British mining company Serabi Gold has announced an agreement with local indigenous communities in the state of Para, Brazil, for the continued development of its Coringa gold project.

The agreement was struck with the Kabu Institute and the Mantino Indigenous Association, two groups representing the indigenous peoples of the Baú Indigenous Territory, within which Coringa is situated.

Serabi CEO Mike Hodgson stated: “This is a significant step forward for the development of Coringa. We now have the formal support of the Kabu and the Mantino, who recognise the social and economic benefits that Coringa will bring to the local communities.

“Whilst we still have to complete the indigenous studies and the formal consultation process, there is a willingness from all parties for this to be done as quickly as possible,” he added.

As part of the deal, Kabu and Mantino agreed not to take actions that would suspend the Coringa project’s development.

The coringa site was initially “developed through a deal with alleged land grabbers” and the local communities were not consulted prior to the beginning of operations. The mine’s initial owners, Chapeau mining, acquired the area from a family not deemed to be legitimate owners of the land parcel.

In December 2021, a court ruling suspended the issuance of future licences to the project due to the dispute between Serabi and the indigenous communities.

Hodgson said: “I recognise that the past 18 months has generated some uncertainty regarding Coringa and Serabi’s ability to develop the project and realise its full potential. I hope that others share my view that this agreement significantly reduces this uncertainty and provides a strong platform for the company to move forward with confidence.”

After the announcement of the deal between itself, Kabu and Mantino, the share price of Serabi Gold rose by as much as 21%. Coringa produced 2,186oz of gold in the past three months, with a feed grade of 6.84g of gold per tonne, a level unseen at the site since 2021.