Energy Today, QED Connect outline mine expansion, AI and traceability plans

Energy Today and QED Connect said they are advancing a second Trafigura meeting tied to the La Palmichala gold project in Colombia, along with new SENA, Socrates AI and AiHammock initiatives. The plans could affect mine output, agricultural traceability and AI job training, but the Trafigura deal remains unfinalized.

Why it matters: - Energy Today is trying to pair mine expansion with outside financing and a future concentrate sales structure that could help scale La Palmichala in Remedios, Antioquia. - QED Connect is pushing a Colombia-focused mix of AI training, agricultural traceability and workforce development that could reach farmers, technicians and small businesses. - The initiatives span natural resources, agriculture and applied AI, which could broaden both companies' operating footprints if the programs move ahead.

What happened: - Energy Today and QED Connect said they are preparing a second meeting with Trafigura to discuss a possible investment and concentrate-purchase structure for La Palmichala. - The companies said no definitive financing or offtake agreement has been signed. - Energy Today said the proposed mine expansion would target Level 5, connect Level 5 to the main tunnel and add a new tunnel to reach a third vein called La Bedoya. - The plan also includes a secondary route from the main tunnel to improve access, ventilation, logistics and safety. - The companies said the route would also lead toward a site where a future processing plant could be built, pending engineering studies, permits and financing. - QED Connect said it expects to meet with Colombia's SENA this week to discuss a pilot that combines Socrates AI with the coffee sector. - QED Connect said it also entered an agreement to distribute AiHammock.

The details: - The proposed Trafigura structure would provide financing without conventional cash interest and, in return, Trafigura would buy La Palmichala concentrate under a negotiated offtake arrangement. - The contemplated minimum shipment is about 26 metric tons of concentrate per 40-foot container. - Final commercial terms are still open, including payable percentages, treatment charges, refining charges, penalties, logistics, assays and silver credits. - Trafigura is described as one of the world's largest commodity companies, with financing and logistics tied to purchasing agreements. - If the expansion and future processing facilities are completed as planned, the target output is about 100 to 150 tons of ore per day. - The target gold grade is about 3 to 7 grams per ton. - Using previously reported concentrate grades of 42 to 68 grams of gold per metric ton, one 26-ton container would hold an estimated 1,092 to 1,768 grams of gold, or about 35.11 to 56.84 troy ounces. - At a reference gold price of $4,346 per troy ounce on Sept. 21, 2026, the illustrative gold payment per container would be about $115,962 to $197,630, before silver credits and other contractual adjustments. - Energy Today said silver would be additional, subject to final assay and contract terms. - The companies said shipping 10 to 15 containers per month would represent about 260 to 390 metric tons of concentrate. - Under the same assumptions, the projected gross monthly reference value would be about $1.53 million to $3.71 million. - After a 76% to 80% payable factor, estimated monthly gold proceeds would be about $1.16 million to $2.96 million before deductions. - The annualized gross reference value for that shipping level would be about $18.31 million to $44.47 million. - Annualized gold proceeds after the payable factor would be about $13.92 million to $35.57 million before deductions. - The companies said the 10 to 15 container monthly figures are mathematical projections only and are not production guidance or a revenue forecast. - La Palmichala's longer-term monthly concentrate target is 1,000 to 1,500 metric tons, which would equal about 38 to 58 container loads per month at 26 metric tons per container. - QED Connect said its environmental and sustainability work would support sacha inchi, coffee and Socrates AI programs focused on data organization, traceability, documentation, monitoring and community projects. - Any environmental compliance work remains subject to Colombian law, technical studies and approval from the relevant authorities. - QED Connect said the SENA pilot would aim to train and deploy agricultural data technicians, or Data Farm Techs, first in coffee and later in cacao, avocado and other crops. - At full scale, QED Connect estimates the program could create more than 14,500 jobs in Colombia through field data collection, verification, traceability, certification support and AI-assisted agricultural services. - QED Connect said that job figure depends on pilot results, approvals, funding, farmer participation and phased rollout. - SENA is Colombia's national public vocational-training institution, offering free technical, technological and complementary training. - AiHammock is described as an applied-AI education and certification platform for non-technical professionals. - Participants who finish the assessment and practical project can earn a verifiable AiHammock Applied AI Certification. - QED Connect said qualified participants may also earn income as AiHammock distributors, subject to program terms.

Between the lines: - The Trafigura talks are a financing test as much as a mining one, because the structure depends on due diligence, regulatory review and final documentation. - The use of container-by-container economics signals how the companies are trying to frame the project for commercial buyers and potential financiers. - QED Connect's SENA and AiHammock moves suggest a broader strategy to tie AI products to training, certification and income opportunities rather than software sales alone. - The 14,500-job estimate is an ambition, not an outcome, and depends on a multistep rollout that has not yet been completed.

What's next: - Energy Today and QED Connect plan another meeting with Trafigura to continue negotiating the proposed investment and concentrate-purchase structure. - The La Palmichala expansion still needs engineering work, permits, financing and final commercial terms before any scale-up can proceed. - QED Connect expects to meet with SENA this week on the coffee-sector pilot. - The AiHammock distribution plan will move forward under its applicable program terms. - Any future production, shipment or job-creation results will depend on approvals, funding and implementation.

The bottom line: - Energy Today is trying to unlock mine expansion through a commodity-finance deal, while QED Connect is building an AI-and-agriculture platform around Colombian training, traceability and certification.