Skip to main content

Cerrado Gold – Q2 2026 Operations At Minera Don Nicolas, Updates at Lagoa Salgada & Mont Sorcier

The KE Report Jul 28, 2026

Summary

Mark Brennan reports Q2 gold-equivalent output of 15,415 GEO versus 11,437 a year earlier, keeping Cerrado on track for 50,000-60,000 GEO this year.

Heap leach now delivers about 10,000 GEO per quarter at MDN, with underground ore blended in to lift grades through the CIL plant.

The Falcon acquisition extends MDN mine life from three years to five-to-six years and anchors a 70,000-meter exploration program across surface and underground targets.

An injunction preserves the Lagoa Salgada concession in Portugal while Cerrado pursues environmental approval and targets first production by Q1 2029.

Cerrado is delaying Mont Sorcier's feasibility study by a quarter to pursue optimization studies, including a strip-ratio review and concentrate-quality trade-offs.

Key points on Pan American Silver

  • Sold the Falcone property to Cerrado Gold — Brennan says the acquisition extends MDN's mine life from three years to five-to-six years and underpins the consolidation of the northern area
  • Referenced as the operator of Cerro Moro (the old Yamana project), which Brennan cites as a comparable: a 1,300 ton-per-day mill producing 180,000–200,000 ounces a year, versus Cerrado's 1,200 ton-per-day mill at MDN

Key points on Cerrado Gold Inc

  • Brennan says the MDN heap leach is now 'running on all cylinders' after water issues were resolved, producing about 10,000 ounces in Q2 2026 with a 4,000–4,500 ounce-per-month target; H1 ran about 28,000 ounces, putting the year on track for the higher end of 50,000–60,000 ounce guidance
  • The Falcone acquisition (from Pan American Silver), the new underground rig at Paloma, and a 70,000-meter drill program are presented as the path to extend MDN mine life from three years to five-to-six years and grow production toward a 100,000-ounce-per-year ambition
  • A Q1 2027 PEA will quantify the extended mine life and higher production profile — Brennan frames it as the first of two steps toward the 100k ounce platform and a target around $150 million of EBITDA
  • On Lagoa Salgada, Brennan says the injunction was granted on June 17, an optimized feasibility study is due in early September, regulatory submission is targeted for December, and production is targeted for Q1 2029 after an ~18-month build; the existing feasibility study shows an NPV of about $150 million and about $75 million of annual cash flow over a 14-year mine life, with about 70% debt-financed
  • Cerrado repurchased 100% of the Sprott streaming agreements on both MDN and Lagoa Salgada; Brennan estimates roughly 1.5 years of payback on the MDN stream and views the Lagoa stream as prepayment for a resource that could grow from 27 million tons to 150 million tons over the life of mine

Mark Brennan's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Argues Cerrado is materially undervalued at roughly $250 million Canadian market cap, noting that Mont Sorcier alone — a ~$1.6 billion NPV project on the last study — could underpin the current valuation, and that Lagoa Salgada is also not being credited
  • Frames MDN as now 'running on all cylinders' — heap leach at about 10,000 ounces in Q2 2026, H1 at ~28,000 ounces, on track for the top end of 50,000–60,000 ounce guidance — and says the Falcone acquisition, the new underground rig at Paloma, and a 70,000-meter drill program will extend mine life to five-to-six years and build toward a 100,000-ounce platform
  • Believes the Q1 2027 PEA will be the trigger for a rerating, with increased production and a five-plus-year mine life as the two stated objectives; Lagoa Salgada is positioned as the next rerating event once the regulatory hurdle is cleared, with production targeted for Q1 2029
  • Defends the Sprott stream repurchase as a long-term value play — roughly 1.5-year payback on the MDN stream and, on his thesis, a prepayment that terminates within about a year and a half on the existing schedule

Shad Markowitz's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Hosts the KE Report segment and presses the value-proposition thesis: argues Cerrado is undervalued on MDN alone and that neither Lagoa Salgada nor Mont Sorcier is being credited in the current ~$250M Canadian market cap
  • Pushes Brennan on whether the polymetallic mix at Lagoa Salgada — copper, zinc, tin, silver — could attract EU critical-minerals funding; Brennan says funding is not the issue, only regulatory approvals