Aura Minerals Inc.
Aura Minerals is a mid-tier gold and base-metals producer headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. It delisted from the TSX effective 2025-09-25 and now trades on Nasdaq Global Select (AUGO) and B3/Brazil as BDRs (AURA33). It operates six mines: Minosa (Honduras), Almas, Apoena, Borborema and MSG/Matupa (Brazil), and the underground copper-gold-silver Aranzazu mine (Zacatecas, Mexico) -- its largest single revenue contributor. H1 2026 group production of 157,574 gold-equivalent ounces (GEO) was a company record. Aura also holds the Era Dorada development project in Guatemala, still under construction (~60% complete as of Q2 2026) and not yet producing.
Notable vs. Peers
- Jurisdiction risk score of 5/10 is meaningfully riskier than the peer average of 7.8/10.
- Financials score of 5/10 is weaker than the peer average of 6.5/10.
- All-in sustaining cost of $1,985/oz AuEq is 17% lower than the peer producer average of $2,387/oz AuEq.
Lifecycle Milestones
Construction Milestones
5 of 5 reached- May 1979 · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
Milestones are recorded only from a company's own dated disclosure. A milestone with no date shown is one we can confirm was reached but for which no date was disclosed — we don't estimate one. "Not yet reached" means exactly that, not that a date is missing. An "Expected" line likewise only ever reflects the company's own guidance (e.g. a study or permit decision targeted for a stated quarter) — most not-yet-reached milestones have none, and that absence means no such guidance has been disclosed, not that one is overdue.
Jurisdiction (40%)5/10
The flagship Aranzazu mine is in Zacatecas, Mexico, where rising cartel-related violence has made security costs a real operating factor; permitting runs under federal mining law. Aura's other mines are in Honduras and Brazil, generally moderate-risk jurisdictions.
Infrastructure (40%)10/10
A confirmed mill, confirmed road access, confirmed grid power, and a confirmed tailings facility at Aranzazu Copper-Gold-Silver Mine.
Nearby producing mine (20%)10/10
Tayahua (Minera Frisco, S.A.B. de C.V.) is 4 km away -- within shared-mill trucking range.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
No pending acquisition or merger disclosed (checked)
Not scored: having no deal in flight isn't held against a company.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer stake on file; largest strategic holder is Northwestern Enterprises Ltd (47.7%) See holders
Not an operating producer, so it isn't the toehold-then-takeout pattern the research documents; a missing producer stake isn't held against a company.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score:9.6/10
Nearest producing mine: Tayahua (Minera Frisco, S.A.B. de C.V.), 4 km
10 next to a producing mine, 8 at 20 km, 5 at 50 km, 0 beyond 200 km.
Weight 22.5% · 46% here - Lifecycle stageSub-score:5.5/10
Stage: Production
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 31% here - JurisdictionSub-score:5/10
Mexico: jurisdiction score 5/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 14% here - CommoditySub-score:10/10
Primary commodity: Gold
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 9% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
President and CEO of Aura Minerals since January 2017 (joined the company Oct 2016 as CFO). Mechanical engineer (Mackenzie University) with an MBA (University of Southern California). Career: CFO of the investment holding company of Grupo Camargo Correa; CEO then Chairman of the Board of Tavex/Santista (2014-2016), immediately before Aura.
Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Aura Minerals since 2020, having joined the company in Mar 2019. Economist (Unicamp) with an MBA (Kellogg School of Management, Finance/Strategy/International Business) and a 2021-2022 CFO Program (Columbia Business School). Nearly 20 years of corporate finance and business strategy experience. Career: management consulting at A.T. Kearney and Accenture; M&A projects at Mover Participacoes S.A.; CFO of Tavex/Santista, immediately before Aura.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
The 47.7% block on this register belongs to Northwestern Enterprises, the private holding company of Aura's own chairman, Paulo Carlos de Brito -- Aura's 20-F names it the group's ultimate controlling party. That is founder control rather than an outside investor's vote of confidence, and it is not counted here. What is left is a broad, mainstream institutional base: Capital World Investors at 6.14% plus several Capital Group and American Funds vehicles, Fidelity International, Jennison and Brazil's SPX Gestao de Recursos, with genuine gold-specialist exposure amounting to almost nothing. Director Bruno Mauad Sousa bought 2,800 shares on the market in June 2026, while the CFO, the COO and one other insider sold.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
Aura Minerals operates six mines, Aranzazu in Mexico, Minosa in Honduras, and Almas, Apoena, Borborema and MSG/Matupa in Brazil, and is building the Era Dorada project in Guatemala (about 60% complete at Q2 2026). The figures shown are Aranzazu's: at 31 Dec 2025 its proven and probable reserves were 13.1 Mt containing 246,400 oz of gold, 278.2 million lb of copper and 7.0 Moz of silver, with additional measured and indicated resources (reported exclusive of reserves) of 180,800 oz of gold, 185.3 million lb of copper and 4.5 Moz of silver.