Challenger Gold appoints experienced mining lawyer to board

Aspiring producer Challenger Gold (ASX: CEL) has appointed Dr Sonia Delgado to the company’s board as a director.

Dr Delgado graduated with honours as a lawyer and has a master’s degree in labour law.

Her experience in the private sector began in 2004 when she established a law firm specialising in Argentinian labour law.

Over a wide and varied career in the Argentinian public sector, she has held roles including assistant office of the state prosecutor for the province of San Juan, undersecretary of planning and promotion of mining development and, most recently, secretary of mining for the province of San Juan.

Legal expertise an asset

Dr Delgado’s legal background and strategic view have been labelled a “significant asset” to navigating the regulatory environment of the mining industry.

Her expertise is considered vital to ensuring Challenger adheres to all relevant laws and regulations, minimises its legal risks and protects its own interests as it moves towards production at the flagship Hualilan gold project.

Dr Delgado’s commitment to sustainable mining practices aligns with global standards and investor expectations.

Her experience in this area is expected to help Challenger implement production processes which are efficient, environmentally responsible and socially sustainable.

Significant milestone

Challenger executive chair Sergio Rotondo said Dr Delgado’s appointment was a “significant milestone” for the company.

“Sonia’s impressive track record in the mining industry has prepared her well for this new challenge… her leadership in Argentina has been exemplary and we are confident she will bring the same level of expertise and insight to our operations,” he said.

“We are pleased to welcome the strategic direction and innovative solutions she will introduce to our board as we approach first production at Hualilan.”

Near-term opportunity

The Hualilan project is a near-term development opportunity which has been subject to extensive drilling with over 150 historical holes and almost 900 holes completed by Challenger.

The project has a resource estimate of 2.8 million ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq) which remains open in most directions.

It contains a high-grade core of 9.9 million tonnes at 5 grams per tonne of gold equivalent for 1.6Moz AuEq and 29.1Mt at 2.2g/t AuEq for 2.4Moz AuEq within a larger resource of 60.6Mt at 1.4g/t AuEq for 2.8Moz AuEq.

The resource is based on approximately 220,000 metres of Challenger drilling, with best results of 6.1m at 34.6g/t gold, 21.9g/t silver, and 2.9% zinc; 67.7m at 7.3g/t gold, 5.7g/t silver, and 0.6% zinc; and 63.3m at 8.5g/t gold, 7.6g/t silver, and 2.8% zinc.

Drilling intersected high-grade gold over 3.5km of strike and extended the known mineralisation along strike and at depth in multiple locations.

More recent drilling at Hualilan has demonstrated the high-grade skarn mineralisation is underlain by a significant intrusion-hosted gold system with best intercepts including 209m at 1.0g/t gold, 1.4g/t silver, 0.1% zinc; and 110.5m at 2.5g/t gold, 7.4g/t silver, and 0.9% zinc.

A scoping study released earlier this month suggests Hualilan could become one of the lowest-cost gold producers on the Australian Stock Exchange.