Zeolites

The Mining and Exploration News in Mexico: Highlights on the First Week of June, 2020.

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tight folds

By Miguel A Heredia

During the twenty three week of the year (June 1st to June 7th, 2020), at least 49 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico, with fifteen commenting on Mexican issues, twelve communicating resumptions, production and financial results, six announcing financial rounds, five discussing on social issues, five reporting on resources and developments, three disclosing deals and corporate issues, and three informing on exploration results.  ON MEXICO ISSUES, The Undersecretary of Mining and the state Governors declared that the resumption of the mining activities in the first week of June has been successful. Francisco Quiroga, the Undersecretary of Mining, stated that the mining sector will sustain part of the national economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Mexican government, in a very unfortunate statement, declared that it is analyzing the possibility to disappear the Undersecretariat of Mining. Fernando Alanís, president of the Mexican Mining Chamber (Camimex), stated that Mexico’s mining production would drop 17% this year due to coronavirus pandemic. The deputy of the PRI, Carlos Pavón Campos, will present a proposal requesting that the Mining Fund returns to be used in accordance to its original objective. Esperanza Silver de México (Alamos Gold Inc.) announced that it expects to create hundreds of direct + indirect jobs if they open its Esperanza mine in Morelos. According to Fernando Alanis, president of the Mining Chamber of Mexico (CAMIMEX), mining companies plan to invest USD $4B in 2020.  Resuming of the mining activities in Oaxaca will activate 10,000 jobs. ON EXPLORATION, In Sinaloa, Vizsla recommenced drilling at its Panuco project. In Zacatecas, Advance Gold provided an exploration update on its Tabasqueña project. In Jalisco, GoGold resumed drilling at its Los Ricos project.  ON MINING, Several mining, such as GoGold, Great Panther, Avino, Argonaut, Impact Silver, Pan American Silver, Telson, Excellon, and Sierra Metals among others, announced the restart of their Mexican mining operations after receiving approval of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).  Mexus Gold reported its May 2020 production results from its Santa Elena mine in Sonora. US Antimony reported its Sb and zeolite production for the month of May 2020. Excellon presented Q1 2020 production and financial results (La Platosa, Durango).  ON FINANCING, Advance Gold announced a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to $300K (Tabasqueña project, Zacatecas). Discovery Metals closed the first tranche of a CAD $35M non brokered private placement, for aggregates proceeds of CAD $17.1M (Cordero project, Chihuahua). Magna Gold closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $7M (San Francisco mine, Sonora). Silver Viper closed its previously brokered private placement for gross proceeds of CAD $5.12M (La Virginia project, Sonora). Alamos Gold declared quarterly dividends of USD $0.015 per common share (Mulatos mine, Sonora).  Pan American Silver announced the closing of its overnight marketed secondary offering of common shares of Maverix Metals Inc., in which it raised gross proceeds of USD $45.54M (La Colorada mine, Zacatecas).  ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, VanGold concluded its +1,000 tonnes bulk sample and metallurgical test of mineral material from its Pinguino project in Guanajuato. Premier announced an update on its delineation core drilling program at its Mercedes mine in Sonora. US Antimony reported that a thickener circuit is being constructed on site at its Puerto Blanco mill in Guanajuato.  Endeavour released new high grade Au-Ag drill results from its Guanacevi mine in Durango. Golden Minerals President & CEO spoke about its Velardeña and Rodeo projects in Durango and its intention to bring them into production in 2021.   ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Canuc postponed the filing of its interim consolidated financial statement and management´s discussion and analysis for the period ended March 31, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (San Javier project, Sonora).  San Marco granted stock options to directors and officers (Chunibas project, Sonora). Newmont published its 2019 sustainability report (Peñasquito mine, Zacatecas).  ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, Consorcio Minero Peña Colorada invested MXP $4M to refurbish health unit in Manzanillo, Colima. The Grupo Mexico Foundation delivered important donation to the Health Sector of Chihuahua and Sombrerete, Zacatecas. Minera Cuzcatlán (Fortuna Silver) donated medical ventilator, pantries, medicines and cleaning kits in Oaxaca. Minera San Julián (Fresnillo plc) delivered a mechanical ventilator and personal protection equipment to medical personnel of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) of Parral, Chihuahua.

ON MEXICO ISSUES

  • The Undersecretary of Mining and the state governments, declared that the resumption of the mining activities in the first week of June has been successful. Almost 90% of the companies in the sector are already on work, thanks to the support of Francisco Quiroga, the Undersecretary of Mining of the Ministry of Economy, who established agreements with Governors of the states and with the companies, so that they could return to work safely and without risk of COVID-19 infections. The remaining 10% of mining companies are preparing sanitary protocols to resume activities in the coming days.
  • Francisco Quiroga, the Undersecretary of Mining, stated that the mining sector will sustain part of the national economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. Activities derived from the mining industry serve to maintain various communities and even in some areas is the main source of economy. The mining sector is carrying out its reactivation of activities in a progressive way and with respect to health protocols. The sector has always worked with rigorous safety protocols to carry out its activities,
  • The Mexican government, in a very unfortunate statement, declared that it is analyzing the possibility to disappear the Undersecretariat of Mining. The measure would be in complete contradiction to the recent recognition of mining as an essential sector that generates 2.6 million jobs, has an impact in 10 states of the country and represents around 3% of GDP. The president AMLO has suggested the imminent disappearance, conversion, or inclusion in another agency, in order to reduce public spending. It occurs just when the Undersecretary of Mining, Francisco Quiroga, reached agreements with Governors, and the mining companies and their representatives have worked hard in a coordinated way to implement the security protocols. Entrepreneurs in this area, both Mexican and foreign, consider that the disappearance of the Undersecretariat of Mining may be negative for a sector that represents around 8% of industrial GDP. The panorama is worrying, since it seems to show the little interest of the current administration to encourage the development of the mining sector. Mining companies and their representatives see this measure as a setback for the country´s development. AMLO stated that to date, none decision has been taken so far, and recognized that mining is a fundamental economic activity that generates many jobs in the case of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, and the rest of the mining states.
  • Fernando Alanís, president of the Mexican Mining Chamber (Camimex), stated that Mexico’s mining production would drop 17% this year and the sector´s export could decrease by around 10% due to the cessation of operations to contain the spread of the coronavirus. He also said that although activities in the industry were beginning to resume and about half of the operating personnel had returned to work, exploration work remained suspended and anticipated that the pandemic would also have ended with some 71,000 indirect jobs in the local sector.
  • The deputy of the PRI, Carlos Pavón Campos, will present a proposal in the Chamber of Deputies, requiring that the Mining Fund returns to carry out infrastructure works in the municipalities of the country where mining activity is performed, with the purpose of promoting the development of the communities, which was its original objective.
  • Esperanza Silver de México (Alamos Gold Inc.), announced that it expects to create hundreds of direct + indirect jobs if they open its Esperanza mine in Morelos. Esperanza Silver, under the scheme of a “New Model of Social and Environmentally Responsible Mining” policy, wants to bring its project to the community of Tetlama to protect the environment and generate employment that is essential for the economic reactivation of the state due to the direct + indirect jobs that will be generated, the value chains and supplies that will be activated, and the generation of taxes that will favorably impact state and municipal public finances. The company has projected an estimated investment of USD $450M to bring into production its mining project.
  • According to Fernando Alanis, president of the Mining Chamber of Mexico (CAMIMEX), mining companies plan to invest USD $4B in 2020, which represents 14% more than in 2019, despite the COVID-19 health crisis.
  • Resuming of the mining activities in Oaxaca, will activate 10,000 jobs. The mining personnel will carry out all the health and training protocols to avoid COVID-19 infections, supervised by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).

