Collective Mining Executes Agreement for an Environmental Conservation Project at Cerro Viringo in Caldas, Colombia

2021-09-09 / @nasdaq

TORONTO, Sept. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Collective Mining Ltd. (TSXV: CNL) (“Collective” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that a strategic alliance has been executed with the Government of Caldas, Corpocaldas (the autonomous regional environmental agency for Caldas), local municipalities and the Company to develop a community-based ecotourism destination at Cerro Viringo.

Cerro Viringo, which is located in the Hojas Anchas village within the municipality of Supía, is an important landform that has been declared an area of high environmental importance by Corpocaldas and the municipal council of Supía. It is comprised of fifty hectares of native forest and supplies water to the local aqueduct for the municipality of Marmato and three other nearby communities. Cerro Viringo has been recognized as the most important environmental conservation area in Supía.

The project, which is officially named “Ecotourism in the Cerro Viringo Natural Park,” is expected to benefit approximately 290 people and help to reactivate the economy of the Hojas Anchas village community. Additionally, the development of this project will be three-dimensional consisting of environmental conservation, community-based tourism and local economic development. Visitors will be able to interact with the rich biodiversity of the area through recreational activities based upon the principles of sound environmental stewardship.

Over the next few months, Collective will be providing integral leadership to the consortium in structuring the project, which, upon completion, will be presented to FONTUR (government entity in charge of promoting tourism), for project financing. Development of the project is expected to begin in 2022 and culminate in 2023.

“We are pleased to have been invited to be part of this initiative as it aligns with our strict adherence to responsible mining goals by promoting stewardship of natural and cultural resources in our area of operations. As a new entrant to the region, another added benefit of this alliance will be to provide the Company with the opportunity to forge new relationships with individuals residing within our project’s area of influence,” commented Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman of Collective.

“With the Viringo Project, we are looking to preserve our areas of environmental interest and to reactivate the local economy. The alliance with authorities, communities and private companies, such as Collective Mining, are fundamental to this purpose,” commented Marco Londoño, Mayor of Supía.

Omar Ossma, CEO and President of Collective stated, “Since our arrival in Caldas we have focused on promoting important initiatives associated to water conservation in the region. Cerro Viringo is one of the most important projects to date, and we are pleased and honored to be a part of such a worthy development opportunity.”

Figure 1: Cerro Viringo Supía
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Figure 2: Guided visits with community members during project formulation stage
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Figure 3: Co-creation activities with the community to define the objectives of the project
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About Collective Mining Ltd.

Collective is an exploration and development company focused on identifying and exploring prospective gold projects in South America with insider ownership of approximately sixty-five percent. Collective currently holds an option to earn up to a 100% interest in two projects located in Colombia: (i) the San Antonio project; and (ii) the Guayabales project. The 3,780-hectare San Antonio Project is in a historical gold district in the Caldas department of Colombia. With recent geophysical and LIDAR surveys completed, an initial 5,000 metre drill program is underway at the project with initial assay results anticipated in Q3, 2021. The 3,333-hectare Guayabales Project is also located in the mining friendly Caldas department of Colombia. The Guayabales Project is currently undergoing aggressive surface exploration and is expected to begin a maiden drill program in late September 2021.

For further information, please contact:

Paul Begin, Chief Financial Officer
Collective Mining Ltd.
Telephone: (416) 451-2727

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about the strategic alliance with the Government of Caldas, Corpocaldas (the environmental regional authority of Caldas), and local municipalities, including the commitment and allocation of funds and expected benefits, and Collective’s future plans and intentions. Wherever possible, words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict” or “potential” or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions, including those identified in Collective’s most recent MD&A and other disclosure documents filed on and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Collective cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and Collective assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.