Aris Mining

PROTECTION ENABLED BY SMALL-SCALE MINING

RESPONSIBLY GROWTH DELIVERING

As the mining industry pivots toward more sustainable practices, Richard Thomas, COO of Aris Mining, speaks to us about the company’s formalization of smallscale mining, enabling protection for both miners and the beautiful South American ecosystem

Writer: Lauren Kania

Project

Manager: Eddie Clinton

South America is a region rich in biodiversity and natural resources. Although it may be considered an emerging economy across many sectors, its relevance has been long established within the mining industry.

The mineral resources found across the continent have continually been accelerants of economic growth, delivering benefits to people both locally and abroad since the first records of commercial mineral resources, dating back to the early 16th century.

At a time when a global energy transition is underway, these minerals, also known as future-facing commodities, are crucial.

RESPONSIBLY

Aris Mining (Aris), a junior gold company with current operations in Colombia, Guyana, and Canada, was established in 2020 by CEO Neil Woodyer.

Prior to Aris, Woodyer founded Endeavour Mining (Endeavour) with what was initially a single mine in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Endeavour used a buy-and-build strategy to grow its market capitalization to several billion dollars, expanding into Ivory Coast and Senegal.

In 2017, the company went on to build Leagold Mining with Los Filos in Mexico as the catalyst acquisition, which later merged with Equinox Gold, leaving Aris to start ‘again’ in 2021 with the purchase of the Marmato Mine (Marmato) in Colombia.

“Aris, meaning ‘again’ in Celtic, is a part of our founding story,” opens Richard Thomas, COO.

“Marmato was an excellent start for

us at Aris, with a producing mine and funded project waiting to be built,” he expands.

By 2022, in a joint venture with Mubadala, Aris acquired a 20 percent managing partner in the Proyecto Soto Norte (PSN) in Colombia, eventually serving as the incentive to merge with GCM Mining who added a high-grade and profitable Colombian operation.

“As you can see, Aris is a company led by a management team that focuses on identifying key assets globally for growth,” states Thomas.

A DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO

Aris currently produces 220,000 to 240,000 ounces (oz) of gold per annum from the Segovia Operations (Segovia) located in Antioquia and Marmato in the Caldas Department, with approximately 3,050 employees and 2,100 contractors.

Additionally, the company

produces zinc and lead concentrates at Segovia from a polymetallic plant that treats the gold tailings.

“This is a shared value success story, as the project was envisioned as a mechanism to reduce environmental pollution and has added an additional revenue stream,” explains Thomas.

Environmental sustainability is a primary focus for Aris, having become one of the few companies in recent years to have been granted an environmental license in Colombia.

“This is one aspect that we have studied intensively, and we have formulated a strategy for success. How we approach our communities, regulatory authorities, and government is key to this triumph,” insights Thomas.

In parallel to the company’s sustainability initiatives, Aris is passionate about the artisanal and small-miner (ASM) partnership programs it implements in Segovia,

Mechanized equipment loading ore

Marmato, and PSN, which are part of a new mining model combining the traditional expertise of ASM units with the technology, safety standards, and capital of industrial miners.

“By joining forces, we can create partnerships and value for the regions where we operate while protecting the environment and strengthening the local social fabrics,” expands Thomas.

Aris has seen numerous formalization success stories with these ASM units. Once the company legalizes a unit, it has immediate access to labor contracts, social security, banking, international trading, operational and technical expertise, industrial mining safety standards, and access to developmental capital.

After treating the produced ore, Aris pays the ASM units on a formula accounting for the international price of gold. In doing this, the company removes a significant amount of

“ARIS IS A COMPANY LED BY A MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT FOCUSES ON IDENTIFYING KEY ASSETS GLOBALLY FOR GROWTH. OUR STYLE IS ENTREPRENEURIAL, AGILE, FOCUSED ON STABLE, OPTIMIZED OPERATIONS, AND COGNIZANT OF THE ESG PRINCIPLES THAT SHAPE A RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS”

– RICHARD THOMAS, COO, ARIS MINING

mercury from the environment and incentivizes both royalty and tax payments.

COLOMBIA’S NEXT MAJOR GOLD MINE

Currently, the Marmato Lower Mine Project is a key focus for Aris, as it is the first major development it has undertaken.

The company is keen to

demonstrate how it is able to successfully develop such projects in a modern world where stakeholder engagement and community acceptance are crucial aspects of growth.

“The Marmato Lower Mine Project will be technologically advanced, but we face the challenge of finding, training, and retaining underground mining operators from local areas.

Richard Thomas, COO, Aris Mining

Years of Innovation, Partnership, and Collaboration

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This year marks 150 years of innovation, research, and technology at Orica, working collaboratively with many world-leading researching and industry partners and our customers to find solutions to everyday challenges.

