Ptygmatic folding

By Miguel A Heredia

During the 51^st week of the year (December 16^th to December 22^nd 2024), at least 23 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico, and 1 news published by the media, with ten disclosing deals and corporate issues, four reporting resources and development of their properties, four announcing financial rounds, two communicating production and financial results, two informing on exploration results, and two commenting on Mexican issues.  ON MEXICO ISSUES, Mining companies listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) earned MXP $107,326M (approx USD $5.2B) in market value so far in 2024. Galore, Silver Storm and Spruce Silver/Colibri reported the best drilling intercepts in Mexico on the third week of December, 2024.  ON EXPLORATION, In Zacatecas, Galore Resources commenced a planned 5,000m core drill program at its Los Gemelos/Duraznillo property. In Sonora, Colibri in partnership with Silver Spruce reported significant drilling results from the Diamante property. ON MINING, Endeavour Silver announced that the Guanaceví mine in Durango has resumed full processing capacity following the successful installation of a new ball mill trunnion. US Antimony announced the completion of contractual negotiations for new international shipments of antimony from Australia and plans to restart its smelter in Madero in Coahuila, Mexico. ON FINANCING, Angel Wing completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing for gross proceeds of CAD $2,034,000 (La Reyna project, Nayarit). Alamos Gold announced the renewal of its Normal Course Issuer Bid (Mulatos mine, Sonora). Sonoro Gold closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of CAD $500K (Cerro Caliche project, Sonora). Silver Storm closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of CAD $465,619.95 (La Parrilla mine, Durango). ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Silver Storm announced results from its phase 2 diamond drilling program conducted at its la Parrilla mine, Durango. Endeavour Silver announced that the Guanaceví mine in Durango has resumed full processing capacity following the successful installation of a new ball mill trunnion. Defiance Silver filed a technical report for its Zacatecas project, Zacatecas. Colibri and its JV partner Tocvan announced that they will commence a core drilling program of up to 1,250m at its Pilar project in Sonora.  Guanajuato Silver provided a new mineral resource estimate for its El Cubo mine complex, Guanajuato. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Alamos Gold announced the passing of its Chairman (Mulatos mine, Sonora).   Minaurum signed a new 29 year ejido community agreement at its Alamos Silver project in Sonora. Sierra Metals acknowledged the press release from Alpayana announcing an intention to commence an unsolicited all-cash takeover bid to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sierra Metals (Bolivar mine, Chihuahua). Americas Gold and Silver announced results of its special meeting of shareholders (Cosala mine, Sinaloa). Mithril reported results of its general meeting of shareholders held on December 17, 2024 (Copalquin project, Durango). Torex informed that it restarted operations and project activities at its El Limon Guajes mine complex in Guerrero. Defiance Silver announced the extension of the San Acacio project option agreement, located in Zacatecas. Sailfish created new royalty with the sale of its Gavilanes project, Durango. First Majestic announced an update regarding Gatos Silver’s joint venture with Dowa Metals & Mining (Cerro Los Gatos mine, Chihuahua) Gatos Silver amended its joint venture agreements with Dowa Metals & Mining (Cerro Los Gatos mine, Chihuahua). ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY,  no relevant news.

ON MEXICO ISSUE

• Mining companies listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), such as Industrias Peñoles and Grupo México earned MXP $107,326M in market value so far in 2024. Grupo México, the fourth largest copper producer in the world, is the mining company that has earned the most with MXP $75,826M, for a total of MXP $809,017M. Its shares gain 9.64% to MXP $103.48.In second place, the company owned by Grupo BAL, Peñoles, gained MXP $25,864M pesos in market capitalization, to stand at USD $124,533M. Its shares rose 26.75% to MXP $313.98 pesos.  For its part, Minera Frisco gained MXP $6,953M in market capitalization and is worth MXP $20,011M. Its shares increased 50.43% to MXP $3.49 pesos in the year. On the other hand, Minera Autlán is the worst performer, losing MXP $1,317M in market value so far this year to MXP $2,490M. Its shares sank 34.58% to MXP $7.70 pesos. Fresnillo, a London-listed subsidiary of Peñoles, earned USD $$830M and has a total market value of USD $6.39 B. Its shares rose 10.45% to 6.57 pounds sterling, according to “companiesmarketcap”.
• Galore Resources Inc, Silver Storm Mining Ltd., and Spruce Silver Resources Inc/Colibri Resource Corporation reported the best drilling intercepts in Mexico on the third week of December, 2024. Details are shown in the table below:

