Hydrothermal Brecia

By Miguel A Heredia

During the 30^th week of the year (July 25^th to July 31^st, 2022), at least 25 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico, and 8 news published by the media with ten disclosing deals and corporate issues, six communicating production and financial results, six commenting on Mexican issues, four reporting resources and developments of their properties, three announcing financing issues, two informing on exploration results, and two discussing social issues. ON MEXICO ISSUES, Mithril Resources, Vizsla Silver, and Southern Silver reported the best drilling intercepts in Mexico on the fourth week of July, 2022. The biggest Mexican mining companies suffered a decrease in metal production between April and June of this year. Minera El Boleo´s representatives did not attend, for the second time, the meeting called by the General Directorate for Conciliation of Collective Affairs.  The mining sector in Mexico: factor of economic growth and social development. ON EXPLORATION, In Sonora, Aztec Minerals commenced a 3,000m core drilling program as a follow-up of its recent Phase 2 RC drilling program at its Cervantes project. In Sinaloa, Prismo received an extension to its environmental permit to drill its Palos Verdes project.  ON MINING, Alamos Gold reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from its Mulatos mine in Sonora.  Agnico reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from their Pinos Altos mine, Chihuahua and La India mine, Sonora. Starcore reported year end 2022 production and financial results for its San Martin mine, Queretaro. Mag Silver-Fresnillo plc JV reported Q2, 2022 production results from its Juanicipio project, Zacatecas. Sierra Metals reported Q2, 2022 production results from their Bolivar and Cusi mines in Chihuahua.  ON FINANCING, Silver Spruce announced the first closing of a private placement for gross proceed of up to $117,250 (El Mezquite project, Sonora). Bear Creek entered into a USD $5M loan facility with Auramet (Mercedes mine, Sonora). Elemental Royalties announced that its 1% Net Smelting Return (NSR) royalty on the Mercedes mine, Sonora is now payable.  ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Osisko Development filed a technical report to present and support the results of the Mineral Resource Estimate for its San Antonio Gold project, Sonora. Southern Silver released results from the ongoing drilling program at its Cerro Las Minitas project, Durango. Vizsla released results from nine holes targeting the southern extension of the Napoleon Vein at its Panuco project, Sinaloa. Mithril released results from its ongoing drill program on the western end of its El Refugio resource area at its Copalquin project, Durango.  ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Monumental announced that its common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement in the United States through the Depository Trust Company (DTC) (Jemi project, Coahuila). Orogen acquired royalties in the Sarape property in Sonora by paying USD $120K to Advance Lithium Corp. Aura Minerals announced the appointment of a new member to its Board of Directors (Aranzazu mine, Zacatecas). Aztec Minerals became 100% owner of the Cervantes project in Sonora.  Azure completed the sale of its Mexican assets to Bendito Resources. Sierra Madre announced the appointment of its new CFO (La Tigra project, Nayarit).  Prismo began trading on the OTCQB under the symbol PMOMF (Palos Verdes project, Sinaloa). Colibri announced that it has filed audited and unaudited financial statements, management discussions and analyses, and officer certifications on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) (Evelyn project, Sonora). Excellon announced the appointment of its Chief Legal Officer & VP, Corporate Affairs (La Platosa mine, Durango). ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, Fresnillo plc donated two garbage trucks to the Municipality of Fresnillo, Zacatecas. Grupo Mexico announced an investment of MXP $38,000M (about USD $1.9 B) to expand its mining operations that will generate 11,000 jobs in the next five years in Sonora state.

ON MEXICO ISSUE

• Mithril Resources, Vizsla Silver, and Southern Silver reported the best drilling intercepts in Mexico on the fourth week of July, 2022. Details are shown in the table below:

• The biggest Mexican mining companies suffered a decrease in metal production between April and June of this year, so their results were under pressure in the second quarter of the year, so their results were under pressure in the second quarter of the year. The Grupo México consortium reported that its net profit fell 45.9%, due to lower copper production, the reduction in the price of said metal, as well as higher costs due to inflation. After the results were announced, the shares of the mining company fell 0.67% on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), closing at 75.32 each.  Fresnillo plc reported that its gold production fell 20.6% in a year-on-year comparison, totaling 158,960 Oz Au from April to June against 200,163 Oz in 2021. In addition, it produced 13.66M Oz Ag in the quarter, a 3% annual reduction compared to 14.09M Oz in the same period of 2021.
• Minera El Boleo´s representatives did not attend, for the second time, the meeting called by the General Directorate for Conciliation of Collective Affairs. The Delegate in Baja California Sur of the Mining Union described as a lack of respect and a company neglect of the federal government, and announced that the parties are summoned by the Federal Labor Court on Monday, August 1 at 1:00 p.m., to a meeting where the union will expose some modifications to the demands for which the strike broke out and continues. The strike has left more than a thousand basic employees without work and has caused a collapse in the economy of Santa Rosalía, with effects on the rest of the municipality where hundreds of micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs depend directly or indirectly on the economic income produced by this company with Korean capital, which is dedicated to the exploitation of copper and other minerals.
• The mining sector in Mexico: factor of economic growth and social development. The Ministry of Economy of the federal government reports that in 2021, the mining sector in Mexico registered an increase of 16% in the investment received compared to 2020, amounting to USD $4,246M, a situation that confirms that this sector continues to remain one of the productive branches that attracts the most investment to the country. In 2021, mining contributed 3.06% to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 9.62% to the Industrial GDP.