ON EXPLORATION

  • Vizsla Resources Corp., announced that it has re-commenced drilling at its Panuco project in Sinaloa. It had previously announced the return of its staff to the project on May 21, 2020 to execute its exploration program at its district-scale project.
  • Advance Gold Corp., provided an update on its Tabasqueña project in Zacatecas. The CEO of the company stated that they have hit what appears to be a very large sulphide system with their recent drilling program collared into a 3.2Km continuous IP chargeability anomaly. These holes encountered promising grades in the stacked lenses of disseminated sulphides. Next step will be to drill the core of the system on the hinge zone of the IP chargeability anomaly, where it increases in width, to confirm the identified mineralization.
  • GoGold Resources Inc., resumed drilling at its Los Ricos project in Jalisco. The Company is nearing completion of resource drilling at Los Ricos South for its upcoming 43-101 compliant resource calculation.

ON MINING

  • Several mining companies, such as GoGold, Great Panther, Avino, Argonaut, Impact Silver, Pan American Silver, Telson, Excellon, and Sierra Metals, among others, announced the restart of their Mexican mining operations following a government order adding mining to the list of essential services, and after receiving approval from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
  • Mexus Gold US, reported May 2020 production results from its Santa Elena mine in Sonora. It produced 102 Oz Au. The company announced that it plans to produce 150 Oz Au in June 2020. The heap leach pad at the Santa Elena mine currently holds 18,000 tons of mineralized material. Head grades are estimated at 3 to 4 g/t Au.
  • US Antimony Corporation, announced that it produced 108.9K Lb Sb and 1,129 tonnes of zeolites during the month of May 2020.
  • Excellon Resources Inc., presented Q1 2020 production and financial results from its La Platosa mine in Durango. It processed 19,042 tonnes of 542 g/t Ag, 5.4% Pb and 6.8% Zn to produce 296.3K Oz Ag, 1.89M Lb Pb, and 2.1M Lb Zn (or 523.7K Oz AgEq) with metallurgical recoveries of 89.3%, 82.8%, and 74.9% respectively.  Total cash and AISC of USD $15.35 and USD $26.52 per Oz Ag payable was reported respectively. The company had revenues of USD $6.6M, gross loss of USD $0.1M, cash and cash equivalents of USD $8.4M.

ON FINANCING

  • Advance Gold Corp., announced a non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds for a maximum of $300K. Net proceeds will be used to advance its Tabasqueña project in Zacatecas and for general corporate purposes.
  • Discovery Metals Corp., closed the first tranche of a CAD $35M non brokered private placement, for aggregates proceeds of CAD $17.1M. Discovery intends to close a further CAD$7,9M in subscriptions in a second tranche of the private placement, for an aggregate total of CAD $25M. Net proceeds of the first tranche will be used to fund their Cordero and Coahuila projects in Chihuahua and Coahuila states respectively, and for general working capital purposes.
  • Magna Gold Corp., closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $7M. Gross proceeds will be used for working capital purposes in connection with their existing projects (San Francisco mine and Mercedes and San Judas projects, Sonora).
  • Silver Viper Minerals Inc., closed its previously announced brokered private placement for gross proceeds of CAD $5.12M. A cash commission of CAD $218,770 was paid to the brokers, representing a 6% of the gross proceeds. Silver Viper will be used the net proceeds to fund the development of its Virginia project in Sonora, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
  • Alamos Gold Inc., declared quarterly dividends of USD $0.015 per common share. The company has paid dividends for 11 consecutive years during which time USD $173M has been returned to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.
  • Pan American Silver Corp., announced the closing of its overnight marketed secondary offering of common shares of Maverix Metals Inc., in which Pan American raised gross proceeds of USD $45.54M (La Colorada mine, Zacatecas).

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

  • VanGold Mining , concluded its +1,000 tonnes bulk sample and metallurgical test of mineral material from its Pinguino project in Guanajuato. This bulk sample was sent to Endeavour’s Bolañitos mill, located approximately 28km from El Pinguico project. The company will report the results obtained once the information is received. On the other hand, crews are clearing the bottom of the El Pinguino shaft since approximately 30 m of debris has accumulated at the bottom. Once it is done, VanGold plans to sample the bottom of the underground stockpile in order to determine if the grades of Au and Ag obtained on the top of the stockpile extends to the bottom of it; inspecting the #7 Sangria adit since it may provide a potential safe and inexpensive haulage way to bring the underground material to surface; and sample the Colmillo stope since it was a high grade portion of the Pinguico mine during the period prior to its closure in 1913.
  • Premier Gold Mines Limited, announced an update on its delineation core drilling program at its Mercedes mine in Sonora. The 2020 delineation drilling campaign is focused on expanding and confirming higher-grade mineralization in several areas including Marianas and Diluvio West. Highlights at Diluvio West include hole UG-DI20-096 with 6.1 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag over 84.7m, and hole UG-DI20-095 with 6.38 g/t Au and 14 g/t Ag over 73.5m. At Marianas, good drill intersections were encountered at hole UG-MR20-056 with 11.67 g/t Au and 56g/t Ag over 5.2m and hole UG-MR20-059 with 9.74 g/t Au and 16 g/t Ag over 11.3m. Diluvio consists of a stockwork system that is divided into Diluvio Central, hosted in felsic volcanoclastic, and Diluvio West hosted in an andesite while Marianas represents the down-plunge extension of the main Mercedes mine trend.
  • US Antimony Corporation, reported that a thickener circuit is being constructed on site at its Puerto Blanco mill in Guanajuato to increase the production rate and control the pulp density of ore to be processed. “The company is anxious to continue on the cyanide leach of the gold and silver Los Juarez ore now that they will have a thickener.”
  • Endeavour Silver Corp., released drill results of 18 holes collared in the Santa Cruz vein on the El Curso property at its Guanacevi mine in Durango, of which 12 holes reported new high grade Au-Ag values over minable widths. Drilling highlights include hole UCM-27 with 3.25 g/t Au and 1,085 g/t Ag (1,410 g/t AgEq) over a true width (TW) of 10m; hole UCM-26 with 1.87 g/t Au and 762 g/t Ag (949 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 5.1m; and hole UCM-25 with 1.43 g/t Au and 986 g/t Ag (1,129 g/t AgEq) over a TW of 4.8m. This drilling program confirmed the extension of the P4 orebody, and now the extension measures 200 m long by 300 m deep, still open at depth, and discovered a new mineralized zone to the west of the P4 extension of 250 m long by 150 m deep, still open along strike and at depth.
  • Golden Minerals Company President & CEO, spoke about its Velardeña and Rodeo projects in Durango and its intention to bring them into production in 2021. The company is currently generating revenue through the lease of its oxide mill in Mexico to Hecla Mining Company, and intends to bring into production its Rodeo open pit Au project in 2021 after the lease concludes with Hecla at the end of 2020. Rodeo, according to the PEA “is capable to provide almost USD $25M in after-tax cash flow in two years of production. The goal of the company is to use the cash generated from Rodeo to finance a potential startup for its Ag-Au Velardeña project. Velardeña’s 2020 PEA shows an USD $86M NPV”.

 ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

  • Canuc Resources Corporation, postponed the filing of its interim consolidated financial statement and management´s discussion and analysis for the period ended March 31, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (San Javier project, Sonora).
  • San Marco Resources Inc. granted stock options to directors and officers (Chunibas project, Sonora).
  • Newmont Corporation, published its 2019 sustainability report, “Beyond the Mine”, a transparent and comprehensive disclosure of the Company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

  • Consorcio Minero Peña Colorada S.A. de C.V., invested MXP $4M to reconvert a building attached to the Manzanillo General Hospital, providing it with medical equipment and furniture for 3 medical care modules and one more for the rest of medical personnel.
  • The Grupo Mexico Foundation, delivered important donation to the Health Sector of Chihuahua, which consisted of five new mechanical ventilators, 15,000 medical equipment consisting of N-95 masks, disposable gowns, face masks, goggles, overalls, boot covers, respirators, aprons and gloves, as well as ultrasound equipment, portable X-rays and monitoring panels. The donation also included 25 non-invasive ventilators and 10,000 serological tests for COVID-19, which will allow detecting a greater number of people infected and have a broader overview of the behavior of the disease in the state. Additionally, Grupo México Foundation also joined the Chihuahua Food Program, by donating 650 pantries to support vulnerable groups in the municipalities of Aquiles Serdán and Santa Bárbara. In Sombrerete, Zacatecas, the Grupo Mexico Foundation also delivered more than 1,700 articles of medical supplies consisting of tyvek coveralls, N95 masks, face shields, disposable gowns and boot covers, and alcohol gel, and donated 700 pantries to the municipality of Sombrerete through the Municipal DIF to be distributed among the groups most at risk from this epidemic, as is the case of older adults in the Divine Providence Asylum that received 40 pantries with items from the basic food basket.
  • Compañía Minera Cuzcatlán (Fortuna Silver Mines Inc., donated MXP $1.3M to the Business Contingent Exchange and the Medical Support Program promoted by the Oaxaca Ministry of Economy to buy an equipment for ventilation and respiratory monitoring in the Intensive care unit, and delivered more than 3,300 pantries, 3,400 family cleaning packages and 4,600 medicines to the population of San José del Progreso and communities close to the operation of the San José mining unit. It is estimated that these actions have benefited more than 7,000 Oaxacans.
  • Minera San Julián (Fresnillo plc), delivered a mechanical ventilator equipment to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) of Parral, Chihuahua and donated more than 2,000 pieces of personal protective equipment such as 50 tyvek suits, 200 N-95 face masks, 200 surgical fabric mouth masks, 600 mine-made mouth masks, 1,000 pairs of nitrile gloves and 50 safety glasses to employees of the health institution.

 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, tight folds in an orogenic Au prospect in Michoacan, Mexico.  Photo by Miguel A Heredia.

The Mining and Exploration News in Mexico: Highlights on the Second Week of April, 2020.

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Quartz-alunite

By Miguel A Heredia

During the fifteen week of the year (April 06th to April 12th, 2020), at least 30 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico, with seven communicating production and financial results, six commenting on Mexican issues, five announcing financial rounds, five discussing issues on social responsibility, four disclosing deals and corporate issues, two informing on exploration results, and one reporting on resources and development.  ON MEXICO ISSUES, Mining companies operating in Mexico such as First Majestic, Telson, Torex, Capstone, Coeur, Endeavour, Impact, Hecla, Minera del Norte, and Equinox, have temporarily suspended mining activities at their Mexican operations in accordance with Mexico´s Ministry of Health´s decree to mitigate the spread and transmission of COVID-19. They also have withdrew their 2020 production and cost guidance until further notice due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  ON EXPLORATION, In Sonora, Ridgestone announced that the three first holes of the 1st phase, 10-drill holes program were recently completed at its Rebeico project.  In Chihuahua, Discovery Metals released drilling results from 10 holes collared at its Cordero property. ON MINING, Impact reported full year 2019 production and financial results from its Zacualpan Mining District in Mexico State. GoGold reported Q1 2020 production results from its Parral tailings operation in Chihuahua. US Antimony reported its March 2020 production results. Hecla provided Q1 2020 production and financial results from its San Sebastian mine in Durango. Endeavour reported Q1 2020 production results from its Mexican operations. ON FINANCING, Santacruz raised gross proceeds of CAD $734,150 and reported that it won´t be completing any additional tranches of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (Veta Grande, Zacatecas). Consolidated Zinc advised that the underwriting agreement for the rights Issue announced on 9 March 2020 has been terminated, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, due to market conditions (Plomosas mine, Chihuahua). Candelaria closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $1,059,261 (Caballo Blanco project, Veracruz). Aloro announced its plan to raise gross proceeds of up to $400K (Los Venados project, Sonora). Minera Alamos received CAD $5M from Osisko Gold Royalties (Santana project, Sonora). ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Prime Mining filed a technical report on its Los Reyes deposit in Sinaloa, and provided a new mineral resource estimate. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Avino announced that it has deferred its annual general meeting of shareholders until August 27, 2020 (Avino mine, Durango). Sable announced management changes and it also granted stock options to certain officers, directors and consultants (Vinata project, Chihuahua). Equinox reported that it will hold its annual general meeting for shareholders on May 15, 2020 (Los Filos mine, Guerrero). Orla announced the appointment of its new CFO (Camino Rojo project, Zacatecas). ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, Minera Fresnillo (Fresnillo plc) donated a state-of-the art ventilator to the General Hospital of IMSS at Fresnillo, Zacatecas.  Minera San Xavier (New Gold) delivered protective medical supplies to medical and nursing personnel of the local hospital at its Cerro de San Pedro mine in San Luis Potosi.   Newmont announced the establishment of a USD $20M fund to help host communities, governments and employees combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Minera Peñasquito made a donation of 500 Pro Shield suites to medical personnel who will attend cases of COVID-19. Grupo Mexico delivered a hospital to the government of Oaxaca to attend cases of COVID-19 at Juchitán city in the Istmo of Tehuantepec region.

