During the 21^st week of the year (May 22^nd to May 28^th, 2017), at least 25 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico. ON EXPLORATION, Zenith announced sample results from its brine project in Zacatecas. The bulk of exploration press releases relate to work in Sonora, with San Marco commencing exploration of the Oregano project, Minaurum identifying two new structures at its Alamos Silver project (formerly La Quintera), Goldex presenting the exploration status of the Mingeo project, Oceanus presenting drilling results from El Tigre and Alix announcing metallurgical results for its Agua Fria project.  ON MINING, An illegal strike and union blockade paralyzed operations at First Majestic’s La Encantada mine in Coahuila, Fortuna Silver presented financial results for Q1 2017 and Torex reported a fatal accident at its Limon-Guajes mine in Guerrero. ON FINANCING, five companies announced some form of financing, with Evrim closing a private placement for $4.3 M, Arian raising £600 K, West Minster $678 K and Mexican Gold 1.8 M, Bacanora signing a subscription agreement for US$9.6 M and Coeur ending the purchase of 2021 tender notes for $117.9 M. ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Consolidated Zinc has defined new geophysical targets in Plomosas, Chihuahua, Marlin released high grade results from drilling within the pit area in La Trinidad mine in Sinaloa and Almadex Mnerals reported new drill results from El Cobre in Veracruz. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Goldex entered into a LOI to acquire the Mingeo property in Sonora.

ON MEXICO ISSUES

• No relevant news.

ON EXPLORATION

• Zenith Minerals Ltd. has released high grade lithium results from its Zacatecas brine project. Lithium is up to 1,046 ppm on the San Juan lagoon, where a 4 km x 2 km zone with sediment samples over 100 ppm was defined. A passive seismic survey confirmed the presence of a sedimentary basin beneath the surface salt lakes, with a layer 50 to 70 m thick recognized through the area and a yet unconfirmed deeper layer at 150-180 m of depth. A reservoir of brine has to exist to advance the project, with the next exploration steps involving an electrical based geophysical survey followed by drilling.
• San Marco Resources Inc. commenced exploration at its Oregano project in Sonora. Within the 73 K hectares concession application there is a set of quartz veins interpreted as the shallow part of an epithermal system, with true widths of the veins appearing to be in the 5 to 15 m range. Vein textures include lattice, bladed and cockade features, with quartz varieties including chalcedony, opaline, silica replacing calcite and cryptocrystalline. Initial continuous diamond saw cut channel sampling has returned 23.5 m @ 0.33 g/t Au, 9 g/t Ag; 14.3 m @ 0.31 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag; 31.4 m @ 0.12 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag; 16.6 m @ 0.12 g/t Au, 10 g/t Ag.
• Minaurum Gold Inc. identified two new well mineralized vein systems at its Alamos Silver project (La Quintera). The Europa-Palomas and El Tigre veins lie in a down-faulted block, and their structural model indicates a high level system. The Europa-Palomas vein system can be traced for 1.4 km, with Chips and dumps sampling returning up to 1,085 g/t Ag, 1.3% Cu, 3.1% Pb, 5.3% Zn. The El Tigre vein has been mapped for over 800 m, and chip sampling has returned up to 438 g/t Ag, 0.3% Cu, 1.6% Pb, 11.5% Zn.
• Goldex Resources Corp. presented the exploration status of the Mingeo property, which it has under a letter of intent (LOI). The property “lies within the carbonate rocks of the Mural or Morita Formation Cretaceous siltstones and Paleozoic carbonate sedimentary rocks of the Sonoran Bisbee-Cananea rift basin. One of the main mineralized structures consists of a low angle dipping quartz epithermal vein/manto with approximately 15° to 20° dip to the NE and a thickness that ranges from 0.50 to approximately 3 metres. Mineralization has been observed to comprise medium grained disseminated pyrite, arsenopyrite, minor chalcopyrite and rare galena”.
• Oceanus Resources Corp. reported recent drilling assay results from its El Tigre property in Sonora: 67.6 m @ 1.24 g/t Au, 19 g/t Ag (including 23.4 m @ 2.77 g/t Au, 40 g/t Ag); 37.7 m @ 0.62 g/t Au, 12 g/t Ag; 9.0 m @ 0.18 g/t Au, 125 g/t Ag.
• Alix Resources Corp. announced metallurgical results from lithium bearing clays at its Agua Fria project in Sonora. The acid leach process achieved 99% extraction over four hours with no roasting or expensive reagents required.