ON EXPLORATION

• Aztec Minerals Corp., commenced a 3,000m core drilling program as a follow-up of its successful recent phase 2 RC drilling program conducted at its Cervantes project, Sonora. The follow-up drill program will test California, California Norte and Jasper targets “to better define the open pit, heap leach gold potential of the porphyry gold oxide cap at California, evaluate the potential for deeper copper-gold porphyry sulfide mineralization underlying the oxide cap, test for northern extensions of the California mineralization at California North and northwestern extensions of the Jasper mineralization”.
• Prismo Metals Inc., received an extension to its environmental permit to drill its Palos Verdes project in Sinaloa. This extension allows Prismo to drill on existing roads. The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) is also reviewing an additional application for a permit for new road construction. The company plans to commence the drilling program in the first week of June.

ON MINING

• Alamos Gold Inc., reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from its Mulatos mine in Sonora. The company produced 20,200 Oz Au and sold 18,705 Oz Au, reporting total cash cost and an all included sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,566 and $1,636 respectively per Oz Au sold. Alamos reported operating revenues of $$35.1M, and capital expenditure of $21.3M. It also provided 2022 guidance and expects to produce between 130K-145K Oz Au at cash and AISC of $1,225-$1,275 and $1,325-1,375 respectively per Oz Au sold.
• Agnico Eagle Mines Limited reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from their Pinos Altos mine, Chihuahua and La India mine, Sonora. At Pinos Altos mine, Chihuahua, Agnico processed 366K tonnes of 2.02 g/t Au to produce 23K Oz Au, at a production cost of USD $109 per tonne; a production cost of USD $1,732 per Oz Au produced; and a total cash cost of USD $1,383 per Oz Au produced. At La India mine, Sonora, the company processed 1,358,000 tonnes of 0.52 g/t Au to produce 20K Oz Au at a production cost of USD $13 per tonne; a production cost of USD $872 per Oz Au produced; and a total cash cost of USD $936 per Oz Au produced.
• Starcore International Mines Ltd., reported year end 2022 production and financial results for its San Martin mine, Queretaro. The company milled 55,400 tons of 1.58 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag with metallurgical recoveries of 88.2% and 51.4% respectively, to produce 10K Oz Au and 85.4K Oz Ag (11.2K Oz AuEq) at a mine operating cash cost of USD $62 per tonne milled, and  mine operating cash cost of USD $1,239 per Oz AuEq. Starcore reported cash on hands of USD $8.8M; working capital of USD $9.1M; Au and Ag sales of USD $25.7M; earning from mining operations of USD $5.3M; net income of USD $2.4M; and EBITDA of USD $4.8M.
• Excellon Resources Inc., reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from its La Platosa mine, Durango. The company mined 21,481 tonnes and processed 23,550 tonnes of 449 g/t Ag, 4.2% Pb, and 4.7% Zn with metallurgical recoveries of 90.4%, 75.5%, and 86% respectively, to produce 307.5K Oz Ag, 1.65M Lb Pb, and 2.1M Lb Zn, and a total of 260.7K Oz Ag payable, 1.4M Lb Pb payable, and 1.62M Lb Zn payable.   Excellon reported revenue of USD $7.8M; a production cost of USD 244 per tonne; a total cash cost net of by-products of USD $13.81 per Oz Ag payable; All in sustaining cost (AISC) of USD $19.24 per Oz Ag payable; and a net working capital of USD $0.1M with a cash marketable securities of USD $2.9M.
• Mag Silver Corp., -Fresnillo plc JV reported Q2, 2022 production results from its Juanicipio project, Zacatecas. On Q2, 2022, a total of 154,069 tonnes were processed with grades of 567 g/t Ag  to produce 2.37M Oz Ag and 5,5K Oz Au of which 1.04M Oz Ag and 2.5K Oz Au are attributable to Mag due to its 44% ownership on the Juanicipio project.
• Sierra Metals Inc reported Q2, 2022 production results from their Bolivar and Cusi mines in Chihuahua. At Bolivar mine, Chihuahua, the company processed 256,372 tonnes of 0.63% Cu, 12 g/t Ag, and 0.24 g/t Au with metallurgical recoveries of 90.61%, 80.99%, and 65.93% respectively, to produce 3.2M Lb Cu, 83K Oz Ag and 1,283 Oz Au (4.2M Lb CuEq). At Cusi mine, Chihuahua, Sierra Metals processed 66,772 tonnes of 146 g/t Ag, 0.17 g/t Au, and 0.23% Pb with metallurgical recoveries of 82.07%, 43.64%, and 80.78% respectively, to produce 258K Oz Ag, 160 Oz Au, and 273K Lb Pb (283K Oz AgEq).

