Ari Sussman, Executive Chair of Collective Mining, joins Kitco Mining’s Paul Harris at the 2026 Mining Forum Americas in Colorado Springs to discuss how Apollo’s maiden resource is accelerating the Guayabales Project toward permitting and development in Colombia.
Collective announced Apollo’s first mineral resource on September 8, totaling about 5.4 million gold-equivalent ounces in indicated and inferred resources. The open-pit portion includes about 1.5 million indicated ounces at 2.06 g/t AuEq with a modeled 3.4:1 strip ratio. “This is a maiden starting point, and we're growing in all directions, so very excited by it,” Sussman said.
The company is targeting submission of its environmental license application in H2 2027. Sussman said he expects a decision roughly 11–12 months after ANLA receives the application, potentially putting a final decision in the second half of 2028. He also expects the next resource update, targeted around Q4 2027 or Q1 2028, could reach 7–8 million gold-equivalent ounces after substantial additional drilling.
Looking further ahead, Sussman said Collective is currently contemplating a 15,000-tonne-per-day operation and believes a future Apollo mine could produce more than 400,000 ounces annually, subject to further drilling and economic studies. He also described the current market as a “builder's market,” while saying stronger industry cash flow could make M&A more attractive over the next year.
With 13 rigs operating and 90 holes awaiting assays at the time of the interview, Sussman said the immediate focus remains: “drill, baby, drill.”
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00:17 - Apollo’s 5.4 Moz Maiden Resource
01:29 - Open-Pit Upside and High-Grade Ramp Zones
03:42 - Why Tungsten Matters at Apollo
05:02 - Targeting 7–8 Moz in the Next Resource
05:39 - Mid-2027 Permit Filing and 2028 Decision Target
06:12 - Colombia’s Changing Mining and Permitting Climate
09:21 - Investor Sentiment and the Colombia Discount
13:15 - Builder’s Market Today, M&A Tomorrow?
14:30 - 15,000 TPD Mine Plan and 400K+ Oz Potential
16:27 - 13 Rigs, 90 Assays and “Drill, Baby, Drill”
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