Silicification along fractures produces protruding ribs in strongly argillitized andesitic rock in a project in Jalisco
By Jorge Cirett
During the 50th week ofthe year (December 10th to December 16th, 2018), at least 12 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico. Chesapeake Gold and Ridgestone released news on exploration. SSR Mining-SilverCrest and Goldplay Exploration announced news on financing. Azure Minerals, Coeur Mining,Endeavour Silver, SilverCrest Metals and Capstone presented news on resource definition drilling. Camrova Resources and Prospero Silver presented news on deals and corporate issues. ON MEXICO ISSUES, Five miners died on three different accidents in mines of Chihuahua and Sonora. The Mining Fund is to be controlled by the “Secretaría deEconomía”, instead of the SEDATU. ONEXPLORATION, In Sonora, Ridgestone Mining released drilling results from its Rebeico project. In Sinaloa, Chesapeake Gold released exploration results from its Yareli project. In Veracruz, Chesapeake Gold released interesting results from its Tatatila Au-Cu project in Veracruz. ON MINING, No relevant News. ON FINANCING, SSR Mining completed the buy of C$30.66 M on shares of SilverCrest Metals. Goldplay Exploration completed a $1.5 M financing round. ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Azure Minerals, Coeur Mining,Endeavour Silver, SilverCrest Metals released drilling results to better define resources in their properties. Capstone released an updated resource on its Cozamin mine in Zacatecas. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Camrova Resources is to sue Korea Resources over an unpaid debt. Prospero Silver announced Fortuna Silver’s exercise on the option to to continue exploring the Pachuca SE project in Hidalgo.
ON MEXICO ISSUES
- On a grim week for the mining industry in Mexico, five miners died in three different accidents. In Chihuahua one miner died on the Granadeña mine, and two in Coeur’s Guadalupe mine at Palmarejo. In Sonora, two Alamos Gold miners died after a pit wall collapsed at the Mulatos mine. On other matters, the Mining Fund (Fondo Minero) created in 2013 to aid development of communities near to mineral production centers, is to be controlled from 2019 by the Economy Secretariat (Secretaría de Economía). Up to this year the fund was managed by the Urban, Agrarian and Land Development Secretariat (Secretaría de Desarrollo Agrario, Territorial y Urbano). Another change is that 80% of the resources are to be invested in “zones of mining production”, while the Economy Secretariat keeps 10% and the Federal Government the remaining 10%.
ON EXPLORATION
- Chesapeake Gold Corp. updated on exploration efforts at its Yarely (includes, Los Mimbres, Sundae and Goyo prospects) and Tatatila projects in Sinaloa and Veracruz respectively. At Los Mimbres, channel sampling of veins and stockworks returned 7 m @ 1.15 g/t Au, 88 g/t Ag; 7 m @ 0.9 g/t Au, 87 g/t Ag; 5 m @ 0.11 g/t Au, 196 g/t Ag; 31 m @ 0.3 g/t Au, 14 g/t Ag; 10 m @ 0.24 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag. At Sundae, sampling of veins displaying classic high level epithermal textures returned up to 0.1 g/t Au, 8 g/t Ag on surface exposures. At Goyo, assays from two rock chip channel sections taken 100 m apart returned: 30 m of 1.63 g/t Au, 38 g/t Ag; 15 m of 0.60 g/t Au, 9 g/t Ag. Another structure returned 4 m @ 3.74 g/t Au, 90 g/t Ag; 5 m @ 1.3 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag; 25 m @ 0.54 g/t Au, 35 g/t Ag. At Tatatila the target is Au-Cu skarns like those at Las Minas, Veracruz, which it surrounds. Rock chip sampling results in six different zones of the 15,000 ha land package include: 12 m @ 3.0 g/t Au, 0.24% Cu; 6 m @ 5.1 g/t Au, 0.46% Cu; 18 m @ 3.8 g/t Au, 0.50% Cu; 11 m @ 0.24 g/t Au, 37 g/t Ag, 12.9% Zn; 12 m @ 1.0 g/t Au, 0.35% Cu, 0.22% Zn; 6 m @ 0.30 g/t Au, 0.12% Cu, 2.05% Zn; 12 m @ 0.50 g/t Au, 0.40% Cu, 0.70% Zn; 9 m @ 2.3 g/t Au, 0.30% Cu; 11 m @ 1.4 g/t Au, 0.47% Cu, 9 m @ 0.90 g/t Au, 2.0% Cu, 67 m @ 1.6 g/t Au, 0.60% Cu; 21 m @ 2.2 g/t Au, 0.27% Cu; 15 m @ 2.3 g/t Au, 0.30% Cu; 9 m @ 1.2 g/t Au, 0.25% Cu; 11 m @ 1.4 g/t Au ,0.36% Cu; 8 m @ 1.0 g/t Au, 1.25% Cu.
- Ridgestone Mining Inc. received results for four holes from the twelve hole drill program at its Rebeico project in Sonora. The drilling was designed to test beneath underground workings along a 500 m portion of the 1.2 km long Alaska vein. Highlighted intervals comprise 0.62 m @ 1.02 g/t Au, 0.96% Cu; 0.80 m @ 2.95 g/t Au, 1.41% Cu in the first hole. Contiguous 1.0 m @ 7.8 g/t Au, 1.87% Cu; 9.51 g/t Au, 3.69% Cu in the second hole and 1.40 m @ 3.25 g/t Au; 1.50 m @ 1.39 g/t Au in the fourth hole. Hole four was collared 400 m south from the first two holes, thus establishing the continuity of mineralization.
ON MINING
- No Relevant News.
