By Jorge Cirett
During the 12th week of the year (March 18th to March 24th, 2019), at least 20 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico. ON MEXICO ISSUES, a worrisome statement from the Mexican president regarding the mining concessions makes evident the need to augment the interaction of the mining industry with all levels of government. ON EXPLORATION, in Sonora, Riverside Resources disclosed initial results from exploration work at its recently staked Sandy project; In Chihuahua, Sable released exciting drill results from its Margarita project; Kootenay presented results from surface sampling at its Mecatona property; Evrim and Harvest Gold released final drill results from Cerro Cascaron; Silver Spruce is defining shallow targets for an incoming drill program. In Durango, Gainey Resources indicated that the main vein system at its Las Margaritas project is over 3 Km long. In Veracruz, Azucar Minerals presented long and favorable results from one more hole at El Cobre. ON MINING, Torex Gold paid US$11.9 M in taxes during 2018. Excellon reported financial results for Q4 and full year 2018. ON FINANCING, Sonoro Metals is to undertake a financing round to raise up to $650 K. First Majestic is to extend its share repurchase program. Solaris Copper closed a C$3.9 M placement. ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Almaden Minerals. Issued a Report on Corporate Social Responsibility for its Ixtaca project in Puebla, and submitted an environmental report for permitting. VVC Exploration updated its resource estimate for the Samalayuca project in Chihuahua. Gold Resource reported on a high-grade result from sampling a new crosscut during development at its El Aguila project in Oaxaca. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Silver One hired Strata-Star Group for investor relations.
ON MEXICO ISSUES
- On a worrisome statement for the Mexican mining industry, during one of his daily press conferences the president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, expressed that although no mining concession is to be revoked, no more mining concessions are to be granted. The only requisites are that mining companies, “specially the Canadian ones”, conduct a clean mining operation, that miners are well paid and that they pay the same tax rates than in Canada. He added that the concessions delivered by past governments in the last 36 years were about 40 to 50 M hectares, meaning 30% of the national territory “and they wouldn’t finish with it in a thousand years”.
- Note from editor. In the view of this letter editor, the president words express a lack of knowledge about the rigid guidelines under which exploration and mining international companies, and Canadian ones in particular, obtain financing, explore, interact with the communities, develop, mine and reclaim the used land. On his other remarks, mining companies pay salaries above average in Mexico, and if Canadian companies followed the Mexican president words, they would be paying fewer taxes, not more. Mexico needs more land under mining concessions, not less, as these concessions, besides paying hefty duties, are the basis for investments that feed a long chain of service providers that benefit hundreds of thousands of Mexicans. It is clear and evident that we, as part of the mining industry, need to invest the time and resources to educate the different levels of government about the benefits of mining.
ON EXPLORATION
- Gainey Resources Capital Corp. reported that mapping and sampling of its newly-optioned Las Margaritas project in Durango has extended the strike of the main vein system to 3.5 Km, collecting grab samples with assays of up to 73.7 gpt Au. The best mineralization is along a 1,750 m section where 15 of 25 samples assayed more than 1 gpt Au, and six of those more than 5 gpt Au. “Gold mineralization occurs within druzy quartz veins, veinlets and stockworks with up to 3% disseminated pyrite”, with variable widths of up to two metres.
- Evrim Resources Corp. along with exploration partner Harvest Gold Corp., released final results from the recently finished ten-hole drill program at its Cerro Cascaron project in Chihuahua. Highlighted results comprise: At Serpiente Dorada, 1.0 m @ 20.10 gpt Au, 22.5 gpt Au, within 6.5 m @ 3.29 gpt Au, 6 gpt Ag; 11.5 m @ 0.48 gpt Au, 4 gpt Ag and 1 m @ 1.57 gpt Au, 1 gpt Ag. At San Pedro, 4.8 m @ 1.02 gpt Au, 13 gpt Ag; 0.35 m @ 5.39 gpt Au, 24 gpt Ag; 2.4 m @ 0.98 gpt Au, 37 gpt Ag.
