Gold and copper developer SolGold has outlined a high-confidence 60.2-million-tonne near-surface starter-pit opportunity at the Tandayama-América deposit in northern Ecuador, a development the company believes could accelerate the broader Cascabel copper/gold project.

The company this week reported progress on internal studies conducted with Mining Plus, which define a potential openpit grading 0.43% copper-equivalent at a 0.16% cutoff. The scenario, SolGold said, offered shallow porphyry copper/gold mineralisation, a low strip ratio of 0.63:1 and a high proportion of measured resources, positioning it as a “high-confidence source of early mill feed”.

CEO Dan Vujcic said the option aligned with SolGold’s strategy to optimise the Cascabel development sequence, providing an earlier production path ahead of the planned Alpala underground mine.

“A Tandayama starter operation would provide SolGold a tangible opportunity to accelerate the Cascabel project. The near-surface nature of the deposit's strong grade profile, combined with the high proportion of measured material in the 60.2-million-tonne case, provides an attractive early-mining option that fits well into the development pathway. Optimising the overall Cascabel plan ensures smoother permitting and infrastructure decisions to accommodate the full range of potential outcomes, creating near-term returns for our shareholders while significantly de-risking potential sub-level cave and block cave operations at Alpala in the future.”

Of the 60.2-million-tonne shell, about 45-million tonnes grading 0.46% copper-equivalent is classified as measured – about 75% of the material – with the remainder in the indicated category. Contained metal in the scenario totals 259 000 t copper-equivalent, including 138 000 t of copper and 0.44-million-ounce of gold.

EXPANSION POTENTIAL
SolGold said there is scope to expand both the size and grade of the starter-pit concept. Upcoming work includes integrating more than 1 400 m of recently completed drilling, mobilising two further rigs, and progressing geotechnical and metallurgical sampling to refine future engineering inputs.

The company also plans to incorporate additional drilling and modelling data into broader infrastructure, permitting and mine-planning work. SolGold will update its timeline and provide an initial view of standalone project economics for the potential openpit, including mine sequencing and detailed design.

Part of a larger development framework

In parallel, SolGold continues to assess a series of larger staged pit shells – including 20-million tonne, 60-million tonne, 220-million tonne and the full 576-million-tonne RPEEE envelope – to guide long-term infrastructure layouts and permitting pathways. These shells, the company stressed, are planning tools rather than updated mineral resource estimates, but provide important context for optimising Cascabel’s long-term mining strategy.