ON FINANCING

• Silver Spruce Resources Inc., announced the first closing of a private placement for gross proceed of up to $117,250. The company plans to complete second a final closing of the private placement by August 18, 2022 (El Mezquite project, Sonora).
• Bear Creek Mining Corporation entered into a USD $5M loan facility with Auramet (Mercedes mine, Sonora). Part of the proceeds will be used to fast-track production improvements at its recently acquired Mercedes mine in Sonora.
• Elemental Royalties Corp., announced that its 1% Net Smelting Return (NSR) royalty on the Mercedes mine, Sonora is now payable. Elemental acquired a 1% NSR royalty on the Mercedes gold-silver mine in July 2018, payable from the earlier of either a production threshold or July 28, 2022.

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

• Osisko Development Corp., filed a technical report to present and support the results of the Mineral Resource Estimate at June 30, 2022 for its San Antonio Gold project, Sonora. The company reported indicated resources of 14.9M tonnes with grades of 1.2 g/t Au and 3 g/t Ag for 576K Oz Au and 1.37M Oz Ag contained, and inferred resources of 16.6M Oz Au with grades of 1.02 g/t Au and 3 g/t Ag for 544K Oz Au and 1.76M Oz Ag contained.
• Southern Silver Exploration Corp., released results from the ongoing drilling program at its Cerro Las Minitas project, Durango. Drilling highlights include hole 21CLM-191 with 123 g/t Ag, 0.8% Cu, 0.4% Pb, and 0.6% Zn (251 g/t AgEq or 6.4% ZnEq) over a true width (TW) of 4.7m, including 848 g/t Ag, 5.6% Cu, 0.7% Pb, and 2.6% Zn (1,596 g/t AgEq or 40.5% Zn Eq) over a TW of 0.4m, and 77 g/t Ag, 4.4% Cu, 0.2% Pb, and 0.9% Zn (617 g/t AgEq or 15.6% Zn Eq) over a TW of 2.6m, including 165 g/t Ag, 0.1 g/t Au, 11.5% Cu, 0.1% Pb, and 0.4% Zn (1,463 g/t AgEq or 37.1% Zn Eq) over a TW of 1m; hole 22CLM-188 with 307 g/t Ag, 1 g/t Au, 0.5% Cu, 0.2% Pb, and 0.7% Zn (481 g/t AgEq or 12.2% Zn Eq) over a TW of 0.3m, and 128 g/t Ag, 0.8% Pb, and 1,1% Zn (202 g/t AgEq or 5.1% Zn Eq) over a TW of 12.7m, including 352 g/t Ag, 0.1% Cu, 2.4% Pb, and 1.6% Zn (500 g/t AgEq or 12.7% Zn Eq) over a TW of 4.8m, including 675 g/t Ag, 0.3% Cu, 5.5% Pb, and 3.4% Zn (1,008 g/t AgEq or 25.6% Zn Eq) over a TW of 1.3m; and hole 22CLM-187 with 98 g/t Ag, 0.1% Cu, 1% Pb, and 0.1% Zn (145 g/t AgEq or 3.7% Zn Eq) over a TW of 1.7m, plus 162 g/t Ag, 0.6 g/t Au, 0.3% Cu, 1.5% Pb, and 0.6% Zn (314 g/t AgEq or 8% Zn Eq) over a TW of 1.9m, including 499 g/t Ag, 0.1 g/t Au, 0.4% Cu, 4.6% Pb, and 1.5% Zn (759 g/t AgEq or 19.2% Zn Eq) over a TW of 0.6m, and 9 g/t Ag, 1.2 g/t Au, 0.2% Cu, 0.1% Zn (134 g/t AgEq or 3.4% Zn Eq) over a TW of 2m. These results continue to extend the silver-polymetallic mineralization laterally to the east and west in the North Felsite target on the Cerro Las Minitas project, Durango.
• Vizsla Silver Corp., released results from nine holes targeting the southern extension of the Napoleon Vein at its Panuco project, Sinaloa. Drilling highlights include hole NP-22-300 with 913 g/t Ag, 5.28 g/t Au, 0.1% Pb, and 0.2% Zn (1,241 g/t AgEq) over a true width (TW) of 3.90m, including 1,385 g/t Ag, 6.62 g/t Au, 0.1% Pb, and 0.1% Zn (1,772 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 0.83m, including 1,750 g/t Ag, 13.75 g/t Au, 0.2% Pb, and 0.5% Zn (2,641 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 0.5m; hole NP-22-295 with 682 g/t Ag, 3.62 g/t Au, 0.7% Pb, and 2.2% Zn (990 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 1.7m, and 493 g/t Ag, 3.15 g/t Au, 0.8% Pb, and 3% Zn (813 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 1.41m; and hole NP-22-291 with 283 g/t Ag, 1.08 g/t Au, 0.6% Pb, and 4.5% Zn (517 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 1.48m, and 484 g/t Ag, 0.46 g/t Au, 0.1% Pb, and 0.9% Zn (518 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 1.18m. These results demonstrate the continuity of high-grade silver and gold mineralization along the southern extent of the main Napoleon Vein.
• Mithril Resources Ltd., released results from its ongoing drill program on the western end of its El Refugio resource area at its Copalquin project, Durango. Significant drill intercepts were encountered in holes CDH-140 with 15.73 g/t Au and 474 g/t Ag (22.5 g/t AuEq) over 5.83m, including 45.5 g/t Au and 1,387 g/t Ag (66.73 g/t AuEq) over 1.81m; and hole CDH-141 with 1.35 g/t Au and 48 g/t Ag (2.03 g/t AuEq) over 4m, and 2.54 g/t Au and 24 g/t Ag (2.88 g/t AuEq) over 5.49m, and 1.67 g/t Au and 55 g/t Ag (2.45 g/t AuEq) over 1.8m.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

