By Jorge Cirett                                             

During the 21^st week of the year (May 22^nd to May 28^th, 2023), 15 companies working in Mexico posted news releases. Four companies informed on exploration on their properties, two companies informed on Q1 2023 or full-year 2023 production/financial results. One company announced the granting of share options to directors, officers and consultants. Five companies released drilling results on their advanced properties in Durango, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Guerrero. Two more companies informed on the acquisition/sale of projects. ON MEXICO ISSUES, no relevant news. ON EXPLORATION, in Sonora, Aztec Minerals completed a surface exploration program at Cervantes; Infinitum copper started drilling at La Adelita. In Durango, Silver Dollar is organizing the database of the Nora project. In Oaxaca, Vortex Metals initiated surface geological work at Riqueza Marina. ON MINING, Impact Silver and Guanajuato Silver released Q1 2023 production reports. ON FINANCING, Silver Viper granted incentive stock options to directors, officers and consultants. ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Avino Silver released results from drilling at the Avino mine in Durango. Heliostar Metals reported drilling results from the high-grade portion of the Ana Paula deposit in Guerrero. Capitan Mining provided an exploration update on the Cruz de Piedra project in Durango. Prime Mining reported drilling results from Los Reyes in Sinaloa. Discovery Silver released results from the feasibility study drilling at Cordero, in Chihuahua. GR Silver Mining released results from step-our holes at San Marcial, which is part of the Plomosas project in Sinaloa. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Tarachi Gold closed the sale of the Magistral tailings project in Durango. Silver Dollar completed the acquisition of the La Joya project in Durango. ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, Torex Gold released its 2022 ESG performance report.

ON MEXICO ISSUES

• No relevant News.

ON EXPLORATION

• Aztec Minerals Corp. received sampling results and completed its phase 1 surface exploration program at Cervantes, in Sonora. Detailed geological mapping and continued chip channel sampling of exposed road cuts were carried out. The “surface road cut sampling and detailed geologic mapping has verified the strong relationships found between the quartz feldspar porphyritic intrusive, phyllic alteration and gold mineralization… Quartz veinlet intensity mapping shows strong correlation to the drill hole gold grade-thickness”. The phase 2 exploration program comprises a reverse circulation drilling campaign to expand the California target in all directions. To date Aztec has competed over 10,500 m of drilling on 54 holes at the Cervantes project.
• Silver Dollar Resources Inc. provided a progress report on the Nora project in Durango. Silver Dollar received all historical technical information from Canasil and is “organizing it into a database to analyze, interpret and then plan the next phase”. There are 13 diamond holes from Canasil’s 2020-2021 drilling campaign with a total of 3,296 m testing 500 m of the Candy structure, returning up to 3.29 m @ 6.44 gpt Au, 884 gpt Ag and 1.53 m @ 20.59 gpt Au, 1,290 gpt Ag.
• Infinitum Copper Corp. commenced drilling at its 6,450 ha La Adelita property in Sonora. The 2,500 m diamond drilling program with 15 holes is designed to expand the high-grade mineralized area at the Cerro Grande zone and to test for mineralization at depth at Las Trancas zone. Drilling is aimed to extend the north-south extent of mineralization to 500 m and step out up to 700 m west of the known mineralization. At Las Trancas, 5 Km from Cerro Grande, the Sangre de Toro feature is to be tested with the first drilling in the area for the presence of a large mineralized structure.
• Vortex Metals Inc. initiated surface geological work at its 12,041 ha Riqueza Marina project in Oaxaca. As the Santa Cruz Tagolaba community granted approval, Vortex can now commence work, including trenching, over an area including the Rhyolite Dome target, where substantial size and coincident gravity and magnetic anomalies along with anomalous copper values are interpreted to reflect a concealed sulfide deposit.