ON MEXICO ISSUES

  • Mining Companies operating in Mexico, such as such as First Majestic, Telson, Torex, Capstone, Coeur, Endeavour, Impact, Hecla, Minera del Norte, and Equinox, have temporarily suspended mining activities until April 30, 2020 at their Mexican operations in accordance with Mexico´s Ministry of Health´s decree to mitigate the spread and transmission of COVID-19. They also have withdrew their 2020 production and cost guidance until further notice due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ON EXPLORATION

  • Ridgestone Mining Inc., announced that three out of 1o holes planed for 1st phase drilling program have been completed at its Rebeico project in Sonora for a total of 435.7m. Visible sulphide mineralization is observed in all three holes collared but assays are pending.
  • Discovery Metals Corp., released drilling results from 10 holes collared at its Cordero project in Chihuahua. These holes are part of the 30,000-35,000m planned for the first phase program focused on defining a high-margin project with scale that retains excellent leverage to rising metal prices. Significant drill intersections were encountered in hole C19-309 with 0.26 g/t Au, 673 g/t Ag, 10.1% Pb, and 3.7% Zn (1,205 g/t AgEq) over 1.3m; hole C20-310 with 0.08 g/t Au, 904 g/t Ag, 5.4% Pb, and 8% Zn (1,436 g/t AgEq) over 1.2m; hole C20-312 with 0.16 g/t Au, 273 g/t Ag, 0.8% Pb, and 5.5% Zn (546 g/t AgEq) over 5.3m, including 0.87 g/t Au, 1,500 g/t Ag, 3.2% Pb, and 30% Zn (2,929 g/t AgEq) over 0.6m; hole C20-314 with 0.37 g/t Au, 51 g/t Ag, 1% Pb, and 0.6% Zn (139 g/t AgEq) over 106.1m, including 2.08 g/t Au, 355 g/t Ag, 6.6% Pb, and 4.5% Zn (946 g/t AgEq) over 4.8m; and hole C20-316 with 0.55 g/t Au, 119 g/t Ag, 2% Pb, and 0.3% Zn (247 g/t AgEq) over 27.7m, including 1.1 g/t Au, 1,255 g/t Ag, 20% Pb, and 2.5% Zn (2,153 g/t AgEq) over 1m, and including 2.3 g/t Au, 721 g/t Ag, 12.7% Pb, and 1.9% Zn (1,435 g/t AgEq) over 1.5m; and other deeper interval of 0.58 g/t Au, 79 g/t Ag, 1.2% Pb, and 1.15% Zn (217 g/t AgEq) over 62.8m, including 1.14 g/t Au, 212 g/t Ag, 3.5% Pb, and 2.3% Zn (522 g/t AgEq) over 10m, and including 0.75 g/t Au, 151 g/t Ag, 2.3% Pb, and 3% Zn (422 g/t AgEq) over 11.9m. Until March 31, 2020, 48 holes totaling 17,500 m have been collared and assays from 24 holes are pending.

ON MINING

  • Impact Silver Corp., reported full year 2019 production and financial results from its Zacualpan Mining District in Mexico State. It produced 664K Oz Ag with an average mill feed grade of 182 g/t Ag, to report adjusted mining earnings of $1.3M on $13.3M revenue for the full year 2019.
  • GoGold Resources Inc., announced Q1 2020 production results from its Parral tailings operation in Chihuahua. The company produced 365.8K Oz Ag, 2,355 Oz Au, and 62.7K Lb Cu (600.7K Oz AgEq)
  • US Antimony Corporation, reported its March 2020 production. It sold 101,326 Lb Sb at an average price of $2.67 per Lb and 2.35M Lb zeolites.
  • Hecla Mining Company, released Q1 2020 production results from its San Sebastian mine in Durango. It produced 0.35M Oz Ag and 2.8K Oz Au.
  • Endeavour Silver Corp., reported Q1 2020 production results from its Mexican operations. A summary of the quarterly production by mine is shown in the next table:

  • Great Panther Mining Limited, announced Q1 2020 production and financial results from its Mexican operations. At its Topia mine in Durango, it processed 19,353 tonnes of 0.82 g/t Au and 357 g/t Ag, with metallurgical recoveries of 55.2% and 92.3% respectively to produce 282 Oz Au, 205.2K Oz Ag, 898.2K Lb Pb, and 1.4M Lb Zn (376.3K Oz AgEq). At its Guanajuato Mining Complex in Guanajuato, the company processed 49,607 tonnes of 1.85 g/t Au and 125 g/t Ag, with metallurgical recoveries of 84.1% and 85.4% respectively, to produce 2,482 Oz Au and 169.7K Oz Ag (393.1K Oz AgEq).

ON FINANCING

  • Santacruz Silver Mining Inc., raised gross proceeds for CAD $734,150 and reported that it won´t be completing any additional tranches of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (Veta Grande, Zacatecas). Gross proceeds will be used for general working capital and corporate purposes (Veta Grande, Zacatecas).
  • Consolidated Zinc Limited, advised that the underwriting agreement for the rights Issue announced on 9 March 2020 has been terminated, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, due to market conditions (Plomosas mine, Chihuahua).
  • Candelaria Mining Corp., closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $1,059,261 (Caballo Blanco project, Veracruz).
  • Aloro Mining Corp., announced its plan to raise of up to $400K. Part of the gross proceeds will be used for property payments (Los Venados project, Sonora).
  • Minera Alamos Inc., closed the royalty agreement with Osisko Gold Royalties and received CAD $5M. In combination with the CAD $6M equity placement completed by Osisko in January of this year, the company, has now received gross proceeds of CAD $11M and retains an option to further drawdown an optional royalty facility of up to CAD $3M.  Overall, the package provided access to CAD $14M which exceeded the Company’s current development plans for its Santana project in Sonora.

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

  • Prime Mining Corp., filed a NI 43-101 technical report on its Los Reyes project in Sinaloa, and provided a new mineral resource estimate as of April 2, 2020. At a cut-off grade of 0.7 g/t Au, the measured and indicated resources are 8,697,000 tonnes of 2.21 g/t Au to contain 618,123 Oz Au, and the inferred resources are 2,603,000 tonnes of 2.09 g/t Au to contain 175,232 Oz Au. Total resources (M+I+I) are 11.3M tonnes of 2.18 g/t Au to contain 793,355 g/t Au. At a cut-off grade of 0.22 g/t Au, measured + indicated resources are 19,752,000 tonnes of 1.31 g/t Au to contain 833,032 Oz Au, and inferred resources of 7,094,000 tonnes to contain 261,132 Oz Au. Total resources (M+I+I) are 26,846,000 tonnes of 1.27 g/t Au to contain 1.1M Oz Au.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

  • Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd., deferred its annual general meeting for shareholders until August 27, 2020 (Avino mine, Durango).
  • Sable Resources Inc., announced the resignation of one of its directors and reported that Rubén Padilla has joined to the board of directors. The company also announced that it has granted stock options to certain officers, directors, and consultants (Vinata project, Chihuahua).
  • Equinox Gold Corp., reported that it will hold its annual general meeting of shareholders on May 15, 2020 (Los Filos mine, Guerrero).
  • Orla Mining Ltd., announced the appointment of its new CFO (Camino Rojo project, Zacatecas).

