Nativo inks option deal to possibly re-mine Peru tailings deposit
By Josh White
Date: Thursday 06 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - Nativo Resources announced on Thursday that it has signed an option agreement through its 50%-owned Peruvian joint venture, Boku Resources SAC, to evaluate the potential recovery of gold and silver from the Toma La Mano tailings deposit in Peru.
The AIM-traded firm, formerly known as Echo Energy, said the project, located in the Ancash region, is owned by Corporación Minera Toma la Mano, which operates a polymetallic tolling plant on-site, processing lead, zinc, copper, and silver from third-party ore.
It said the tailings deposit, accumulated from historic mining and current tolling operations, was estimated to contain about 1.8 million tonnes of polymetallic material.
Historical processing records suggested gold grades between 0.1 and 1.7 grams per tonne and silver grades between 10 and 37 grams per tonne, though residual grades and recoveries remained uncertain.
Under the agreement, Boku would have up to three years to conduct a resource estimate and feasibility study, including metallurgical analysis to determine recovery rates and process optimisation.
Should Boku proceed with a final investment decision, it would have the right to establish a processing plant to extract and sell precious metals, paying a rental fee of $3 per tonne of tailings processed.
Additionally, a royalty fee of 6.5% on revenues would apply, increasing to 7% once Boku recovered 30% of its expenditure.
Boku would not acquire any ownership interest in the deposit.
The board said the project aligned with efforts to mitigate environmental and social risks associated with historical tailings, reducing water and soil contamination while minimising additional land degradation.
It said the re-mining of tailings presented a lower-carbon alternative to conventional mining, using less energy and producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
"This agreement is for the first of a series of seven similar tailings cleaning projects identified by Boku and Nativo in the region," said chief executive officer Stephen Birrell.
"The opportunity is straightforward, as tailings dumps like Toma La Mano present an environmental liability for their owners and need to be dealt with.
"Boku's strategy is to process the tailings dumps with modern technology, via a centralised processing plant, extract the gold and silver for a royalty fee, remediate the land, and redeposit the tailings in line with modern legislation."
Birrell said the company saw it as a low-cost, low-risk strategy, with "quick and cheap" resource definition and limited capital and operational expenditure.
"If perfected, the model is highly scalable with deposits known throughout Peru requiring a cleaning solution.
"With highly favourable gold prices, these projects represent a win-win for all stakeholders, and we look forward to working with the owners to conduct the feasibility study.
"We are targeting a final investment decision by the first quarter of 2026."
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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