Our purpose is to sustainably mobilize the earth’s resources, through transformational change along the entire value chain to unlock value, utilizing digital and automated technologies to create safer and more productive outcomes for our customers. Understanding the challenges and sharing the goals and aspirations of our customers is at the heart of what we do.

The industry faces significant global challenges including environmental sustainability safety, efficiency, resource depletion, and social responsibility, and innovation is essential for the sustainable growth and development of the industry.

Evolution of Initiation Systems

Since, the 1830´s when safety fuse was developed, initiating systems has undergone significant innovations, from non-electric detonators, to electronic and now to wireless detonation improving safety and efficiency of blasts. Orica has lead this innovation in this area, developing the greatest range with the highest levels of safety, reliability and ease of use and backed by our unrivaled global manufacturing network. Accurate control of energy during blast initiation is a critical component for good blasting outcomes.

Exel™ Minidet™ non-electric Detonators

Colombia’s gold mining industry, largely composed of small artisanal companies, historically relied on low-cost safety fuse and common detonators for initiation, posing safety risks due to manual methods and imprecision. The non-electric Exel™ Minidet™ initiation system, developed locally in Colombia, has enhanced safety and efficiency by improving fragmentation, reducing oversize, and minimizing removal times and secondary blasting. It has also led to a 50% reduction in overbreak, optimized drilling length, decreased personnel required for initiation, and achieved significant reductions in over excavation, enhancing safety and fortification of tunnel walls. Additionally, it offers savings of up to 40% per meter of advance and improves traceability of explosives, reducing product loss.

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Edev™ II Electronic Detonators

Orica Edev™ is a specialized product tailored for tunneling operations, forming part of Orica’s innovative blasting solutions widely used in major tunnel constructions in Colombia. It employs advanced electronic detonators to streamline operations, reduce costs, and boost tunneling rates. Together with Orica`s customizable technical support options, the precise electronic timing system with customizable wire suitable for different rock types offers several key features and benefits:

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• Precision Timing: Programmable detonators with one-millisecond intervals allows control of rock fragmentation during excavation and eliminates the need to carry a wide range of delay options.

• Safety and Productivity: Edev™ prevents unplanned initiations, even in environments with external electrical devices and the remote initiation capabilities reduce personnel proximity to blast sites. Additionally, optimized blasting patterns and fragmentation reduce the environmental impact of tunneling operations.

WebGen Wireless Electronic Blasting Systems

The WebGen™ system revolutionizes blasting by eliminating down-lines and wires, ensuring safe detonation through rock, air, and water. It boosts mining productivity and lowers blasting costs with innovative techniques. With its SIL 3 rating, it’s the only explosives product of its kind. Widely adopted in underground mining globally, it enhances various methods including sub level caving and open stope mining. In sub level open stoping, WebGen™ consolidates charging events, reducing re-entry, dilution, and maximizing ore extraction. It also optimizes draw point availability and enhances safety by eliminating the need for proximity to open stopes.

Orica aims to be the supplier of choice for our customers, by bringing together the best people, highest quality products and services, safe, secure, and reliable supply, and unmatched technology that creates value for our customer, today and tomorrow.

“We are exploring ways of providing training with virtual reality (VR) and simulators as a safe and effective way of upskilling the regional workforce,” informs Thomas.

Having recently received its environmental license, construction began on the project in Q3 2023 with the intent to begin producing gold by the end of 2025.

The mine will be a mechanized bulk mining operation predicted to mill up to two million tons per annum (Mtpa) and produce 160 oz of gold annually.

This large-scale project highlights the importance of supply chain operations for any company.

“Supply chains are crucial for our operations. We push to use local and regional suppliers as much as possible, thereby increasing the indirect revenue for the areas we operate in,” notes Thomas.

ARIS VISION AND VALUES

VISION – To build Aris into the next globally relevant gold producer, with management having already successfully created Endeavour and Leagold Mining, and board members having created Wheaton River Minerals, Goldcorp, and Yamana Gold. The company will continue to pursue a strategy of acquiring operating gold mines and projects nearing construction with the aim of creating value through diversification, mine and corporate-level optimization, investing in expansions and near-mine exploration, and active portfolio management.

VALUES – Aris believes that transparency, sustainable business practices, and good corporate citizenship are critical to the long-term success of the company. To create lasting socioeconomic benefits in local communities, Aris commits to integrating these factors into its decision-making processes and is guided by the following principles:

• Health and safety

• Prioritizing environmental stewardship

• Active community engagement and support

• Ongoing transparency and social accountability

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“OUR CEO, NEIL WOODYER, HAS OFTEN REMARKED THAT WE ARE A SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPANY WITH A MINING COMPONENT, AND THIS IS BORNE FROM THE EXTENSIVE SOCIAL PROGRAMS WE ENGAGE IN”

– RICHARD THOMAS, COO, ARIS MINING

With the Marmato Lower Mine Project, Aris will utilize international suppliers for the major equipment, which will be a component of the new metallurgical plant and underground mine, alongside local suppliers for as many aspects as realistically possible.