- Sable Resources Ltd. released results from two more drill holes collared at its Margarita project in Chihuahua. Highlighted core length results comprise: 20.6 m @ 83 gpt Ag, 0.08% Zn (or 102 gpt AgEq), including 5.1 m @ 222 gpt Ag, 0.47% Zn (or 252 gpt AgEq) in one drill hole and 48.65 m @ 102 gpt Ag, 0.43% Zn, 0.1% Pb (or 130 gpt AgEq), including 1.0 m @ 198 gpt Ag, 0.30% Zn, 0.18% Pb (or 222 gpt AgEq) and 2.85 m @ 376 gpt Ag, 0.75% Zn, 0.28% Pb (or 428 gpt AgEq) and 2.6 m @ 156 gpt Ag, 3.09% Zn, 0.72% Pb (or 351 gpt AgEq) in the other hole. All intercepts are between 47 and 98 m from the surface.
- Kootenay Silver Inc. released results from exploration at its Mecatona property in Chihuahua. Assays of 51 surface samples on a 200 m by 400 m zone of pervasive skarn-altered Lower Cretaceous turbidites of the Mezcalera Group returned an average of 110 gpt Ag, 1.7% Cu, with 12 of the 51 samples grading >100 gpt Ag. “Mineralization associated in the new zone is oxidized to assorted limonites with most of the copper mineralization hosted in the limonites. Depth of oxidation remains unknown. Mineralization occurs as a range of textures that includes bedding replacement, fracture/stockworks and disseminations, patches and hairlines. Quartz veins are not common with one dump sample showing anomalous gold (0.84 gpt), silver (373 gpt) and 16% lead and zinc. One location of unoxidized material, from an underground working showed chalcopyrite, bornite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, sphalerite in quartz and carbonate fracture/vein/gash system. The skarn is all fine grained marked by dense hard white to greenish beddings with local garnets and marble noted“.
- Silver Spruce Resources Inc. informed it is currently defining shallow drill targets for a 1,500 m program at its Pino de Plata project in Chihuahua. At El Terrero, a target comprises a zone of disseminated epithermal mineralization in igneous rocks within 15 hectares of strong argillic to advanced argillic alteration, where high Ag and anomalous Au, Pb, Zn, Cu results have been obtained. At Theodora, veins with high Ag and anomalous Pb, Zn, Cu are to be tested, whereas the Santa Elena Gossan area is a replacement Ag-Pb-Zn-Cu target.
- Azucar Minerals Ltd. reported results from one more drill hole of its ongoing program at its El Cobre project in Veracruz. The drill hole was collared on the Norte zone, where it cut 253.5 m @ 0.72 gpt Au, 0.30% Cu (from 373.50 to 627.00 m); including 64.5 m @ 1.1 gpt Au, 0.40% Cu; and 44.5 m @ 1.34 gpt Au, 0.47% Cu and 13.0 m @ 2.04 gpt Au, 0.70% Cu. Other deeper intervals between 638 and 732 m comprise 14.65 m @ 0.73 gpt Au, 0.28% Cu, and 53.10 m @ 1.00 gpt Au, 0.40% Cu.
- Riverside Resources Inc. disclosed initial results from its recently staked Sandy project in Sonora. Sampling of the structures in the strongly foliated granitic intrusive rocks returned gold values of up to 38.8 gpt Au, associated to a set of felsic dikes. “Silicification and minor quartz veining is noted associated with the structures and with through-going vein mineralization. The wall rock associated with these structures often shows sericitic and silica alteration”.
