Heliostar’s first gold from San Agustin: production and cost lens for mine planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Heliostar Metals has poured first gold from the restarted San Agustin open-pit mine in Durango, Mexico, its second producing asset after La Colorada, with remaining reserves expected to yield about 45,000 oz. The company’s 2026 guidance calls for 50,000–55,000 oz of gold, including 30,000–32,700 oz from San Agustin, at an all-in sustaining cost of US$2,000/oz, after restarting the operation on time and on budget. A 10,000–15,000 m drilling campaign is targeting additional oxide mineralisation beyond the current 14‑month mine life based on 7.36 Mt at 0.29 g/t Au (68,000 oz probable reserves).
Technical Brief
- San Agustin covers 5,884 ha in the San Lucas de Ocampo Mining District, Durango.
- The mine lies ~100 km from the city of Durango, influencing haulage and logistics planning.
- Historical records indicate ~3 Moz of gold produced over ~40 years of prior operations.
- Modern exploration was initiated by Eldorado Gold in the 1990s, defining the current resource framework.
- Argonaut Gold (now Florida Canyon Gold) commissioned the open pit in 2012 and suspended mining in 2024.
- Heliostar’s current plan targets the Corner area, previously inaccessible to Argonaut, as a new ore source.
- A 2025 technical study projects 44,500 oz output over 14 months from existing probable reserves.
- Probable reserves are 7.36 Mt at 0.29 g/t Au, containing 68,000 oz of gold.
- Early restart performance has exceeded internal targets for ore mining rate and recoverable ounces stacked.
Our Take
San Agustin’s 0.29 g/t probable reserve grade places it firmly in the low-grade, bulk-tonnage camp, so sustaining margins will hinge on tight cost control and leach/processing efficiency rather than grade upside.
A 14‑month mine life to 2026 signals that Heliostar Metals is effectively using San Agustin in Durango as a short-cycle cash-flow bridge, contrasting with longer-horizon build-outs like Equinox Gold’s Greenstone and Valentine projects highlighted in our recent gold coverage.
With consolidated production guidance up 60% year-on-year and a market capitalisation around US$540 million, Heliostar is now in the mid-tier range of gold names in our database, which could make it more visible to institutional investors that typically screen for multi-asset or multi-jurisdiction producers in Mexico and Canada.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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