ON FINANCING
- SSR Mining Inc. completed the transaction with SilverCrest Metals Inc. to purchase, by way of private placement, shares for a total consideration of C$30.66 M (Las Chispas, Sonora).
- Goldplay Exploration Ltd. closed the final tranche of its non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $273.7 K. Total gross proceeds raised under all tranches of this offering was $1.5 M (San Marcial, Sinaloa).
ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
- Azure Minerals Ltd. announced that further infill and extension drilling has returned high-grade mineralization over substantial widths at its Oposura project in Sonora. Highlighted core length intervals comprise 5.25 m @ 24.4% Zn+Pb, including 3.05 m @ 39.3% Zn+Pb.; 8.65 m @ 11.4% Zn+Pb, including 4.55 m @ 19.6% Zn+Pb; 6.0 m @ 11.7% Zn+Pb, including 2.95 m @ 21.9% Zn+Pb; 3.60 m @ 15.5% Zn+Pb, including 2.45 m @ 20.5% Zn+Pb.
- Coeur Mining Inc. provided an update on exploration, including activities at its Palmarejo mine in Chihuahua. Highlighted results comprise 7.8 m @ 5.7 g/t Au, 833 g/t Ag at La Nación vein; 2.8 m @ 2.3 g/t Au, 337 g/t Ag; 5.2 m @ 2.7 g/t Au, 229 g/t Ag; 6.8 m @ 2.3 g/t Au, 122 g/t Ag at Las Animas zone, where three potentially mineralized areas were discovered, and 4.0 m @ 6.8 g/t Au, 693 g/t Ag at Independencia, which extends mineralization for another 150 m.
- Endeavour Silver Corp. reported positive results from surface drilling and underground sampling at the Parral project in Chihuahua. Endeavour owns four historic mines: Veta Colorada (historic resources), LaPalmilla (Endeavour’s resources), San Patricio and Cometa (Endeavour’s resources). “Several large veins are traceable for over 8 km. Veta Colorada is up to 40metres (m) thick, and includes a higher-grade footwall vein 1-10 m thick and a lower grade hanging wall breccia with mineralized stock-work up to 30 m thick”. Highlighted results from drilling at San Patricio comprise: 1.9 m @ 0.1 g/t Au, 660 g/t Ag, 1.3% Pb, 0.6% Zn; 4.2 m @ 0.21 g/t Au, 934 g/t Ag, 3.0% Pb, 5.9% Zn. Sampling of historic mine fill (known as “chorros” or “retaques”) at VetaColorada average (18 samples) 106.3 g/t Ag, 0.45% Pb, 0.37% Zn in Level 2, and average (24 samples) 179.2 g/t Ag; 0.51% Pb, 0.44% Zn on Level 4.
- SilverCrest Metals Inc. announced further high-grade results from in-fill drilling at its Las Chispas property in Sonora. In-fill drilling of the Babicanora vein area 51 highlighted true width intervals comprise: 8.2 m @ 27.70 g/t Au, 1,116 g/t Ag (including 1.7 m @ 127.50 g/t Au, 3,044 g/t Ag); 1.7 m @ 7.01 g/t Au, 1,348 g/t Ag; 2.5 m @ 15.97 g/t Au, 1,743 g/t Ag; 2.3 m @ 4.53 g/t Au, 748 g/t Ag; 5.6 m @ 9.41 g/t Au, 736 g/t Ag; 1.7 m @ 4.40 g/t Au, 453 g/t Ag; 6.4 m @ 6.41 g/t Au, 657 g/t Ag (including 1.6 m @ 25.87 g/t Au, 2,222 g/t Ag); 3.5 m @ 16.45 g/t Au, 355 g/t Ag; 4.5 m @ 9.25 g/t Au, 673 g/t Ag.
- Capstone Mining Corp. released positive results of an updated technical report for its Cozamin mine in Zacatecas. Proven and probable reserves increased to 6.19 M tonnes @ 1.60% Cu, 42.9 g/t Ag, 0.71% Cu, 0.14% Pb. Measured and indicated resources amounted to 17.29 M tonnes @ 1.50 % Cu, 45 g/t Ag, 1.25% Zn, 0.28% Pb, and inferred resources to 16.95 M tonnes @ 1.11% Cu, 44 g/t Ag, 1.65% Zn, 0.29% Pb. The total contained metal in reserves and measured and indicated resources adds to 359 Kt Cu, 33.4 M Oz Ag, 259 Kt Zn, 56 Kt Pb, while the inferred resources contain additional 188 Kt Cu, 23.9 M Oz Ag, 279 Kt Zn, 49 Kt Pb. By completing a new ramp in 2020, Cozamin plans to increase production by approximately 30%.
ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES
- Camrova Resources Inc. presented a press release in which strong complaints were made against Korea Resources Corp. through its controlling interest in Minera y Metalurgica del Boleo S.A.P. (MMB). According to Camrova, Korea Resources has relentlessly ignored Camrova’s petition for board meetings. “Camrova also wishes to announce that it has commenced action and will shortly serve MMB with a judicial notice under applicable Mexican law. This notice is a formal demand for payment of CAD$303,416.60 which is owing by MMB pursuant to a settlement agreement between Camrova and MMB in December 2016” (Boleo, BajaCalifornia Sur).
- Prospero Silver Corp. announced that Fortuna Silver Mines has exercised its right to be granted an option to acquire up to a 70% interest in the Pachuca SE Project, by spending $8 M in expenditures and completing a preliminary economic assessment, spending a minimum of $1 M in the first year. “The local geology at Pachuca SE is typical of the high-level epithermal environment seen over the Pachuca-Real del Monte mines. Prospero’s land package covers at least 6-7 km of linear, structurally-controlled argillic alteration caps at surface” (Pachuca SE, Hidalgo).
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