Denarius Metals Ships 67% More Ore From Zancudo Ahead of Its Colombian Plant Startup » Finance Colombia
Zancudo revenue hits $8.6 million USD in the first half of 2026
Denarius Metals Corp. (Cboe CA: DMET) (OTCQX: DNRSF), the Canadian junior with gold and polymetallic projects in Colombia and Spain, reported on July 29 that it shipped 3,907 tons of mined material from its Zancudo Project in Antioquia during the second quarter of 2026, a 67% increase over the first quarter, generating revenue of $5.1 million USD. First-half revenue reached $8.6 million USD, against $1.7 million USD for all of fiscal 2025, its first partial year of shipments.
Head grades averaged 11.3 grams per ton of gold and 217.1 grams per ton of silver in the second quarter, against 11.5 and 269.3 in the first. Contained metal totaled 1,416 ounces of gold and 27,265 ounces of silver for the quarter, and 2,279 ounces and 47,502 ounces for the half.
“We continue to advance mine development and plant construction activities toward our objective of producing gold-silver concentrates by the fourth quarter of this year.” – Serafino Iacono, executive chairman, Denarius Metals
Because the material is sold raw rather than as concentrate, Denarius is paid for far less than it digs out. Payable metal for the quarter was 970 ounces of gold and 9,706 ounces of silver — 68.5% and 35.6% of contained metal.
| Zancudo early production | Fiscal 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | H1 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tons mined and delivered | 2,092 | 2,337 | 3,907 | 6,244 |
| Gold grade (g/t) | 7.9 | 11.5 | 11.3 | 11.4 |
| Gold contained (ounces) | 532 | 863 | 1,416 | 2,279 |
| Silver grade (g/t) | 222.7 | 269.3 | 217.1 | 236.6 |
| Silver contained (ounces) | 14,977 | 20,237 | 27,265 | 47,502 |
| Payable gold (ounces) | 333 | 593 | 970 | 1,563 |
| Payable silver (ounces) | 5,749 | 7,839 | 9,706 | 17,545 |
| Total revenue ($ millions USD) | 1.7 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 8.6 |
Why the Payability Gap Matters
Denarius began mining at Zancudo in the second quarter of 2025, delivering its first shipment that June. The current phase, which the company calls “early production,” is artisanal mining in already-accessible parts of the mine and runs through the third quarter of 2026 while development opens new fronts for conventional, semi-mechanized work. Mined material is shipped to a local port and sold to Trafigura under a long-term offtake.
Trafigura pays for 30% to 70% of the gold and 20% to 40% of the silver in each shipment, depending on grade, because the trader absorbs the cost of making the material saleable. Denarius says those rates rise to 86% to 90% for gold and 35% to 45% for silver once it ships concentrate from its own plant — a substantial step up on gold from the 68.5% recorded in the second quarter, though second-quarter silver payability of 35.6% already sits at the bottom of the concentrate band.
A District Worked Since 1793
Zancudo covers 1,054 hectares in the municipality of Titiribí, about 30 kilometers southwest of Medellín in the Cauca Belt, and includes the historic Independencia mine. Gold was found there in 1746 and mined from 1793 across 58 workings; the Sociedad de Zancudo held the ground for a century from 1848, and the mine closed in 1945. Denarius estimates historic district production between 1793 and 2006 at 1.4 million to 2 million gold-equivalent ounces. The project lies about 190 kilometers from the port of Buenaventura; a four-kilometer bypass road to the Medellín highway is under construction.
Gran Colombia Gold — a predecessor of Aris Mining (TSX/NYSE: ARIS) — acquired Zancudo in 2010 and optioned it to IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG) in 2017. Denarius bought the rights in 2021 and took full ownership in 2022 after IAMGOLD declined to complete its earn-in.
A resource estimate effective October 31, 2025, put indicated resources at 979,000 tons grading 6.9 grams per ton gold and 84 grams per ton silver, with inferred resources of 4.6 million tons at 5.6 and 84 grams per ton. A preliminary economic assessment released on March 30, 2026, sketched an 11-year mine life generating $2 billion USD from roughly 466,000 payable ounces of gold and 2.2 million payable ounces of silver, assuming $4,000 USD per ounce of gold and $50 USD per ounce of silver. It draws on inferred resources that cannot be classified as reserves.
What the New Plant Changes
Denarius received its industrial facility permit from Corantioquia (Autonomous Regional Corporation of Central Antioquia), the regional environmental authority, in October 2025, clearing the way to build a 1,000-ton-per-day flotation plant. “We continue to increase our daily average mining rates during the early production phase at our Zancudo Project,” Executive Chairman Serafino Iacono said.
Iacono put first concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2026, a target the company’s own project page also carries. The boilerplate appended to the July 29 release still shows a third-quarter date. Denarius is also drilling about 15,000 meters at Zancudo this year.
The ramp-up coincides with high gold prices. Aris Mining sold gold at an average realized price of about $4,445 USD per ounce in the second quarter, according to the half-year results it reported for its Segovia and Marmato mines. Conditions are harder sector-wide; miners met this year over an approximately 8% contraction in mining GDP and a shift toward asset-light models.
Outside Colombia, Denarius holds 21.8% of Rio Narcea Recursos and operates that company’s Aguablanca nickel-copper project in Extremadura, Spain, an EU-designated Strategic Project. It wholly owns the Lomero and Toral deposits, also in Spain, and in early 2026 formed a joint venture with Saudi-based ProGrowth Ltd. Company, covering processing and smelting arrangements in Saudi Arabia.