The usual story in mining is as old as mining itself: a company finds out a hill is full of shiny stuff, they roll in with lawyers and excavators and lay claim to it, and the people who’ve been scratching out a living there for decades get told to pack up their shovels.
Let’s be clear: That’s not the plot here.
Quimbaya Gold (QIM.C) is playing this one differently, and in Colombia’s Segovia gold district, that’s earning them a lot of social capital.
The Setup
Quimbaya’s Tahami project sits right next to Aris Mining’s Segovia mine — one of the highest-grade gold operations on the planet. I mean, if you’re going to hunt elephants, you go where the elephant tracks are.
Their Tahami South property has never been drilled, but it’s got mapped veins, artisanal workings, and gold-in-rock samples that’d make any geologist’s eyes widen.
They’ve now started a 4,000-metre drill program to test what’s under the surface. This is modern exploration with all the toys — geochem, structural mapping, high-resolution modelling — but the location is about as old-school as it gets: miners with picks, pans, and donkey trains have been pulling gold out of this ground for generations.
And here’s where Quimbaya veers off the standard script.
“Hey guys, stick around.”
A lot of junior explorers will say “we support the community” while quietly applying for police escorts to clear artisanal miners off their claims. Quimbaya’s play is the opposite: keep the locals where they are, help formalize and legalize their operations, and then buy the gold they produce at rates higher than they normally get from middle men, but cheaper than it would cost to produce themselves.
That’s not charity — it’s smart business. The artisanal miners already know the veins, the geology, and where the gold tends to show. They’re essentially free prospectors. By formalizing them, Quimbaya can bring them under a safety and environmental framework, tick the ESG boxes investors and regulators love, and lock in a local supply of gold without the cost of doing the mining themselves.
It also means fewer security headaches. In Colombia, you don’t want to be the outsider who shut down someone’s family’s only source of income. You want to be the company that’s paying them fair market rates for what they pull out of the ground. That’s how you get community buy-in, which in turn keeps your drills turning and your timelines on track.
Denarius deal fizzles — And why that’s okay
Back in May, Quimbaya signed a letter of intent with Denarius Metals to do exactly this — a 50/50 joint venture to formalize artisanal mining at Tahami. That deal just fell apart. No JV, no shared costs. Normally, that’s where you’d see a junior’s share price get a sympathy nose-dive because “partnership talks broke down.”
But here’s the thing: Quimbaya still owns 100% of Tahami. They’re still fully financed for their current exploration program. And they can still do the formalization thing solo or with a different partner later. The Denarius JV was a nice-to-have because they have some local knowledge; losing it doesn’t change the drill plan or the community approach.
CEO Alexandre P. Boivin called the project “strategically important” and said they’re still evaluating opportunities to advance it responsibly. Translation: we’re drilling, we’ve got cash, and we’re not going anywhere.
Why this district matters
Segovia is one of Colombia’s premier gold belts. Aris’s operation here is producing hundreds of thousands of ounces a year at grades most miners can only dream about. The geology — epithermal gold-silver vein systems — is the same across the fence on Quimbaya’s side.
Quimbaya’s geos have mapped multiple vein systems, found stockwork zones, and pulled surface rock chip samples grading up to 11.21 g/t gold. They’ve got silver in the mix too, with some panels showing over 23 g/t.
And it’s not just point samples — the soils, auger samples, and geochem all line up with the structures they’ve mapped. That’s the kind of dataset you want before spending millions on drill steel.
Drilling for the Big Reveal
The current drill plan targets structural intersections and alteration zones that look like the continuation of Segovia’s veins. They’re hitting multiple sections to test the geology in 3D.
Key indicators they’re chasing:
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Strong sericitic alteration
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Hydrothermal breccias
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Quartz veins with visible sulphides
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Stockwork zones near artisanal pits
Those artisanal workings are the tip-offs. If people are getting visible gold from the surface, there’s a chance the system continues at depth — and depth is where modern mining economics start to work.
Playing the long game with the locals
By keeping the artisanal miners in play, Quimbaya gets a constant stream of intel. The miners’ day-to-day finds can guide where to send the next mapping crew or even a drill rig. This grassroots feedback loop can shorten discovery timelines.
From an ESG and optics standpoint, it’s gold as well. Institutional investors are increasingly wary of projects with community opposition. A mine plan that says “we didn’t displace anyone, we just bought their production” is a PR dream.
It also sets Quimbaya up for a smoother permitting path if they ever decide to build a mill or expand operations. Local governments tend to be friendlier when the locals are making money too.
Risks still apply
None of this is risk-free. The drill bit still has to hit something economic. Formalizing artisanal miners is easier on paper than in reality — it means negotiating with dozens of small operators, aligning on environmental standards, and navigating Colombia’s bureaucratic maze.
And while the Denarius exit doesn’t cripple the plan, it does mean Quimbaya shoulders more of the responsibility for making formalization happen. That could slow things down if they can’t lock in another partner with boots-on-the-ground capacity.
The Upside Scenario
If the drilling confirms an extension of Segovia’s high-grade system, Quimbaya’s land instantly jumps in value. Add in a working relationship with local miners, and you’ve got a dual-track revenue stream: modern exploration leading toward a possible commercial mine, and steady small-scale gold purchases feeding into the company’s supply chain at a much earlier stage.
That’s the kind of story that can attract mid-tier producers looking for bolt-on assets in known districts. It’s also the sort of ESG-compliant growth narrative funds love to sprinkle into their mining portfolios.
In a sector where “responsible mining” can be a hollow buzzword, Quimbaya’s approach is refreshingly practical. If the assays line up, they won’t just have gold in the ground — they’ll have a social license to mine it.
— Chris Parry
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