ON EXPLORATION

• Galore Resources Inc., commenced a planned 5,000m core drill program at its Los Gemelos/Duraznillo property. Several structures were hit with variable grade gold.  Results of two holes were released and drilling highlights include holes LG-34 with 0.95m with 2.1gt Au; 0.75m with 3.86 g/t Au and 9 g/t Ag; 0.40m with 4.35 g/t Au and 4 g/t Ag; 0.8m with 1.28 g/t Au and 6 g/t Ag; 0.5m with 4.59 g/t Au and 11 g/t Ag; and 0.5m with 2.66 g/t Au and 4 g/t Ag; and hole LG-35 with 0.5m with 5.73 g/t Au and 60 g/t Ag; 1.45m with 0.51 g/t Au and 1 g/t Ag; 0.8m with 0.37 g/t Au and 1 g/t Ag; 0.85m with 0.79 g/t Au and 1 g/t Ag; and 0.35m with 6.67 g/t Au and 33 g/t Ag.
• Colibri Resource Corporation in partnership with Silver Spruce Resources Inc., reported significant drilling results from the Diamante property in Sonora. The 2024 drill program included 7 diamond drill holes totaling 800 meters, with a notable intercept of 95 g/t Ag, 2.9% Pb, and 1.1% Zn over 2.50m at the El Pillado South zone. The drilling aimed to follow up on previous positive results and explore areas identified by a resistivity survey.

ON MINING

• Endeavour Silver Corp., announced that the Guanaceví mine in Durango has resumed full processing capacity following the successful installation of a new ball mill trunnion. After experiencing a trunnion failure in August and operating at a reduced capacity of 620 tonnes per day for 15 weeks, the mine’s capacity was restored to its designed level of 1,200 tonnes per day after the new trunnion was installed on November 30. The total cost for the fabrication and installation was over USD $400K. CEO Dan Dickson praised the team’s efforts in minimizing the financial and social impacts during the downtime.
• US Antimony Corporation announced the completion of contractual negotiations for new international shipments of antimony from Australia and plans to restart its smelter in Madero in Coahuila, Mexico, which was shut down in March 2024 due to a lack of economic material. The company is making capital improvements to the smelter, estimated to cost less than $1 million, to enhance its processing capacity. The Madero smelter is expected to handle approximately 200 tonnes of material per month, with shipments arriving at the Mexican port of Manzanillo starting in March 2025.

ON FINANCING

• Angel Wing Metals Inc., completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing for 40,680,000 units at a price of CAD $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of CAD $2,034,000. Gross proceeds will be used towards diamond drilling at its La Reyna project in Nayarit, as well as for general corporate purposes.
• Alamos Gold Inc., announced the renewal of its Normal Course Issuer Bid, allowing the company to purchase up to 18,605,661 Class A Common Shares for cancellation over a twelve-month period from December 24, 2024, to December 23, 2025. This represents 5% of the company’s public float as of December 13, 2024. The initiative aims to enhance shareholder value by repurchasing shares when they are perceived to be trading below their underlying value. Alamos Gold believes this strategy will benefit remaining shareholders by increasing their ownership proportion in the company (Mulatos mine, Sonora).
• Sonoro Gold Corp., closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement of 5,555,556 units at a price of CAD $0.09 for gross proceeds of CAD $500K. Net proceeds will be used to fund the ongoing development of its Cerro Caliche project in Sonora, and for general working capital purposes.
• Silver Storm Mining Ltd., closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement of 5,173,555 units at a price of CAD $0.09 per unit for gross proceeds of CAD $465,619.95.Net proceeds will be used to complete its upcoming NI 43-101 resource statement and for general corporate and working capital purposes (La Parrilla mine, Durango).

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

• Silver Storm Mining Ltd., announced results from its phase 2 diamond drilling program conducted at San Marcos mine within its la Parrilla mine complex, Durango. The results confirm the extension of the high-grade sulphide zone 100 m below the last mined stope in the San Marcos mine. Drilling highlights include holes SM-24-018, SM-24-020, and SM-24-024. Drill intercept are shown in the table below:

“These holes were drilled to test oxide mineralization in the upper undeveloped levels of the San Marcos Zone, located approximately 40 m above the last development in this area and 95 m below surface. These results confirm the potential of the upper near surface levels of the mine at the southern limit of development where the San Marcos Zone remains open to the south”.

