By Jorge Cirett

During the 6^th week of the year (February 1^st to February 7^th, 2026), companies working in Mexico released 25 press releases. Three companies informed on early-stage properties work and one company presented its three-year production guidance. Four companies presented news on financing rounds, one company will place convertible debentures and one other is to start trading on a new market. Six companies presented updates on advanced properties, while seven companies informed on deals and corporate issues. ON MEXICO ISSUES, Washington and Mexico announced a bilateral critical minerals “action plan”. Two abducted miners found dead. ON EXPLORATION, in Sonora, Algo Grande Copper released drill results from Adelita. In Chihuahua, Mammoth Resources released metallurgical results from Tenoriba. In Oaxaca, EV Resources informed on work at Los Lirios. ON MINING, Alamos Gold provided its three-year production guidance. ON FINANCING, four companies informed on financing rounds: Pinnacle Silver and Gold (C$2.6 M), Orex Minerals (C$5 M), J2 Metals (C$2.2 M), and Canadian Silver Hunter (C$0.5 M). Colibri Resource is placing convertible debenture units (US$115 K). Santacruz Silver Mining commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market. ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Capitan Silver reported drilling results from Cruz de Piedra in Durango. Silver Storm informed on the delivery of processing equipment to La Parrilla processing plant in Durango. Heliostar Metals poured its first gold from restarted mining operations at San Agustin in Durango. Guanajuato Silver Company completed a new MRE on La Valenciana Mining Complex in Guanajuato. GR Silver Mining released metallurgical results from Plomosas, in Sinaloa. Regency Silver informed on breccia drilling intercepts at its Dios Padre project in Sonora. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Pinnacle Silver and Gold, Minera Alamos and Fortune Bay contracted marketing services. Bear Creek Mining informed two proxy advisory firms recommended the vote for the Highlander Silver arrangement. Gold Resource announced the illegal blockade at its Don David mine in Oaxaca was lifted. Orex minerals updated on the Coneto project transaction with Silver Viper Minerals. Avino Silver & Gold Mines appointed L. Broughton to the board.   ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, no relevant news.

ON MEXICO ISSUES

• The Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives announced agreements to develop critical metals supply chains. Washington and Mexico announced a bilateral critical minerals “action plan” that assigns responsibilities to USTR representatives and Mexico Economy’s Ministry. “The new commitments are part of the Trump administration’s effort to bring together trading partners and allies to try and break China’s current monopoly on critical minerals” (Editor’s note: At this point it is not clear what steps can be taken by Mexico to contribute on this plan, as the current mining law approved in 2023 is pointedly restricting exploration and the free exchange of mining concessions, both requirements for a mining industry with potential to thrive).
• By far the most relevant issue in the Mexican Mining Industry at the moment is the abduction of ten workers at Vizsla Silver’s Pánuco project in Sinaloa. On January 23, 2026, ten individuals (as referred by Vizsla) at the Panuco project in Sinaloa were abducted; the company has not disclosed whether they were employees or contractors. As of February 8, 2026, local media have confirmed that two of the bodies discovered in a mass grave in El Verde, Sinaloa, have been identified as members of this group. As time passes, hopes of finding the remaining individuals alive continue to fade, and the industry is gripped by a profound sense of disbelief, sorrow and anger. The first reason for being of a government is to provide security, and on this matter the Mexican government has been failing for decades now, especially during the last term and the present. At its core, the legitimacy of any government rests on its ability to provide security. On this front, the Mexican state has struggled for decades, with conditions deteriorating further in recent years. Extortion—and the violence used to enforce it—continues to expand, while reports linking officials from the ruling Morena party to organized crime have become increasingly frequent, further eroding confidence in institutional stability and the rule of law.

