SUSTAINABILITY · ESG
Mining that
respects the land.
Veragold was founded on the premise that resource extraction and environmental stewardship are not in conflict. Every process decision at Mina Santa Rosa was made with the land, the water, and the communities of Veraguas in mind — from the choice of flotation over cyanide to 16 years of community partnership before the first shovel turned.
OUR POSITION
“Responsible mining is not a constraint on profitability — it is the foundation of it.”
Veragold operates under a Contrato Ley confirmed by Panama’s government, with four approved Environmental Impact Assessments and a community presence that predates construction by 16 years.
Clean process.
Protected watershed.
The Veraguas Goldbelt is one of Central America’s most biodiverse regions. Veragold made a deliberate decision to develop a process that eliminates the two greatest environmental risks of conventional gold mining: cyanide contamination and tailings dam failure. Both have been engineered out entirely.
Water-based flotation technology separates gold and silver from ore through differential surface chemistry — no toxic reagents, no contamination risk to the Río Santa María watershed. Tailings are paste-thickened and dry-stacked: a solid, stable material that can be reclaimed and revegetated, with zero risk of slurry release.
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE
4 EIAs approved by Panama’s National Environmental Ministry — prepared by Consultores Ambientales y Multiservicios, Panama City. Construction commenced 2025.
Water-based flotation cell technology recovers gold and silver through physical and chemical separation — without any cyanide or toxic leaching agents. The process uses closed-loop water circuits to minimise consumption and prevent discharge.
OPERATIONAL STANDARDPaste thickening converts process tailings into a dry, stable solid — eliminating the tailings dam entirely. Dry-stack facilities have no structural failure mode comparable to wet storage dams, removing one of the industry’s most catastrophic risk categories.
NO DAM REQUIREDNon-mineralised waste rock is not stockpiled or abandoned — it is made available for local road construction, building foundations, and public infrastructure in Veraguas Province, turning a byproduct into a community resource.
CIRCULAR USE
From ore
to gold bar.
Each stage of the Mina Santa Rosa processing circuit is designed to maximise recovery while eliminating environmental risk. The four-step sequence replaces the conventional cyanide heap-leach model with a closed, water-efficient flotation circuit.
Open-pit mining at Santa Rosa, Alto de la Mina, and Cerro Otero. Selective mining minimises waste generation. Historic leach pad material processed as supplementary feed.
3 pits + stockpile
Primary and secondary crushing reduces ore to flotation feed size. Water-efficient semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) circuit with closed-loop water recycling.
Closed-loop water
Water-based flotation cells separate sulphide minerals carrying gold and silver. No cyanide. No heap leach pads. Concentrate is then smelted to produce doré bars on-site.
Zero cyanide
Flotation tailings are paste-thickened and dry-stacked in a lined, engineered facility. No dam. No slurry. The facility is progressively revegetated throughout the mine’s operating life.
No tailings dam
16 years
before construction.
Veragold has been present in Cañazas since 2008 — long before any construction began. Community engagement is not a compliance exercise; it is the foundation on which the project’s social licence to operate was built, year by year, relationship by relationship.
A Contrato Ley is Panama’s highest-security investment instrument: a contract with the force of law, ratified by the National Assembly and confirmed by MICI. It cannot be revoked by executive decree. Veragold’s Contrato Ley was confirmed in good standing in March 2024 — and is legally distinct from the Cobre Panama (FQM) situation.
All four Environmental Impact Assessments are public documents, filed with and approved by Panama’s National Environmental Ministry. Prepared by independent firm Consultores Ambientales y Multiservicios, Panama City. Construction may not proceed without EIA approval — and it has been granted for all four phases.
The Cobre Panama mine (First Quantum Minerals) operated under a standard mining contract subsequently challenged and voided. Veragold’s Contrato Ley under Law 407 is a categorically different instrument — reviewed, confirmed, and valid. Investor concern about Panama’s mining environment must account for this legal distinction.
Measurable. Verifiable.
No cyanide used in any stage of the Mina Santa Rosa process. Flotation technology is the complete alternative.
CONFIRMED — PROCESS DESIGNDry-stack paste thickening eliminates wet tailings storage. No impoundment dam, no structural failure risk.
CONFIRMED — FACILITY DESIGNAll four Environmental Impact Assessments approved by Panama’s National Environmental Ministry prior to construction.
APPROVED — MINAE PANAMAContinuous community presence in Cañazas since 2008. Social licence built over 16 years before production begins.
VERIFIED — EST. 2008