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

  • Minera Fresnillo (Fresnillo plc), donated a state-of-the art ventilator to the General Hospital of IMSS at Fresnillo, Zacatecas to attend cases of COVID-19 that may arise. The Mindray SV600 mechanical ventilator is an essential medical device at this time, as it provides patients with more oxygen so they can breathe. Currently, Fresnillo plc has redoubled efforts to serve all of its workforce, implementing measures that reinforce the health actions recommended by the Secretaries of Health and Labor and Social Welfare, as well as international organizations.
  • Minera San Xavier (New Gold Inc.), announced the suspension of the mining activities at its Cerro de san Pedro mine in San Luis Potosi due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and donated protective medical supplies to the local hospital at Soledad town, such as tyvek type overalls, N95 respirators, masks with the level of filtration recommended, etc., with the aim that they are destined for the medical and nursing personnel who work and who will attend COVID-189 cases an its hospital.
  • Newmont Corporation, announced the establishment of a USD $20M fund to help host communities, governments and employees combat the COVID-19 pandemic. “Newmont will partner with local governments, medical institutions, charities and non-governmental organizations to target funds towards addressing the greatest needs with a view to serving as a catalyst for long-term resiliency and future community development” (Peñasquito mine, Zacatecas).
  • Minera Peñasquito, made a donation of 500 Pro Shield suits to medical personnel who are in the first line of care for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The donation was delivered to the Zacatecas Health Secretariat (SSZ), an instance that will be in charge of administering and distributing this protective equipment to the hospitals where it is most needed. In this way, Peñasquito is in solidarity with Zacatecas.
  • Grupo Mexico, delivered a hospital in the city of Juchitán to the government of Oaxaca. The Hospital, with a constructed area of ​​6,800 square meters, will be equipped and used by the Ministry of National Defense to face the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the needs of the population of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region. Grupo México will continue to monitor the support required in the region in the context of the contingency and reiterates its support for Oaxaca and the Federal Government’s strategy in the face of this difficult challenge

 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, quartz-alunite in an epithermal vein system in Zacatecas, Mexico.  Photo by Miguel A Heredia.

The Mining and Exploration News in Mexico: Highlights on the Fourth Week of February, 2020.

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Mn-Silica breccia hosted in ignimbritic rhyolites

By Miguel A Heredia

During the ninth week of the year (February 24th to March 1st, 2020), at least 33 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico, with seven announcing financial rounds, seven commenting on Mexican issues, five informing on exploration results, five reporting on resources and developments, four communicating production and financial results, four disclosing deals and corporate issues, and one discussing issues on social responsibility.  ON MEXICO ISSUES, Majors are called to receive the Mining Fund.  The Technical Committee of the Federal Mining Fund allocated resources for 16 projects in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Guerrero.  The Municipalities of Aquiles Serdán and Ocampo in the state of Chihuahua will receive MXP $18.6M from the Mining Fund. The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel López Obrador, was requested by workers of Minera Cosalá to end the illegal strike that affects that mine site. Oaxaca’s mining potential could be profiled as one of the most important in Mexico. The official spokesperson of Esperanza Silver de Mexico stated that the company will comply 100% with Mexican standards not only with the community of Tetlama, but throughout the Municipality of Temixco, Morelos. In recent years, Mexico has registered the suspension of dozens of mining projects, whose assets have been victims of price volatility, licensing obstacles, adverse political factors, and community opposition. ON EXPLORATION, In Sonora, Colibri announced the commencement of its initial 5-holes diamond drilling program at its Evelyn project, and Silver Viper released drilling results from its El Rubi project. In Durango, Chesapeake provided an update on the exploration program at its Crisy and San Javier prospects located in the vicinity of its Metates project. In Jalisco, GoGold released drilling results from nine holes collared at its Los Ricos project. In the State of Mexico, Impact Silver reported sampling results from its Chapanial project. ON MINING, Telson provided an update on its mine operation at Campo Morado, Guerrero. Argonaut, Avino, and Golden Minerals reported Q4 and full year 2019 production and financial results from their Mexican operations. ON FINANCING, Aztec announced the re-pricing of a package of stock options of the company (Cervantes project, Sonora).  GoGold closed a bought deal offering for gross proceeds of approximately CAD $25M (Los Ricos project, Jalisco). Santacruz closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of CAD $734,150 (Veta Grande, Zacatecas). Ridgestone closed the final tranche of its private placement financing for gross proceeds of $339,549.90 (Rebeico project, Sonora). Gold Resource declared its February 2020 monthly dividend to its shareholders (Arista mine, Oaxaca). Minera Alamos received approval from its shareholders for final phase of its Santana, Sonora project financing for CAD $5M. Riverside announced the spin-out of its Peñoles project in Durango.  ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, First Majestic released infill drilling results from it’s the Ermitaño project in Sonora. Prime Mining reported surface trenching, road cuts, and adits sampling results from its Los Reyes project in Sinaloa. Sonoro announced its plan to expand its drilling program at its Cerro Caliche project in Sonora. Fresnillo and its JV partner Mag Silver provided an update on its Juanicipio project in Zacatecas.  ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Radius Gold and pan American Silver included Palmillas property within the Amalia JV project in Chihuahua. Oroco informed that its Board of Directors has approved the Altamura Copper Corp acquisition (Santo Tomas project, Sinaloa). Silver Spruce announced management changes and appointed its new President, CEO and Director (Pino de Plata project, Chihuahua). Fresnillo plc exercised its option to purchase Plata Latina´s Naranjillo property in Guanajuato. ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, Grupo Peñoles and UNAM conducted a Health Day in Zacatecas.