ON MINING

• First Majestic Silver Corp. announced “that a rogue group of union workers have halted activities and blocked the access at the La Encantada mine in Coahuila. The illegal blockade arose after some of the unionized individuals did not agree with the bonus that the company and the National Union of Miners, Metallurgists, Steelworkers and Similar Workers of Mexico (National Union), agreed to offer the miners in lieu of profit sharing.”
• Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. reported financial results for the first quarter 2017. At San Jose in Oaxaca 267.3 K tonnes were milled (3,108 tonnes per day, or TPD) @ 226 g/t Ag, 1.67 g/t Au, recovering 92% and 91% respectively to produce 1.79 M Oz Ag, 13,116 Oz Au at cash cost $1.35 and AISC $6.61 per silver ounce net of by-product credits. Cash and cash equivalents stood at 191.2 M at the end of the period.
• Torex Gold Resources Inc. reported a fatal accident at its El Limon-Guajes mine in Guerrero. An employee of a contractor was fatally injured when its truck rolled down a berm on El Limon Sur pit.

ON FINANCING

• Evrim Resources Corp. has closed its private placement for gross proceeds of $4.3 M (Ermitaño, Sonora; Cerro Cascaron, Chihuahua).
• Bacanora Minerals Ltd. has entered into a subscription agreement with Capital Research and Management Co. under which Capital will subscribe Bacanora shares for US$9.6 M (Sonora, Lithium project, Sonora).
• Coeur Mining Inc. announced the expiration date of the previously announced cash tender offer to purchase its 7.85% senior notes due 2021, with $117.9 M of the notes validly tendered, or 66.2% of the 2021 outstanding notes (Palmarejo, Chihuahua).
• Arian Silver Corp. has raised £600 K before expenses (lithium properties, Zacatecas).
• Westminster Resources Ltd. closed the first tranche of a private placement, raising gross proceeds of $978 K, and expects to close a second tranche of up to an additional $462 K (El Cobre, Sonora).
• Mexican Gold Corp. closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of 1.8 M (Las Minas, Veracruz)

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

• Consolidated Zinc Ltd. has defined new geophysical targets by reprocessing the magnetic and gravity data collected during the 2016 survey on its Plomosas project in Chihuahua. One of the main points is the interpretation of an intrusive body at depth that could explain the origins of mineralization in the Plomosas mine area. Geochemical vectoring is also being evaluated to assist in determining the presence of such intrusive body.
• Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. released high grade drill results from the south part of the Taunas pit on its Trinidad mine in Sinaloa. Intercepts include 63.35 m @ 7.57 g/t Au (including 10.0 m @ 29.3 g/t Au); 11.90 m @ 2.53 g/t Au; 10.0 m @ 1.12 g/t Au.
• Almadex Minerals Ltd. released assay results from drilling at the Norte zone in its El Cobre project in Veracruz. Intercepts results comprise 45.0 m @ 0.65 g/t Au, 0.28% Cu in one hole, and 378 m @ 0.65 g/t Au, 0.28% Cu (including 74.8 m @ 0.65 g/t Au, 0.25% Cu; 28.6 m @ 1.31 g/t Au, 0.57% Cu; 96 m @ 0.76 g/t Au, 0.28% Cu; 59.4 m @ 0.95 g/t Au, 0.33% Cu) in another hole.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

• Goldex Resources Corp. has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) for an option to acquire a 51% interest in the Mingeo property with Mingeo International S.A. de C.V. by spending US$500 K by April 2020, and another US$500 K by 2022. The Property consists of six concessions totaling approximately 1947 hectares and is located within the major porphyry belt of Sonora.

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, irregular oxidized sulfide veining in a felsic volcanic rock, Central Chiapas. Photo by Jorge Cirett.