Jalil said the company has held discussions with U.S. government representatives regarding potential tungsten processing in the United States.

Exploration Adit and Other Targets

Collective expects to begin work within weeks on an exploration adit, or tunnel, designed to provide underground access to Apollo and other targets, including Trap, Trap East and Plutus. Jalil said the approximately 3-kilometer adit could take about two years to reach Apollo.

The tunnel is intended for exploration but could potentially form part of a future mine’s infrastructure. Jalil said that after receiving the necessary development approvals, Collective could potentially twin the tunnel for production and use underground crushing and a conveyor system to move material to the processing plant.

While Apollo remains the central focus, the company has assigned two drill rigs to Trap and Trap East and has a third rig that can be moved among targets such as Orion and Emmy. Jalil said Trap could provide supplemental feed to a future Apollo processing plant.

Permitting and Upcoming Milestones

Jalil said Collective intends to continue drilling and target another resource update late next year or in early 2028, followed by a preliminary economic assessment. The company also aims to apply for an environmental license and have the license and permit in hand by the middle of 2028, before advancing to a feasibility study and construction decision.

He identified continued drilling in the Ramp Zone, definition of shallow mineralization around the planned pit, and additional engineering and processing updates as key items for investors to watch over the next 12 months. Jalil said the company expects to drill roughly 120,000 meters during that period, although the transcript contained an unclear reference to total planned drilling.

“We’re bringing that experience of projects and operations into this phase,” Jalil said, adding that Collective is building a technical team in Medellín that includes mine, process, electrical and project engineers.

About Collective Mining (NASDAQ:CNL)

Collective Mining Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on discovering and advancing precious- and base-metal projects in Colombia. The company's primary exploration targets include gold, silver, copper and related mineralization, with activities centered on evaluating the size, grade and development potential of its mineral properties.

Collective Mining's flagship asset is the Guayabales project in Colombia's Caldas department. The company has reported multiple exploration discoveries at Guayabales, including the Apollo system, and continues to conduct drilling, geological studies and other technical work to expand its understanding of the project.

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