ON MEXICO ISSUES

  • Majors of 23 of the 38 Municipalities of Coahuila state are called to receive the Mining Fund. An urgent request was made to 23 Majors of Municipalities benefited with resources from the Mining Fund in order to make this benefit effective. To achieve this objective, the projects in which the resources will be applied must be presented.
  • The Director of the Mining Fund of the Secretariat of Economy, María del Socorro Gómez Leyja, indicated that the Technical Committee of the Federal Mining Fund allocated resources for 16 projects in the states of Chihuahua (MXP $ 18.6M), Coahuila (MXP $ 3.1M), Durango (MXP $ 7.6M) and Guerrero (MXP $ 4.6M).
  • MXP $18.6M from the Mining Fund was allocated to Chihuahua. The Municipalities of Aquiles Serdán and Ocampo in the state of Chihuahua, will have resources from the Mining Fund that will be used for paving, dome, well and water network, thanks to the approval by the Technical Committee of the Mining Fund.
  • The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was requested by workers of Minera Cosalá to end the illegal strike that affects that mine site. The same workers, said to AMLO that the leader of its Union affiliated with the CTM, negotiated the collective work contract with the company Minera Cosalá SA de CV, and determined that the operation was normal and there were no irregularities on the part of the company. However, workers close to the senator of the Morena party and mining leader Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, asked the company for salaries higher than normal. They mentioned that the mine has been working since 2003 and they have a safe job for at least six more years, in excellent working conditions and that their only desire is to work, regardless of which Union won the collective agreement.
  • Oaxaca´s mining potential, according to specialists, government and private capital, could be profiled as one of the most important in Mexico, to generating jobs and strengthening the regional economy of indigenous communities. Currently the state has not been explored outside the mining districts and known mineralized areas, but contains promising areas for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Sb, and non-metallic minerals such as micas, zeolites, marble, travertine, and granite among others. Data from some civil organizations indicate that Oaxaca’s mining production represents 0.72% of the total national value, with Ag first, second Au and third Pb.
  • Ricardo Sierra Oteiza, official spokesperson of the Esperanza project in Morelos State, said that through the new model of social end environmentally responsible mining, the company Esperanza Silver de Mexico will comply 100% with Mexican standards not only with the community of Tetlama, but throughout the Municipality of Temixco, Morelos. In addition, he stressed that there will be an investment of over USD $400M in the 10 years that the company plans to carry out work in the state.
  • In recent years, Mexico has registered the suspension of dozens of mining projects, whose assets have been victims of price volatility, licensing obstacles, adverse political factors, and community opposition. BNamericas accounts for 59 Mexican projects suspended in its database, compared to 95 active projects. Of the 11 suspended projects for which financial information is available, combined capital expenditure totals USD $ 2.4B.This compares to 42 active projects whose combined capital expenditure amounts to USD $ 14.2B. The greater projections for Au and Ag, along with political changes at the state level, have improved the prospects for the resumption of some of the suspended projects. However, the depressed prices of Cu and Zn and not minor problems with obtaining permits and other legal aspects continue to put important obstacles on others. Some of the largest suspended projects are La Verde in Michoacan, Sierra Mojada in Coahuila, Angangueo in Michoacan, Ixtaca in Puebla, Ana Paula in Guerrero and Esperanza in Morelos. Other suspended projects are Monterde in Sonora, Caballo Blanco in Veracruz, San Antonio, Baja California Sur, and La Bolsa in Sonora.

ON EXPLORATION

  • Colibri Resource Corporation, announced the commencement of its maiden drill program at its Evelyn project in Sonora. The initial 5-diamond holes drilling program will be focused on two mineralized corridors named Cerro Rojo and El Sahuaro and is expected to be completed in three weeks.
  • Silver Viper Minerals Corp., provided drilling results from its El Rubi project in Sonora. All holes encountered mineralized zones, with several significant interceptions in hole LV20-217 with 4.45 g/t Au and 401 g/t Ag (10.18 g/t AuEq or 713 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 4.56m, including 15.55 g/t Au and 1,436 g/t Ag (36.06 g/t AuEq or 2,524 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 1.14m; 1.79 g/t Au and 91 g/t Ag (3.1 g/t AuEq or 217 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 7.41m, including 7.49 g/t Au and 586 g/t Ag (15.86 g/t AuEq or 1,110 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 0.57m; and 2.05 g/t Au and 46 g/t Ag (2.70 g/t AuEq or 189 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 6.27m, including 8.44 g/t Au and 201 g/t Ag (11.3 g/t AuEq or 791 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 1.14m. Hole LV20-218 also intersected several mineralized zones with 5.82 g/t Au and 530 g/t Ag (13.39 g/t AuEq or 937 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 1.89m, including 14.4 g/t Au and 1,253 g/t Ag (32.3 g/t AuEq or 2,261 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 0.63m; 9.15 g/t Au and 569 g/t Ag (17.28 g/t AuEq or 1,210 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 5.04m, including 22.63 g/t Au and 1,431 g/t Ag (43.08 g/t AuEq or 3,015 g/t AgEq) over a true width of 1.89m. The El Rubi mineralized structure has now been intercepted on seven sections for a total 300m of strike extent.
  • Chesapeake Gold Corp., provided an update on the exploration program at its Crisy and San Javier prospects, located 15Km south and 12 km southeast respectively from its Metates project in Durango. These both projects cover several zones of Au-Ag mineralization along regional, deep-seated northwest-trending fault zones, associated with intermediate intrusive rocks that have altered the enclosing sedimentary rocks over an area more than 15 km in diameter. At Crisy, Chesapeake competed 4 trenches totaling 350m in length and returned 1.1 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag over 57m; 1 g/t Au and 10 g7t Ag over 11m; 1.1 g/t Au and 33 g/t Ag over 12m; and 2.2  g/t Au and 29 g/t Ag over 7m. In addition, an initial 15km IP survey is underway over the trenched area at Crisy and preliminary results correlate well with the Au-Ag mineralization and suggest that the outcropping quartz bx zone extend to over 200m depth. It also indicates that the anomaly is continues along strike and remains open. The IP survey also defined a large NW-SE trending high chargeability anomaly about 200m to the SW of the bulldozer trenching. The IP survey indicates a more than 500m long by 500m wide on which limited sampling has returned 1.2 g/t Au over 4m wide, and 1 g/t Au and 13 g/t Ag over 5m wide. Four Km to the NW of the area of bulldozer trenching, multiple quartz structures within a corridor over 800m long by 200ms wide and with 150m of vertical extent were identified returning 1 g/t Au over 9m wide; 0.8 g/t Au over 12m; and 3.1 g/t Au and 10 g(/t Ag over 1.3m wide. Regional exploration has now identified several distinct target areas hosting quartz veins, bx and local stockwork along the 7 kilometer long hydrothermal system at Crisy. At San Javier, the company identified a 1.2km long, high-grade Au-Ag quartz vein structures over 300m in elevation. Channel sampling on these structures  returned encouraging results as 9.6 g/t Au and 143 g/t Ag over 2.8m; 3.3 g/t Au and 391 g/t Ag over 1m; 2.3 g/t Au and 18 g/t Ag over 1.4m; and 2.1 g/t Au and 113 g/t Ag over 1m. Trenching and IP survey is being carried out on San Javier to test the potential for disseminated Au hosted in highly altered intrusive rocks.
  • GoGold Resources Inc., presented drill results from nine holes collared at its Los Ricos project in Jalisco. Significant drill intersections were encountered in hole LRGG-20-100 with 1.51 g/t Au and 204 g/t Ag (4.23 g/t AuEq or 317 g/t AgEq) over 17.3m, including 6.56 g/t AuEq or 492 g/t AgEq over 6.9m; hole LRGG-20-98 with 1.78 g/t Au and 319 g/t Ag (452 g/t AgEq) over 7.5m; and hole LRGG-20-93 with 1.27 g/t Au and 113 g/t Ag (2.78 g/t AuEq or 208 g/t AgEq) over 19m. GoGold is undertaking two drilling and exploration projects at its Los Ricos property: the South Project began in March 2019 and includes the ‘Main’ area, which is focused on drilling around a number of historical mines including El Abra, El Troce, San Juan, and Rascadero. The South Project also includes the Cerro Colorado and Las Lamas targets. The North Project was launched this month and includes the Monte del Favor, Salomon, La Trini, and Mololoa targets.
  • Impact Silver Corp., reported channel sampling results from its Chapanial project, located 1.7Km to the north along the projection of the La Faly vein system. Significant sampling results include 97.5 g/t Au, 98 g/t Ag, 0.25% Pb, and 0.10% Zn over a true wide (TW) of 0.8m; 18.25 g/t Au, 75 g/t Ag, 0.3% Pb, and 0.08% Zn over a TW of 0.20m; 8.98 g/t Au, 105 g/t Ag, 5.4% Pb, and 0.1% Zn over a TW of 0.3m, and 8.53 g/t Au, 498 g/t Ag, 0.1% Pb, and 0.04% Zn over a TW of 0.4m. The vein at El Chapanial area is hosted in interbedded shales and volcanics and is associated with a major fault structure which hosts a sulphide bearing polymictic breccia up to 8m in width.