• Defiance Silver Corp., filed a technical report for its Zacatecas project, Zacatecas, which includes the San Acacio project. This report, prepared by SGS Geological Services, incorporates all exploration work completed to date, including 73 additional diamond drill holes totaling 26,578.03m since the last mineral resource estimate in 2014. The previous estimate did not comply with NI 43-101 standards, and the new report aims to address this by incorporating recent data. As of now, there are no current mineral resources reported for the project until the new geological and resource models are established.
• Colibri Resource Corporation and its JV partner Tocvan Ventures Corp., announced that they will commence in the first week of January, a core drilling program of up to 1,250m at its Pilar project in Sonora. The drill program will be focused on building out a robust geological model which is needed for an upcoming maiden resource estimation. Colibri will contribute to the expense of this program by way of utilizing a portion of the balance of its USD $174K credit with the Mexican drilling company that purchased the Company’s RC drill rig earlier this year.
• Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., provided a new mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its El Cubo mine complex, Guanajuato, which shows a significant increase in inferred mineral resources by 85% to 35.6M Oz AgEq. The total inferred mineral resource tonnes have increased by 179% compared to the previous estimate. The indicated mineral resources (3.9M Oz AgEq) have slightly declined by 23% after three years of mining activity. The company plans to conduct further drilling in January 2025 to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, planned for January 2025.

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

• Alamos Gold Inc., announced the passing of its Chairman, who also served as a Board member for over 14 years (Mulatos mine, Sonora).
• Minaurum Gold Inc., signed a new 29 year extendible ejido community agreement that covers 100% of the core project area and secures access for the exploration, construction, and exploitation of its permitted Alamos Silver project in Sonora. The Alamos silver project is permitted through to production with an Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) allowing for exploration and underground mining activities. With these agreements that cover both of the ejido’s at Alamos, along with the existing one in place with the municipality of Minas Nuevas, all of the communities located on the project support the advancement of Alamos. Additionally, the company obtained unanimous approval by the La Aduana and Tetajiosa ejidos highlight Minaurum’s strong local support.
• Sierra Metals Inc., acknowledged the press release from Alpayana S.A.C., announcing its intention to commence an unsolicited all-cash takeover bid to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sierra Metals. However, Sierra Metals has not received any formal offer or indication of interest from Alpayana. The Board of Directors has formed a Special Committee of independent directors to address the situation. They consider the proposed price of CAD $0.85 per share to be a low premium, given Sierra Metals’ asset quality and growth potential. The company advises shareholders to take no action at this time and will provide updates as necessary (Bolivar mine, Chihuahua).
• Americas Gold and Silver Corporation announced results of its special meeting of shareholders held on December 17, 2024 (Cosala mine, Sinaloa).
• Mithril Silver and Gold Limited reported results of its general meeting of shareholders held on December 17, 2024 (Copalquin project, Durango).
• Torex Gold Resources Inc., informed that the Director General of Mines under the Federal Ministry of Economy has lifted the temporary suspension notice so, the company has been allowed to restart operations and project activities at its El Limon Guajes mine complex in Guerrero.
• Defiance Silver Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Minera Santa Remy S.A announced the extension of its option to acquire 100% of the San Acacio project in Zacatecas. As a result of this amendment, the scheduled payment due December 31, 2024, has now been changed to March 31, 2025. There were no changes to the economic terms of the option agreement.
• Sailfish Royalty Corp., created new royalty with the sale of its Gavilanes project, Durango. The company announced a share purchase agreement with Advance Metals Limited to sell all shares of Swordfish Silver Corp., which holds the Gavilanes silver exploration project in Durango, Mexico. As part of the transaction, Advance Metals will pay Sailfish USD $50K in cash, issue 16.8M shares, and grant 33.6M performance rights that could convert into additional shares based on resource milestones. Sailfish will also receive a 2% net smelter return royalty on mineral production from the property. Additionally, Advance Metals is committed to spending at least USD $2M on exploration over the next five years, with penalties if this commitment is not met. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
• First Majestic Silver Corp., announced an update regarding Gatos Silver’s joint venture with Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd. Gatos has amended its agreements with Dowa, effective January 1, 2025, which expands Gatos’ management rights and allows for full consolidation of the financial statements of the Los Gatos Joint Venture (LGJV). The ownership interests remain unchanged at 70% for Gatos and 30% for Dowa. First Majestic has updated its pro forma financial information to reflect this full consolidation ahead of a special shareholder meeting scheduled for January 14, 2025. Both First Majestic and Gatos will hold stockholder meetings on the same day to approve the acquisition of Gatos by First Majestic (Cerro Los Gatos mine, Chihuahua).
• Gatos Silver Inc., amended its joint venture agreements with Dowa Metals & Mining, enhancing Dowa’s zinc concentrate offtake rights and streamlining management services. Starting January 1, 2025, Gatos Silver will fully consolidate the financial statements of the Los Gatos Joint Venture (LGJV), which it owns 70% of, while Dowa holds 30%. These changes aim to strengthen the partnership and improve financial reporting, providing a clearer picture of the company’s performance, especially in light of its upcoming merger with First Majestic Silver Corp. expected to close in January 2025 (Cerro Los Gatos mine, Chihuahua).

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• No relevant news.

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, ptygmatic folding in a saddle reef type gold deposit in a project in Sinaloa, Mexico. Photo taken by Miguel A Heredia.