Kingsgate Consolidated has increased Nueva Esperanza’s Ore Reserves by 31% for silver and 37% for gold, extending the assumed reserve life beyond 12 years. The gains are largely driven by higher price assumptions and lower royalties rather than new drilling.
- Silver Ore Reserves rise to 51.9 million ounces
- Gold Ore Reserves increase to 0.26 million ounces
- Reserve life extends beyond 12 years at 2Mtpa
- Mineral Resources reach 62.4 million ounces of silver
- No Proved Reserves or Inferred-to-Reserve conversion reported
Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (ASX:KCN) has materially expanded the mineable inventory at its Nueva Esperanza project in Chile, lifting silver Ore Reserves by 31% to 51.9 million ounces and gold Ore Reserves by 37% to 0.26 million ounces. At the planned processing rate of 2 million tonnes a year, the updated reserve supports a mine life of more than 12 years.
Reserve growth is mainly assumption-driven
The increase is not the result of a new discovery or a fresh drilling campaign. Kingsgate attributes the change predominantly to higher long-term metal price assumptions and lower royalty considerations following its 2026 purchase of Anglo American’s royalty interests at Nueva Esperanza. The Ore Reserve estimate uses US$35 an ounce for silver and US$2,500 an ounce for gold, while the Mineral Resource estimate uses higher assumptions of US$38.50 an ounce for silver and US$3,000 an ounce for gold.
Those assumptions helped push total Mineral Resources 3% higher to 62.4 million ounces of silver and about 0.36 million ounces of gold, compared with the June 2025 estimate. The resource is reported within open-pit optimisation shells and includes the Ore Reserves, so the figures should not be added together.
Open-pit plan covers three deposits
Nueva Esperanza comprises the Arqueros, Chimberos and Teterita deposits, about 140 kilometres northeast of Copiapó in Chile’s Atacama Region. Kingsgate plans to mine all reserves using conventional open-pit methods, with ore processed through a 2Mtpa plant using cyanide leaching and Merrill-Crowe recovery for silver and gold.
The production schedule allows for one year of pre-production, mill ramp-up during the first production year and 13 years of mining followed by 12 years of ore processing. The updated financial model indicates an economically viable mine plan across a range of sensitivities, although the filing says project economics remain sensitive to metal prices, operating costs and metallurgical recoveries.
Reserve confidence still has limits
All reported Ore Reserves are classified as Probable. There are no Proved Reserves, no Inferred Resources have been converted, and the reserve Competent Person had not visited the site when the estimate was prepared. A site visit is planned for late 2026 or early 2027.
The technical work also highlights a specific complication at Arqueros, where historical underground workings create internal voids that can affect dilution, ore recovery and the amount of high-grade material ultimately extracted. Kingsgate says the regularised model provides a reasonable estimate of recoverable tonnes and grade, but the issue remains relevant as the project moves from an updated study towards development.
Development milestones become the next test
The enlarged reserve improves the stated scale and duration of Nueva Esperanza, but it does not by itself establish a construction decision or production date. The project still depends on approvals, capital requirements, operating costs, realised silver and gold prices, and the execution of the proposed mine and processing plan. Planned resource-characterisation drilling could also improve confidence in areas currently classified as Inferred.
Bottom Line?
The reserve uplift strengthens Nueva Esperanza’s development case, but its durability will depend on metal prices, project funding, approvals and the conversion of a study-stage plan into construction.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the reserve increase would remain under lower silver and gold price assumptions?
- What capital funding and permitting milestones are required before construction can begin?
- Will infill drilling upgrade any Inferred material or address the uncertainty around historical workings at Arqueros?