Gold Occurrences in Costa Rica

Coat of Arms of Costa Rica

The very name Costa Rica in English means "Rich Coast" a country that has become the home to many expatriate Americans because of its stable government.  What makes it favorable to so many gold hunters is the chain of volcanoes reaching from north to south through the country.  There are several gold bearing regions found throughout the country associated with its volcanic nature.

The only producer in Costa Rico is presently “Inversiones Valle Columbia” that holds an exploitation concession right in the center of the historic Las Juntas mining district.  There are two veins LaPita and the Olga that have been developed into mines feeding the mill that supplied ore running from 10 grams to 20 grams per ton that were supplying up to 80 tons of ore per day.

Volcan Arenal in Costa Rica
Photo by Matthius Prinke

The owner of Invesions Valle Columbia, Luis Canto bought the Rio Chiquito mine from Corporacion Minerales Laguna SA in 2002 that has stated resources of almost 177,000 tons.  It’s his intention to prove and exploit this deposit that averages 11.18 g/t Au and 21.2 g/t Ag.

There is even a district in Costa Rico called the Montes de Oro, literally Mountains of Gold about 70 km west of the countries capital San Jose close to the town of Miramar overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  This mine owned by Glencairn is producing up to 60,000 oz of gold per year.  The property has produced gold off and on for more then a century.

At the Crucitas project Vannessa Ventures has acquired one of the premier gold producing areas in Costa Rico consisting of 10 concessions that cover 176 km² where they have already spent over US$34 million in exploration and development.  Crucitas is ready for mine development containing measured, indicated and inferred resources of more then 2.4 million ounces of gold.

A long tradition of placer gold mining has affected the local population of the Osa  Peninsula in Costa Rico.  This goldfield that extends across three-quarters of the Peninsula has even managed to produce some large nuggets.  In this area you can at least pan colors in your distinctive gold pan that was developed by the local populace for their mining conditions.

There are several concessions of placer gold for sale in Costa Rica including one of 10 km² in southwestern Costa Rica containing at least 7,500 kg of gold as stated by the Costa Rican Department of Geology.

This is similar to the subduction zone off the West Coast of Costa Rica.

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A long subduction zone can be found off the west coast of Costa Rica that is the cause of so much volcanic activity in the country that supplies the “Heat Engine” necessary to build deposits of gold.  This is not only applicable to Costa Rica, but anywhere on Earth where similar conditions are to be found.  The whole west coast of the Americas have subduction zones laying just off their west coasts producing gold deposits from superheated water associated with the volcanism.