Mining Intelligence and News
Nicaragua

Pavon Mine

Click for more information

Categories

Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotPavón Mine is a part of La Libertad Complex. The Pavón open pit mine is subdivided into three zones: Pavón Norte, Pavón Central and Pavón Sur.

Pavon Central achieved commercial production in January 2023.

As of 2024, Pavón Central Phase 2 is an idle open pit mine. Ore from Pavón Central Phase 2 will be transported to the Libertad process plant, a distance of approximately 300 km by road. Pavon Central Phase 2 is scheduled to start delivering ore in 2025.

A similar operating strategy is contemplated for Pavón Sur, beginning in 2026. The LOM ore production contributions from the two mines is expected to occur from 2026 through 2028.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Calibre Mining Corp. 100 % Indirect
Pavón is 100% held by Calibre Mining Corp. through its subsidiary, Desarrollo Minero de Nicaragua, S.A.

On February 23, 2025, Equinox Gold agreed to acquire Calibre Mining in an at-market merger, creating a diversified Americas-focused gold producer. The combined company, retaining the Equinox Gold Corp. name, will be 65% owned by Equinox shareholders and 35% by former Calibre shareholders. Approvals are expected by May 31, 2025.

Contractors

Lock

- subscription is required.

Deposit type

  • Epithermal
  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork

Summary:

The Pavón district covers an area of approximately 32 km2 within the central highlands of Nicaragua. Gold mineralization occurs within a sequence of andesitic and rhyodacitic volcanic rocks as low sulfidation epithermal style veins, breccias and related stockwork vein arrays that are controlled by a regional scale system of steeply dipping northerly and northwesterly trending faults.

The epithermal gold-silver deposits at La Libertad and Pavón can be assigned to the low sulphidation subclass of deposits while the gold-silver-base metal vein systems at the EBP belong to the intermediate sulfidation sub-class of deposits.

All the major veins identified on the Pavón concessions are hosted by intermediate to felsic rocks within the Matagalpa Group sequence. Rhyolite tuffs and flows overlying the sequence appear to be syn- to post-mineral and have been mapped regionally as part of the Lower Coyol Group.

Gold-silver mineralization at Pavón is hosted within quartz veins, and stockwork veinlets, and quartz vein breccia with textures and alteration assemblages typical of formation in a low sulphidation epithermal environment. Many of the veins display multiple stages of quartz deposition and both tectonic to hydrothermal brecciation. Brecciated veins are more common than massive fissure veins in the Pavón area.

Pavon North
The Pavon North (“PVN”) deposit comprises an NNW trending system of vein breccias which has been traced at the surface for 2.5 km along strike. The PVN trend comprises multiple sub-parallel veins, vein splays and link vein structures between the principal NNW trending structures. During 2022, Calibre completed 7,058 m (57 drill holes) of drill testing, and resource step-out drilling around the current mineral resource, its strike and dip projections and the neighboring Candida vein splay. With the completion of 2022 drilling campaign at Pavon North and the surrounding structures, results demonstrate the limits of the economic mineralization have been delineated laterally, along the strike, and at depth, the company has no plan for further exploration at the mine.

Pavon Central and Pavon South
The Pavon Central (“PVC”) vein system is located approximately 1 km southwest of PVN and shares similar structural controls and mineralization characteristics with it. Vein hosted gold-silver mineralization has been traced along strike for 1.3 km and drill tested to a depth of 200 m below surface. During 2022 Calibre completed 2,670 m (14 drill holes) of resource step-out. Drilling highlights for the 2022 program includes 5.3 m with 4.53 g/t Au in drillhole PVC-22- 102. The results of this drilling have been incorporated into updated mineral resource and reserve estimates for the planned mine.

The Pavon South (“PVS”) zone is located immediately west of the southern end of the PVC vein trend. It consists of a series of sub-parallel NNW trending veins that have been mapped for at least 1.2 km along strike. During the first half of 2022 Calibre completed 3,276 m (22 drill holes) of resource step-out drilling at PVS. A limited amount of exploration drilling has identified a high-grade zone of near surface gold mineralization that appears to diminish with depth below 100m from surface.

Adularia is an important vein component of the Pavón Norte, Pavón Central, and Pavón Sur deposits. It occurs as millimetre wide growth rims with banded massive, granular, or chalcedonic quartz, and locally as radiating crystals extending up to 1.0 cm into the quartz bands. Examination of drill logs shows a general correlation of gold with total quartz volume percent and adularia percent.

Sulphides within the quartz veins are rare. Pyrite occurs within grey silica/quartz that forms the late stage hydrothermal breccia matrix, which is generally the last vein event within the major structures. Trace amounts of base metal sulphide have been observed within select holes.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Commodity Production

Combined production numbers are reported under La Libertad Complex

Operational metrics

Metrics2024202320222021
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Mine Financials

Units2023202220212020
Growth Capital M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 27, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 28, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 28, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.