Non withstanding the unfavorable government stance on mining on the last and present federal administration, companies still managed to fund and deliver on gold exploration in Mexico. Tellingly, most of the entries in the table are from advanced projects with mineral resources (11) and from operating mines (12), and less from exploration plays (7) with no new exploration projects.

And just as in 2023, last year the best gold drilling intercept was delivered by Heliostar’s at its Ana Paula project in Guerrero, with 87 m grading 16 gpt Au (or 1,405 grade-meter), where the company is better defining the high-grade core of the deposit to strengthen the case for underground mining at the site. Mithril’s also scored more than 1,000 grade-meter at Copalquin, where the focus is in increasing the resource base on several already defined targets. Other company’s with intercepts results greater than one hundred grade-meter include Torex Gold (Morelos Complex), Vizsla Silver (Panuco), Orla Mining (Camino Rojo Sulphides), Prime Mining (Los Reyes), Alamos Gold (Mulatos) and First Majestic (Santa Elena/Ermitaño). Silver Tiger (El Tigre) was just shy of that mark.

As for mineralization styles, epithermal deposits rule, with Copalquin, Los Reyes, Santa Elena/Ermitaño, San Dimas, La Colorada? (Sonora), San José, Cerro Prieto?, San Acacio, Cerro Los Gatos Exploration, Valenciana Mine Complex, Pinguico, and Zacualpan on the low sulfidation category, El Tigre, La Colorada (Zacatecas), Cerro Los Gatos, and Alamos on the intermediate sulfidation category, Panuco straddling the low to intermediate sulfidation categories and Mulatos as the only on the high sulfidation one. Projects with intermediate sulfidation mineralization that appears to be related to porphyry copper systems include Pilar, Cristina and Diamante. Deposits that present skarn mineralization comprise the Morelos Complex, Lucy, and La Adelita, while Ana Paula presents skarn and CRD mineralization (and a late low sulfidation epithermal event), Camino Rojo sulphides complex mineralization includes skarn, CRD and intermediate sulfidation and La Parrilla also presents CRD, skarn and intermediate sulfidation mineralization. Cervantes is the only representative of prophyry copper mineralization and La Gloria of orogenic gold style mineralization. As for Dos Santos, not enough information is available. to make and educated guess.