ON MINING

  • Telson Resources Corporation, provided an update on its mine operation at Campo Morado in Guerrero, which was brought back into production last January 26, 2020. Since the re-start through to February 22, 2020, the company has milled 40,839 tonnes to produce approximately 3,151 tonnes of Zn concentrate with grades of 46.3% Zn, 498 g/t Ag, and 0.90g/t Au, and 636 tonnes of Pb concentrate with grades of 21.7% Pb, 4.55% Cu, 636 g/t Ag, and 3.66 g/t Au. Average recoveries achieved are 71.7% Zn, 32.2% Pb, 45.4% Ag, and 13.1% Au.
  • Argonaut Gold Inc., reported Q4 and full year 2019 production and financial results from its Mexican operations. It also provided 2020 production and cost guidance. At its El Castillo mine in Durango, Argonaut mined in Q4 2019, 1,890,000 tonnes of 0.52 g/t Au to produce 13.6K Oz Au and 21K Oz Ag (13.9K Oz GEOs), at a cash cost of USD $1,264 per Oz Au sold. For the full year, it mined 8,914,000 tonnes of 0.41 g/t Au to produce 65.1K Oz Au and 102.3K Oz Ag (66.5K GEOs), at a cash cost of USD $1,030 per Oz Au sold. For the Q4, 2019, the company mined 2,460,000 tonnes of 0.35 g/t Au at its San Agustin mine in Durango to produce 19.86K Oz Au and 85.45K Oz Ag (21K GEOs) at a cash cost of USD $829 per Oz Au sold. For the full year, it mined 8,453,000 tonnes of 0.38 g/t Au to produce 61.8K Oz Au and 219.5K  Oz Ag (64.77K GEOs), at a cash cost of USD $842 per Oz Au sold. At its La Colorada mine in Sonora, during the period Q4 2019, the company produced 1,115,000 of 0.49 g/t Au to produce 12.14K Oz Au and 35.86K Oz (12.62 GEOs) at a cash cost of USD $879 per Oz Au sold. For the full year 2019, it mined 4,676,000 tonnes of 0.51 g/t Au to produce 53.8K Oz Au and 159.7K Oz Ag (55.71 GEOs) at a cash cost of USD $884 per Oz Au sold. Argonaut also provide a 2020 production and cost guidance and plans to produce at El Castillo Complex between 115-120K GEOs at a cash cost of USD $900-1,000 per Oz Au sold, and between 60-65K GEOs at a cash cost of USD $900-1,000 per Oz Au sold. Argonaut plans to invest between USD $40-$50M (USD $12-16M at El Castillo Complex, USD $17-20 at La Colorada, and the rest between  Magino & Cerro del Gallo).
  • Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd., reported Q4 and full year 2019 production and financial results from its Avino mine in Durango. In Q4 2019, the company processed 107,310 tonnes from its Avino mine of 51 g/t Ag, 0.64 g/t Au, and 0.62% Cu, recovering 87%, 76%, and 89% respectively to produce 153.6K Oz Ag, 1,676 Oz Au, and 1.29M Lb Cu, for a total of 495.5K Oz AgEq. From its San Gonzalo mine, it processed 2,908 tonnes of 53 g/t Ag and 0.38 g/t Au, recovering 78% and 72% respectively, to produce 4,106 Oz Ag and 26 Oz Au for a total of 6,964 Oz AgEq. From its Historic Above Ground Stockpile, Avino processed 78,218 tonnes of 51 g/t Ag, 0.25 g/t Au, and 0.18% Cu, recovering 50%, 53%, and 31% respectively, to produce  63K Oz Ag, 330 Oz Au, and 96K Lb Cu for a total of 106.2K Oz AgEq. For the full year 2019, the company processed from its Avino mine, 427,147 tonnes of 44 g/t Ag, 0.45 g/t Au, and 0.46% Cu, recovering 85%, 73%, and 86% respectively, to produce  3K Oz Ag, 4,473 Oz Au, and 4.56M Lb Cu for a total of 1.66M Oz AgEq. From its San Gonzalo mine, it processed 56,179 tonnes of 118 g/t Ag and 0.46 g/t Au, recovering 69% and 66%, to produce 153.4K Oz Ag and 580 Oz Au for a total of 215.1K Oz AgEq. From its Historic Above Ground Stockpile, the company processed 306,334 tonnes of 55 g/t Ag, 0.36 g/t Au, and 0.18% Cu, recovering 54%, 53%, and 35% respectively, to produce 295.2K Oz Ag, 1,859 Oz Au, and 407K Lb Cu, for a total of 525.8K Oz AgEq.
  • Golden Minerals Company, reported full year 2019 results from its Mexican operations. It reported revenue of USD $7.7M and a net operating margin of USD $5.3M in 2019. Expenditures during 2019 totalized USD $11.4M and a cash and equivalents balance of USD $4.6M. Cash inflows during 2019 totaled USD $12.7M.