ON MINING

• Impact Silver Corp. announced its financial and operating results for Q1 2023. At its Royal Mines of Zacualpan mine operations, in Estado de Mexico, 38.7 K tonnes were milled during the period, averaging 162 gpt Ag, to produce 167 K Oz Ag. Reported revenue was $5.1 M, mine operating earning $0.6 M and the net loss $0.6 M, with a working capital of $15.7 M and a cash position of $14.3 M by the end of the period.
• Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. announced financial and operating results for Q1 2023. During the period the company produced 458.8 K Oz Ag, 4,413 Oz Au, 0.91 M Lb Pb, 1.15 M Lb Zn (or 938 K Oz AgEq) at El Cubo Mines Complex, Valenciana Mines Complex and San Ignacio mine, in Guanajuato, and Topia mine, in Durango. Revenue was US$17.1 M, with a net loss of US$8.7 M. The All-in sustaining cost (AISC) was $21.83 per AgEq. Infrastructure upgrades to deliver improvement in 2023 include Falcon concentrators at El Cubo and Valenciana, the rehabilitation of the Cata Shaft already completed and the implementation of hydraulic backfilling of tailings at Valenciana.

ON FINANCING

• Silver Viper Minerals Corp. granted 5.15 M incentive stock options to directors, officers and consultants to purchase up to 5.15 M common shares in the capital of Silver Viper. (La Virginia, Sonora).

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

• Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. released the results of ten drill holes from below Level 17, the current deepest workings of the Avino mine in Durango. The Avino vein has been drilled to a depth of 1,100 m downdip from the surface outcrop. A total of ten holes in this campaign totalled 3,414 m. Highlighted true width intercepts comprise 2.61 m @ 0.06 gpt Au, 75 gpt Ag, 2.58% Cu; 19.90 m @ 0.02 gpt Au, 30 gpt Ag, 1.29% Cu; 3.00 m @ 0.99 gpt Au, 34 gpt Ag, 0.08% Cu; 35.73 m @ 0.14 gpt Au, 28 gpt Ag, 0.65% Cu; 48.40 m @ 0.08 gpt Au, 45 gpt Ag, 0.55% Cu; 36.00 m @ 0.16 gpt Au, 27 gpt Ag, 0.81% Cu; 1.30 m @ 0.05 gpt Au, 97 gpt Ag, 2.28% Cu. “The changing tenor of the mineralization could be reflecting a transition from epithermal to porphyry-style mineralization”.
• Heliostar Metals Ltd. reported its first drill results from the Ana Paula project in Guerrero. The first two holes drilled by Heliostar targeted the “High Grade Panel” at the core of Ana Paula. Highlighted core length intervals comprise 118.55 m @ 5.44 gpt Au (including 44.5 m @ 11.0 gpt Au, which include 4.0 m @ 48.5 gpt Au); 101.12 m @ 8.35 gpt Au (including 53.2 m @ 11.0 gpt Au). “the High Grade Panel is approximately 250 metres long by 100 metres high by 60 metres thick… hosted primarily in a polymictic breccia unit, although it extends outward into the surrounding granodiorite and limestone. Gold mineralization is directly associated with the proportion of sulphide minerals in the rock”. Heliostar is re-evaluating the project as a high-grade underground mine.
• Capitan Mining Inc. provided an exploration update on its Cruz de Plata project in Durango. New interpretation points to the Jesus Maria vein to have a potential strike length of 2.8 km, the Santa Teresa vein of 1.8 km and the San Rafael North vein of 1.3 km before going under cover. The Capitan East gold target has a potential strike of at least 500 m. Seven targets have been recently defined by mapping and prospecting.
• Prime Mining Corp. reported results from core drilling at the Z-T area on Los Reyes project in Sinaloa. Highlighted true width intervals comprise 11.6 m @ 3.33 gpt Au, 221 gpt Ag (including 1.0 m @ 24.0 gpt Au, 1,385 gpt Ag); 9.8 m @ 1.52 gpt Au, 25 gpt Ag (including 1.5 m @ 7.94 gpt Au, 61 gpt Ag); 4.5 m @ 1.03 gpt Au, 34 gpt Ag in the Tahonitas zone and 13.8 m @ 0.96 gpt Au, 27 gpt Ag; 8.5 m @ 0.84 gpt Au, 14 gpt Ag; 15.9 m @ 0.74 gpt Au, 37 gpt Ag; 8.5 m @ 1.01 gpt Au, 23 gpt Ag at the Zapote South zone. The results are from step out holes to expand mineralization at depth below the Z-T resource pit shell. Prime Mining recently announced a mineral resource estimate containing 1.47 M indicated Oz AuEq averaging 1.68 gpt and 0.73 M inferred Oz AuEq averaging 1.26 gpt.
• Discovery Silver Corp. released results from feasibility study drill holes on its Cordero project in Chihuahua. The reserve expansion drilling highlighted core length intercepts comprise 41 m @ 63 gpt Ag, 0.09 gpt Au, 1.2% Pb, 2.7% Zn; 8 m @ 195 gpt Ag, 0.23 gpt Au, 2.2% Pb, 4.1% Zn; 37 m @ 58 gpt Ag, 0.05 gpt Au, 0.8% Pb, 1.5% Zn; 104 m @ 37 gpt Ag; 0.04 gpt Au, 0.3% Pb, 1.1% Zn; 51 m @ 51 gpt Ag, 0.06 gpt Au, 0.7% Pb, 0.9% Zn. The results are from 23 drill holes focused on reserve upgrade and expansion in the South Corridor and reserve expansion drilling on the margins of the Pozo de Plata zone in the North Corridor. To date 49,700 m of drilling in 156 holes have been completed as part of the feasibility study. A 9,000 m property wide drilling program is planned for the second half of the year.
• GR Silver Mining Ltd. released results from two step-out holes outside of the mineral resource boundary at San Marcial, within the Plomosas project in Sinaloa. Highlighted core length results comprise 18.8 m @ 145 gpt Ag, 0.04 gpt Au, 0.1% Pb, 0.1% Zn (including 4.2 m @ 466 gpt Ag, 0.08 gpt Au, 0.1% Pb, 0.3% Zn); 11.3 m @ 584 gpt Ag, 0.05 gpt Au, 0.3% Pb, 0.6 % Zn (including 5.5 m @ 1,084 gpt Ag, 0.07 gpt Au, 0.6% Pb, 1.0% Zn). These holes targeted the extension of the SE Area discovery, 250 m to the southeast.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES             