- Sable Resources Ltd. Released assay results from one more drill hole from the current drilling campaign at its Margarita project in Chihuahua. The highlighted intervals comprise 12.50 m @ 63 gpt Ag, 0.14% Zn, 0.05% Pb (or 73 gpt AgEq), including 4.80 m @ 126 gpt Ag, 0.24% Zn, 0.10% Pb, and a second interval of 12.80 m @ 97 gpt Ag, 1.19% Zn, 0.36% Pb (or 176 gpt AgEq), including 1.90 m @ 213 gpt Ag, 4.52% Zn, 1.81% Pb (or 529 gpt AgEq).
ON MINING
- Torex Gold Corp. informed of the payment of US$11.9 M on taxes from its mining activities in 2018 (El Limon-Los Guajes, Guerrero)
- Excellon Resources Inc. reported financial results for the last quarter and full year 2018. During the year Excellon had $24.3 M of revenue, producing silver at cash cost $9.48 per ounce and an AISC of $20.69 per ounce. Also during the year, at its Platosa mine in Durango, 57.5 K tonnes were mined, 81 K tonnes processed (24 K tonnes from stockpiles) @ 391 gpt Ag, 3.88% Pb, 5.42% Zn, recovering 89.2% Ag, 79.4% Pb, 80.8% Zn, to produce 917.7 K Oz Ag, 5.45 M Lb Pb, 7.89 M Lb Zn (or 1.93 M Oz AgEq). The company also informed on a concentrate theft scheme from 2016 to October 2018 involving material in transit from Miguel Auza in Zacatecas to the port in Manzanillo, Guerrero. It is estimated that said scheme impacted revenues by approximately 10% per year.
- Impact Silver Corp. entered into a concentrate sales contract with Samsung CT Corp. for off take from the Royal mines of Zacualpan, Estado de Mexico. “Based on current production of 400 tonnes per day, 2019-2020 sales of silver lead-zinc concentrate should top 800,000 ounces silver with revenues over 95% attributable to pure silver (no equivalents)”.
ON FINANCING
- Sonoro Metals Corp. intends to undertake a non-brokered private placement with the aim of raising up to $650K (Cerro Caliche, Sonora).
- First Majestic Silver Corp. informed it has extended its share repurchase program for another 12 months. The program proposes to repurchase up to 5 M common shares, or 2.5% of the outstanding shares of the company (Six operating mines in Mexico).
- Solaris Copper Inc. closed a C$3.9 M non-brokered private placement financing, with no fees or commissions paid (60% interest on La Verde, Michoacan).
ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
- Almaden Minerals Ltd. informed of the issuing of a Report on Corporate Social Responsibility describing the community-related activities in which the company has engaged for over 15 years at the Ixtaca project in Puebla. Also, an environmental permit (Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental) has been submitted to Mexican authorities, including within it topics like water usage, tailings process details and acid drainage evaluation.
- VVC Exploration Corp. disclosed and updated resource estimate for its Samalayuca property in Chihuahua. With a 0.30% Cu cut-off, the indicated resources comprise 3.16 M tonnes @ 0.42% Cu and the inferred resources 4.68 M tonnes @ 0.44% Cu, containing 13,375 tonnes Cu and 20,683 tonnes Cu respectively.
- Gold Resource Corp. reported that ongoing development work at its mirador mine (in its El Aguila property in Oaxaca) crosscut 6 m of the Independencia vein, which assayed 992 gpt Ag, with the opposite wall assaying 5 m @ 572 gpt Ag. Earlier drilling result of this area included 13.3 m @ 1,055 gpt Ag and 2.70 m @ 1.67 gpt Au, 901 gpt Ag.
ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES
- Silver One Resource Inc. entered into an investor relations agreement with Strata-Star Group, LLC. “Strata-Star will provide investor relations services to Silver One including communicating with members of the financial community as well as shareholders”.
Content like what you have just read can be seen at https://gambusinoprospector.com/ and at LinkedIn’s Mexico Mineral Exploration Group.
On the image above, chalcopyrite crystals in a quartz druse from a project in Michoacan. Picture by Jorge Cirett.