• Monumental Minerals Corp., announced that its common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement in the United States through the Depository Trust Company (DTC). The Company’s shares will now trade under the symbol “MNMRF” (Jemi project, Coahuila).
• Orogen Royalties Inc., acquired royalties in the Sarape property in Sonora by paying USD $120K to Advance Lithium Corp. Orogen will retain 1.5% net smelter return royalty on the Sarape project.
• Aura Minerals Inc., announced the appointment of a new member to its Board of Directors (Aranzazu mine, Zacatecas).
• Aztec Minerals Corp., became 100% owner of the Cervantes project in Sonora by acquiring Kootenay Silver Corp´s 35% interest in the JV company that holds the Cervantes property. As consideration for the acquisition, Aztec will issue to Kootenay 10M common shares in the capital of Aztec, at a price of CAD $0.25 per share, and Kootenay  will retain a 0.5% Net Smelter Return Royalty.
• Azure Minerals Limited completed the sale of its Mexican assets to Bendito Resources Inc, for a combination of cash and shares valued at A $20M.
• Sierra Madre Gold and Silver Ltd., announced the appointment of its new CFO (La Tigra project, Nayarit).
• Prismo Metals Inc., announced that its common shares have been approved for listing on the OTCQB. It will begin trading under the symbol PMOMF (Palos Verdes project, Sinaloa).
• Colibri Resource Corporation announced that it has filed audited financial statements for the period ending December 31, 2021; unaudited quarterly financial statements for the three months period ending March 31, 2022;  management discussions and analyses for each period; , and officer certifications on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR). Although the required filings have been made, trading in the Company’s common shares will not resume until: a cease trade order originally issued on May 11, 2022 by the Financial and Consumer Services Commission of News Brunswick has been revoked; and the TSX Venture Exchange has approved the reinstatement of the trading of the Company’s common shares (Evelyn project, Sonora).
• Excellon Resources Inc., announced the appointment of its Chief Legal Officer & VP, Corporate Affairs (La Platosa mine, Durango).

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Fresnillo plc donated two garbage trucks with a capacity of 15 tonnes to the Municipality of Fresnillo, Zacatecas. Each donated truck can collect waste from 15,000 families daily. With this delivery, Fresnillo plc promotes and endorses its commitment to the people of Fresnillo.
• Grupo Mexico announced an investment of MXP $38,000M (about USD $1.9 B) to expand its mining operations that will generate 11,000 jobs in the next five years in Sonora state. The governor of the state, Alfonso Durazo Montaño, and the executive vice president of Grupo México, Xavier García de Quevedo, announced this series of projects that are currently 47% complete and will be extended until 2027. García de Quevedo explained that the more than 11,000 jobs will be divided into 5,700 direct and indirect jobs in the construction stage and 5,660 permanent jobs in the operation. On the other hand, Irma Potes González, director of Community Development of Grupo México, explained that repair and rehabilitation works are currently being carried out on the drinking water distribution system,  in the municipalities of Nacozari and Cananea to improve the supply of water to the population.

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 above, a quartz hydrothermal breccia from an intermediate sulphidation epithermal vein system in Chihuahua, Mexico.  Photo by Miguel A Heredia.