• Tarachi Gold Corp. closed the transaction with Compañía Minera de Atocha S.A. de C.V. for the sale of the Magistral project in Durango. Tarachi expects to receive cash payments totalling US$5.7 M from Atocha, of which US$3.05 M have already been received. The balance is to be paid as follows: US$500 K when Atocha concludes negotiations with land owner Ejido Magistral, or after 12 months; US$500 K on November 2023; US$500 K when 50% of the tailings have been mined, sold or processed, or after the first calendar year of operation at the project; US$500 K when 100% of the Magistral tailings have been mined, sold or processed, or after the second calendar year of operation and “The amount of value-added tax currently owing as that tax benefit is realized by Atocha during operations and product sales from the Magistral Project will be paid to Tarachi”, estimated at US$650 K.
• Silver Dollar Resources Inc. completed the exercise of its option and now hold 100% interest in the 4,646 ha La Joya project, located in Durango. For gaining 80% interest the company paid First Majestic Silver a total of $700 K plus annual holding costs, incurred in $1 M exploration expenditures and issued First Majestic 19.9% (5.15 M shares) of the then issued and outstanding shares of the company. To obtain the remaining 20% Silver Dollar issued 2 M shares, 5% of the then issued and outstanding shares of the company, to First Majestic, which now owns 18.2% of the outstanding shares of the company.    

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Torex Gold Resources Inc. released its 2022 Responsible Gold Mining Report, the annual disclosure of its environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. Among other accomplishments, the company achieved 10 M hours worked without a lost-time injury, ending 2022 with a lost-time injury frequency of 0.28 per million hours worked by its employees and contractors. Almost 60% of the water usage is recycled, 44% less cyanide has been consumed than in 2021. Mexican employees are 99% of the work force, and 60% from Guerrero, where the operations are carried out.

On the image below: Mine dumps in a copper project of the Sonoran Desert. Picture by Jorge Cirett.