ON EXPLORATION

• EV Resources Ltd. informed on work completed at Los Lirios project in Oaxaca during Q4 2025. Six trenches were excavated, taking the total to 33, and 140 channel samples were collected, while detailed geological mapping and topographic surveys have been completed. Gravity processes recovered 90.8% Sb on average grades of 45% Sb and “initial kinetics floatation test on a sulphide sample of 30.2% Sb gave extremely encouraging recovery of 99.2% Sb”. Over 5.5 Km of roads have been rehabilitated and final preparations for the January 2026 were completed. The company secured a one-year lease on the 150 tpd Tecomatlán processing plant, with an option to purchase for US$1.8 M + VAT. The cash balance at the end of the period was C$3.2 M. On a separate news release, EV Resources informed that its maiden 1,500-2,000 m drill program on Los Lirios has begun. The program is to test 900 m of strike length within the 6 km long system.
• Mammoth Resources Corp. released results from bottle roll tests on a coarser fraction composite sample of oxidized material from assay reject samples of drill holes from previous campaigns within the Carneritos area at its Tenoriba project in Chihuahua. The oxidized mineralized material passing -10 mesh (20 times coarser than previously tested) had recoveries of 87% Au, 67% Ag, which compare favorably with 75% to 90% Au, 65% Ag recoveries on the finer fraction bottle roll testing.
• Algo Grande Copper Corp. announced initial drill results from the drill program at the Adelita project in Sonora. Highlighted core length intervals comprise 14.79 m @ 0.5 gpt Au, 20 gpt Ag, 1.4% Cu; 5.57 m @ 0.2 gpt Au, 5 gpt Ag, 0.4% Cu; 9.55 m @ 0.4 gpt Au, 42 gpt Ag, 1.4% Cu; 3.85 m @ 0.5 gpt Au, 50 gpt Ag, 1.1% Cu; 7.83 m @ 0.4 gpt Au, 49 gpt Ag, 1.3% Cu (including 1.85 m @ 1.1 gpt Au, 150 gpt Ag, 4.1% Cu). Assays for two more drill holes are pending, and the fourth hole is currently being drilled. “These results … confirm the presence of a vertically stacked skarn architecture with significant dept potential”.

ON MINING

• Alamos Gold Inc. provided its three-year operating guidance. For 2026 the company aims to achieve consolidated production of 570 – 650 K Oz Au at cash cost $1,030-$1,120 per Oz Au at an AISC of $1,500-$1,600 per Oz Au; for 2027 a consolidated production of 650 – 730 K Oz Au at cash cost $825-$925 and an AISC of $1,326-$1,425 per Oz Au; for 2028 a consolidated production of 755 – 835 K Oz Au at cash cost $775-$875 per Oz Au, and an AISC of $1,200-$1,300 per Oz Au. At the Mulatos mining district in Sonora, production guidance is 125-125 K Oz Au in 2026, 115-135 K Oz Au in 2027 and 130-150 K Oz Au in 2028. “A total of $21 million has been budgeted at Mulatos for exploration in 2026, consistent with $20 million spent in 2025. The regional drilling program is expected to total 44,500 m and includes 20,000 m of surface exploration drilling at the Cerro Pelon sulphide target, 9,000 m at the Halcon target (discovered in 2025), and an additional 15,500 m planned across several early to advanced staged targets within the Mulatos District”.  

ON FINANCING

• Colibri Resource Corp. will be conducting a revised placement of convertible debenture units for gross proceeds of up to US$115 K (EP, Sonora).
• Pinnacle Silver and Gold Corp. closed the final tranche of the non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$1.53 M, for total gross proceeds of C$2.6 M (El Potrero, Durango).
• Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. has commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market. (Zimapán, Hidalgo).
• Orex Minerals Inc. intends to undertake a non-brokered private placement financing to raise gross proceeds of up to C$5 M (Sandra, Durango).
• J2 Metals Inc. closed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement financing, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$2.16 M (Sierra Plata, Estado de México).
• Canadian Silver Hunter Inc. intends to complete a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of C$500 K (undisclosed project in Mexico).

