Cerro Blanco has faced challenges from the Guatemalan government, which disputed the January permit amendment allowing the transition to an open-pit mining operation.
Bluestone is 27%-owned by the Lundin family trust and initially planned a C$572 million gold project near the border with El Salvador.
Cerro Blanco aims to yield 2.7 million oz. of gold over 14 years, based on a 2022 feasibility study. It hosts measured and indicated resources of 63.5 million tonnes at 1.5 grams gold and 6.6 grams silver per tonne for 3 million oz. and 13.5 million oz. of metal, respectively.
Aura stated that upon closing the transaction, it intends to evaluate alternatives for the potential future development of Cerro Blanco.
“Cerro Blanco stands as a world-class deposit that has encountered both social and institutional hurdles. We are confident that, over the next few years, by integrating it with Aura’s 360 vision, we can refine our strategic approach to make Cerro Blanco another flagship project,” said Rodrigo Barbosa, CEO of Aura.
Cerro Blanco is located approximately 230 km from the Minosa operating mine in Honduras, where Aura produced 65,927 ounces of gold in 2023.
In addition, Aura has operating mines in Mexico and Brazil.
Over the last twelve months, Aura achieved production of 270,000 gold equivalent ounces (GEO). With the acquisition of Bluestone, Aura expects its growth pipeline to expand beyond 450,000 GEO in the coming years.
Shares of Bluestone Resources rose 2.35% following the news, bringing the company’s market capitalization to C$1.26 billion. Bluestone shares fell 1.5% by 12:00 p.m. EDT. The miner has a market capitalization of C$52.4 million.
