The year 2016 has ended, a year that began in the doldrums for metals and started to see the hints of a reactivation around February-March, with prices that kept creeping up well until the third quarter; As the months went by metals price’s kept adjusting upwards, a whiff of fresh air for an ailing exploration industry; For the first time in several years, exploration budgets for some companies in Mexico were revised upwards at mid-year, instead of downwards, and drill rigs were busy churning. On the final quarter metal prices saw corrections, but at the end of the period these prices were substantially higher than in January. Also on the fourth quarter was created in Mexico the Mining Sub-Secretariat (Subsecretaría de Minería), aiming to have a head with a better position to interact with the higher bureaucracy and push for needed reforms to speed up the now crippled and grossly underperforming Dirección General de Regulación Minera.
As the year came to an end, field activities were curtailed and office duties slackened pace in the mining industry, especially on the exploration side, where most field work and drilling is halted for the last two weeks, until the New Year. During the fourth week of December at least five press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico. ON EXPLORATION, one company presented an overview of its operations in Sonora and Durango, which includes getting back full ownership of a project with inferred resources, drilling two projects and doing field work on a third one, as well as the staking of another. ON FINANCING, one company increased its stake in a junior enterprise, and one other declared monthly dividends, as it has done since 2010. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, a company in the NYSE received notice of non-compliance on one of the Exchange rules.
ON EXPLORATION
- Riverside Resources Inc. provided an overview of key outcomes on 2016. At Thor in Sonora, a two-phase exploration program was completed with partner Antofagasta, drilling 1,200 m (assays pending). Drilled its Tajitos project in Sonora, with 6 g/t Au intercepts. Exploration at Glor in Sonora, funded by partner Centerra Gold, includes soil geochemistry, a ground magnetic survey, rock chip sampling and trenching. Signed an option agreement with Silver Viper Minerals Corp. to advance the Clemente project In Sonora. Staked the Ariel copper project in Sonora and re-acquired 100% interest on its Peñoles project in Durango, which has about ~10,000 m of drilling and a NI-43-101 inferred resource estimate. The company ends the year with about the same cash position (~US$3.5 M) and same share count (<37.5 M outstanding) than at the start of the year.
ON FINANCING
- Pan American Silver Corp. acquired an additional 10 M shares of Maverix Metals Inc. for US$5.46 M. Pan American now holds 43% of the issued and outstanding shares of Maverix on a fully-diluted basis (Dolores, Chihuahua; La Colorada, Zacatecas).
- Gold Resource Corp. declared its monthly dividend for December 2016. The company has returned $109 M to shareholders since commercial production started on July 2010 (El Aguila, Oaxaca).
ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES
- Primero Mining Corp. received formal notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) of its non-compliance on its minimum trading price listing standard. Primero has formally replied to the NYSE notification with the Company’s intention to restore compliance to the minimum share price criteria within the prescribed time frame (San Dimas, Durango).
Content like what you have just read can be seen at https://gambusinoprospector.com/ and at LinkedIn’s Mexico Mineral Exploration Group.
On the picture below, Pyrite bearing marble in a quarry at La Rumorosa, Baja California.