ON FINANCING

  • Aztec Minerals Corp., announced the re-pricing of 200K stock options of the company from $0.25 to $0.12 per common share, and a total of 1,950,000 stock options of the company from $0.35 to $0.105 per common share (Cervantes project, Sonora).
  • GoGold Resources Inc., closed a bought deal offering for gross proceeds of approximately CAD $25M. Net proceeds will be used to fund additional exploration on its Los Ricos project, Jalisco, and particularly at the Monte del Favor target, and for corporate development, and general corporate purposes.
  • Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd., closed the first tranche of a non-brokered CAD $3M private placement to raise gross proceeds of CAD $734,150. Net proceeds will be used for general working capital and for corporate purposes (Veta Grande project, Zacatecas).
  • Ridgestone Mining Inc., closed the final tranche of a private placement financing for gross proceeds of $339,549.90. Net proceeds will be used for ongoing working capital requirements relating to its Rebeico project in Sonora. In total, the company raised gross proceeds of $1,051,801.95in the financing. Ridgestone also announced that it has entered into shares for debt settlement for the aggregate amount of $105K due to Leede for consulting services fees accrued pursuant to a consulting agreement between Ridgestone and Leede dated Nov 1, 2019.
  • Gold Resource Corporation, declared its February 2020 monthly dividend of one third of a cent per common share to its shareholders (Arista mine, Oaxaca).
  • Minera Alamos Inc., received approval from its shareholders for final phase of its Santana, Sonora project financing for CAD $5M. It is working on completing final documentation for execution no later than the end of Q1 2020.
  • Riverside Resources Inc., announced that its board of directors approved a spin-out of its Peñoles project in Durango to its shareholders by way of a share capital reorganization effected through a stationary plan of arrangement. Peñoles property is wholly owned by its subsidiary Capitan Mining Inc. Under the arrangement, Riverside will distribute the common shares of Capitan to Riverside´s shareholders.

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

  • First Majestic Silver Corp., released infill drilling results from it’s the Ermitaño project, located 4km away from the company´s producing Santa Elena mine in Sonora. Drilling highlights include the following drill intersections: hole EW-19-67 with 12.84 g/t Au and 46 g/t Ag (1,106 g/t AgEq) over 10.8m; hole EW-19-74 with 9.46 g/t Au and 383 g/t Ag (1,164 g/t AgEq) over 6.4m; hole EW-19-85 with 31.63 g/t Au and 459 g/t Ag (3,068 g/t AgEq) over 2.4m; hole EW-19-91 with 11.61 g/t Au and 45 g/t Ag (1,003 g/t AgEq) over 13m; hole EW-19-103 with 16.37 g/t Au and 111 g/t Ag (1,462 g/t AgEq) over 7.7m; hole EW-19-111 with 17.98 g/t Au and 79 g/t Ag (1,562 g/t AgEq) over 4.5m; and hole EW-19-113 with 14.22 g/t Au and 130 g/t Ag (1,302 g/t AgEq) over 9.1m. Next month, the company expects to present an updated resource estimate for it’s the Ermitaño project. First Majestic is planning to drill 15,000m in 50 drill holes for resource expansion. It is also working on several engineering studies for detailed mine design and initial production. It expects to complete 3,800m of underground development in 2020, to reach the mineralized area and prepare five production levels.
  • Prime Mining Corporation, presented surface trenching, road cuts and adits sampling results from the El Zapote South and El Zapote North target areas within its Los Reyes project in Sinaloa. Significant sampling results are 6.75 g/t Au and 58 g/t Ag over 39m, including 9.88 g/t Au and 62 g/t Ag over 18m; 7.76 g/t Au and 80 g/t Ag over 12m, including 48.3 g/t Au and 117 g/t Ag over 1.5m; 6.21 g/t Au and 697 g/t Ag over 7.5m, including 14.4 g/t Au and 1,875 g/t Ag over 1.5m. This sampling is part of the initial phase of exploration designed to better map the surface expression of the mineralized structures and integrate the results into a new resource model, currently underway.
  • Sonoro Metals Corp., announced the plan to complete the assessment of 17 zones of Au mineralization identified at its Cerro Caliche project in Sonora, with the purpose of increase the current 201K Oz AuEq resource. The compnay plans to carry out a combined RC and core drill program in several phases for up to 50,000m. Phase III of this program will commence in March and will consists of 10,000m of drilling. In Phase I and II, a total of 10,328m were drilled in 96 holes.
  • Fresnillo plc and its JV partner Mag Silver, provided an update on its Juanicipio project in Zacatecas. Mine construction at Juanicipio project is well underway, detailed engineering is nearing completion, and all major process equipment has been purchased and received on site. Over 25Km of underground development has been completed to date. Pre-operative CAPEX has increased by 11.4% from USD $395M to USD $440M. Production is expected to start in mid-2020 with initial production stopes to be processed at the Fresnillo beneficiation plant from June 2020 pending completion of the Juanicipio plant. Total average annual anticipated production has been estimated in 11.7M Oz Ag, 43.5K Oz Au, with an initial life of mine (based on Indicated Resources only) of 12 years. Additional years of production expected to be supported by the current Inferred Resources, which are being converted into the Indicated category. Further exploration opportunities exist in the JV license area with potential to scale-up operations in the future.  Commissioning of the flotation plant will be underway mid-2021. Exploration is ongoing on the property with the intention to increase the deeper resources and targeting new veins.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

  • Radius Gold Inc., declared that Pan American Silver Corp., has elected to exercise a right to include the 800 Has Palmillas property to its Amalia JV project in Chihuahua. Palmillas contains multiple exploration targets, including high grade Au-Ag mineralization, 1.8km away and along strike on the San Pedro Zone.
  • Oroco Resource Corp., informed that its Board of Directors approved the acquisition of 100% interest of Altamura Copper Corp. Closing of the acquisition is expected to occur on March 02, 2020. Oroco has to issue 39.8M shares of the company to Altamura shareholders. Oroco also confirmed the appointment of its new President effective on March 01, 2020.
  • Silver Spruce Resources Inc., announced management changes and appointed its new President, CEO, and Director, effective March 01, 2020 (Pino de Plata project, Chihuahua).
  • Fresnillo plc, exercised its option to purchase Plata Latina´s Naranjillo property in Guanajuato. The Naranjillo Project is a grassroots epithermal Ag-Au discovery made by the Company in 2012 and is located in the Mexican Silver Belt, approximately 35 km southeast of the Guanajuato mining district. The transaction and transfer of the property was closed on February 24, 2020.

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

  • Minera Madero (Grupo Peñoles) and National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), conducted a Health day in Zacatecas. At least one thousand people will benefit from the Fourth Health Day, opened this week by Grupo Peñoles and the UNAM. Minera Madero, as a host company, made its facilities available to serve the residents of the communities of Francisco I. Madero, Noria de Gringos, El Maguey, Rancho Nuevo, San Antonio de los Negros, Cieneguillas, Morelos and the Ejido Morelos in specialties such as dentistry, optometry and psychology.

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 Mn-silica Bx in an epithermal system prospect in Chihuahua, Mexico.  Photo by Miguel A Heredia.