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

• Capitan Silver Corp. reported assay results from its 2025 reverse circulation (RC) drill program at its Cruz de Plata project in Durango. “These results expand the new high-grade silver area in the Jesús María trend near the intersection of the Peñoles Fault”. Highlighted drill length results comprise 21.3 m @ 0.218 gpt Au, 30 gpt Ag; 25.9 m @ 0.169 gpt Au, 242 gpt Ag (including 1.5 m @ 0.292 gpt Au, 27 gpt Ag and 4.6 m @ 0.286 gpt Au, 497 gpt Ag); 12.2 m @ 0.104 gpt Au, 70 gpt Ag; 0.1% Zn; 3 m @ 0.175 gpt Au, 217 gpt Ag, 0.2% Zn; 7.6 m @ 0.01 gpt Au, 131 gpt Ag; 18.3 m @ 0.125 gpt Au, 61 gpt Ag, 0.2% Pb, 0.5% Zn; 3 m @ 0.806 gpt Au; 18.3 m @ 0.029 gpt Au, 118 gpt Ag, 0.1% Pb, 0.2% Zn.
• Silver Storm Mining Ltd. reported that eight new flotation cells have been fabricated and delivered to La Parrilla, in Durango. The plant capacity is to be expanded from 1,000 to 1,250 tpd once all the cells are installed during Q1 2026. The company resumed mining, crushing and stacking new ore on the leach pad in Q4 2025
• Heliostar Metals Ltd. announced the first official gold pour from restarted mining operations at its San Agustín mine in Durango.
• Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. presented a new mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Valenciana Mines Complex in Guanajuato. Indicated mineral resource comprise 410 K tonnes averaging 147 gpt Ag, 1.61 gpt Au, containing 1.9 M Oz Ag, 21 k Oz Au (or 3.8 M Oz AgEq), while inferred resources comprise 2.23 M tonnes averaging 142 gpt Ag, 1.55 gpt Au, containing 10.4 Moz Ag, 113 K Oz Au (or 20.3 M Oz AgEq).
• GR Silver Mining Inc. announced positive results from metallurgical test studies as part of the bulk sampling test mining program (BSTM) at its Plomosas silver project in Sinaloa. Composited feed grades in the historical Plomosas mine averaged 2.1 gpt Au, 101 gpt Ag, 0.59% Pb, 3.54% Pb, 2.43% Zn. Rougher test work confirmed 71.5% Ag, 77.9% Au recoveries into a lead rougher concentrate. “The concentrates produced are within acceptable commercial specifications with no concerns over potential penalties or deleterious elements”.
• Regency Silver Corp. informed that the second hole of its 2026 drill program at Dios Padre in Sonora has intersected sulfide-speculartie bearing breccia and vein-infill in multiple zone across a broad interval. The hole intersected mineralization from 430 to 540 m depth, with a breccia zone with chalcopyrite, pyrite and specularite with intense silica-sericite alteration from 500 m to 535 m. This zone is approximately 180 m from a similar breccia and further 35 m from a 38 m breccia intercept grading 7.36 gpt Au. Assay results are pending.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

• Minera Alamos Inc. engaged Velocity Trade Capital Ltd. to provide market-making services for a C$6 K monthly fee (Santana, Sonora).
• Bear Creek Mining Corp. announced that two independent proxy advisory firms, including Institutional Shareholder Services have recommended that holders of Bear Creek common shares vote FOR both the proposed plan of arrangement with Highlander Silver Corp. and the interest deferral agreements entered into between the company and each of Royal Gold Inc. and Equinox Gold Corp. (Mercedes, Sonora).
• Gold Resource Corp. announced that the illegal blockade restricting access to its Don David mine in Oaxaca has been lifted. The company reiterates that the dispute was an internal matter between union factions and the contractors formerly affiliated with the CTM union and did not directly involve the company.
• Pinnacle Silver and Gold Corp. signed a one-year contract with San Diego Torrey Hills Capital to provide investor relations services for the company. Pinnacle will pay US$2 K per month and issue a one-time 300 K three-year incentive stock options. The company is also granting 2.17 M incentive stock options to directors, officers and consultants (El Potrero, Durango).
• Orex minerals Inc. informed the company and Fresnillo plc remain committed to completing the transaction with Silver Viper Minerals Inc. on the Coneto project in Durango. The terms of the transaction comprise ownership of 38.8% by Orex and 61.2% by Fresnillo, with Orex receiving a combination of cash and common shares of Silver Viper and Fresnillo receiving solely common shares of Silver Viper. The valuation of the transaction is approximately US$15 M. Post-transaction Fresnillo and Orex will hold 12% and 7% of Silver Viper respectively.
• Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. appointed Ms. Linda Broughton as non-executive director on its board of directors (Avino, Durango).
• Fortune Bay Corp. retained Machai Capital In. to provide digital marketing services. The marketing campaign will continue for an initial three-month term, pursuant to which Macahi will receive C$400 K and 175 K stock options (Poma Rosa, Chiapas).

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• No Relevant News.

On the image below: chlorite flooding on volcanosedimentary rocks, HQ core. Picture by Jorge Cirett.