The second project Aris is working toward is PSN, which is currently in the licensing phase.

“We expect a long-life asset with a low all-in sustaining cost (AISC) and significant cash flow,” provides Thomas.

The operation is expected to produce a gold, copper, and silver concentrate that aligns with the Colombian government’s transition metals initiatives. Aris is looking to work with local communities

and regulators to build the project to ensure lasting benefits for all stakeholders.

As the project progresses toward construction, Aris plans to provide employment and skills training for up to 1,800 construction contractors and 940 full-time operations employees, alongside procuring goods and services from the regional community.

MODERN SUSTAINABILITY IN MINING

“Our CEO, Neil Woodyer, has often remarked that we are a social and environmental company with a mining component, and this is borne from the extensive social programs we engage in,” comments Thomas.

ARIS’ MINING ASSETS

SEGOVIA – Antioquia, Colombia. A multi-million oz high-grade gold operation that has been producing for more than 150 years.

PROYECTO SOTO NORTE –Santander, Colombia. A Tier 1 advanced development stage gold project undergoing permission to construct a mine.

MARMATO MINE – Marmato, Colombia. Following the discovery of a large porphyry mineralized zone, Aris aims to build a modern, long-life, low-cost, 175,000 oz per year gold operation.

TOROPARU PROJECT – Upper Puruni River Region, Guyana. Situated in the highly prospective region of Western Guyana, the project likely contains one of the largest undeveloped gold and copper projects in the Americas.

JUBY PROJECT – Ontario, Canada. A gold exploration project in the prolific gold-producing Abitibi Greenstone belt.

Aris employees at Segovia

Aris maintains this mindset in its day-to-day actions, having committed to spending a minimum of $25 per oz on social investment in the areas in which it operates.

In addition to this, the company has a well-established social investment system that uses a committee to identify projects in conjunction with the local municipalities and is guided by materiality analysis.

These funds are then administered by a foundation with rigorous controls, and regional contractors are used to execute the projects, further enhancing the local benefits.

The company’s social investment is focused on five key areas: education, culture, and sport; socioeconomic development; infrastructure for a better life; environmental stewardship; and gender equity and inclusion.

ARIS’ KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

NOVEMBER 2020 – A new management team led by Neil Woodyer assumes leadership and operatorship of the Caldas Department.

FEBRUARY 2021 – Aris graduates to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) senior board in Canada.

MARCH 2022 – Aris negotiates a deal to acquire a 50 percent interest in the world-class Soto Norte deposit.

SEPTEMBER 2022 – GCM Mining and Aris combine to create a new mid-tier producer with a robust balance sheet while eliminating cross-ownership.

JULY 2023 – Aris receives approval of the environmental management plan, allowing the company to begin construction on the Marmato Lower Mine Project.

SEPTEMBER 2023 – Aris starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ARMN ticker.

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Protection – Security – Trust

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Polymetallic Plant

Workers at the

Polymetallic Plant

Equally important to the longevity and expansion of any business is the manner in which it recognizes its staff and contributors.

“In any operation, the staff will define if you are successful or not,” insights Thomas.

To ensure continued employee satisfaction and growth, Aris has developed a program over the past year to train and retain its staff at all levels and produced a four-month training program to gradually teach necessary skills to ensure safety and high-quality work.

This focus on both the internal and external ethos of the company showcases the desire Aris has to flourish alongside the community and its members.

A GOLDEN FUTURE

It is undeniable that the mining industry, like that of so many other global sectors, is facing a variety of changes as the future is shifting

toward a more mindful and longlasting form of production.

“We can see that the industry is pivoting towards transitional metals as the world is trying to understand what the future will look like without fossil fuels,” notes Thomas.

Aris is already ahead of the pack when it comes to meeting these sustainability efforts head-on, having become a part of the UN Global Compact and Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP), along with reporting its sustainability achievements under the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards on a yearly basis.

In addition to its many environmentally-friendly efforts, the company is looking ahead with goals of improved safety, efficiency, and project management for the upcoming year.

“We will continue to optimize and stabilize both Marmato and Segovia, looking to improve efficiency

and production from the existing operations by identifying production improvements and managing the projects through to completion,” expands Thomas.

Two more projects will take priority as Marmato and Segovia reach completion in 2024 and 2025, including PSN, an important part of Aris’ growth strategy for the future.

As an established company that has proven its innovation and dedication to leading such a volatile industry, Aris has become the mining business of choice for those looking to protect their miners, the environment, and find unfettered growth.

Colombia • Panama • Ecuador

ARIS MINING

550 Burrard Street, suite 2900

Vancouver, BC V6C 0A3

Canada

info@aris-mining.com

www.aris-mining.com

PRODUCED BY NORTH AMERICA OUTLOOK MAGAZINE