Blog posts

By Miguel A Heredia

During the 46^th week of the year (November 14^th to November 20^th, 2022), at least 15 press releases were announced by companies working in Mexico, and 3 news published by the media with five reporting resources and developments of their properties, four communicating production and financial results, three informing on exploration results, three commenting on Mexican issues, one disclosing deals and corporate issues, one discussing social issues, and one announcing financing issues. ON MEXICO ISSUES, The mining industry is one of the industries that consumes the least vital liquid and, at the same time, the one that acquires it at the highest cost, refuting the myth about water consumption in mining. Alamos Gold, GoGold, Aztec Minerals, Silver Tiger, and Minaurum Gold reported the best drilling intercepts in Mexico on the third week of November, 2022. ON EXPLORATION, In Sonora, Aztec Minerals reported results for five drill holes from the recently completed phase 3 drill program at its Cervantes project, Tocvan announced that initial drilling is ongoing at its El Picacho project, and Minaurum provided an update on the underground rehabilitation work at the historical Promontorio mine within its Alamos Silver project. ON MINING, Starcore reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from its San Martin mine in Queretaro. MAG Silver announced Q3, 2022 production and financial results from its Juanicipio project in Zacatecas. US Antimony reported September-October production results. SilverCrest reported Q3, 2022 production and financial results from its Las Chispas project in Sonora. ON FINANCING, Vizsla closed its previously announced bought deal financing for gross proceeds of $CAD 34.5M (Panuco project, Sinaloa).  ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, Silver Tiger released results from its on-going drilling program at its El Tigre project in Sonora, and provided an update on the underground rehabilitation of the El Tigre Mine. Gatos Silver announced that it has filed a NI 43-101 technical report to disclose a Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve update for its Los Gatos project, Chihuahua. Alamos Gold extended high-grade mineralization at its Puerto del Aire Deposit within Mulatos district, Sonora. GoGold released strong results from the new drilling program at its Los Ricos South Main Area and at the newly acquired Eagle concession in Jalisco. Zacatecas Silver announced its initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at its Esperanza Gold project in Morelos. ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES, Zacatecas Silver entered into an agreement with Gold Standard Media and with Future Monet Trends to raise awareness of the company`s shares among investors (Esperanza Gold project, Morelos). ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, Fundación Grupo México in alliance with the Government of Jalisco, promoted the forest recovery in the Municipalities of Sayula, Encarnación de Díaz and Ocotlán through the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET) in coordination with the Intermunicipal Boards of the Environment (JIMA) and the Jalisco Solidarity Volunteers.

ON MEXICO ISSUE

• The mining industry is one of the industries that consumes the least vital liquid and, at the same time, the one that acquires it at the highest cost, while agricultural use, which represents 77% of national water consumption, does not contribute any payment for it to the public treasury. Despite the fact that it only consumes 1.4% of the country`s water, the authorization of concessions for the use of this resource for mining constitutes the main source of income for this concept of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the National Water Commission (CONAGUA). According to data from the Mining Chamber of Mexico (CAMIMEX), around 50% of government incomes from payment of rights for the use of water in the country are those contributed by mining companies. The Mexican territory is divided in four availability zones and, depending on the zone in which it operates, is the amount that concessionaires must pay for each cubic meter. Mexican mining pays up to MXP $26 for each cubic meter of water, while the average for the different industries is MXP $14. Municipalities pay only MXP $0.58. Meanwhile, the agricultural and livestock sectors, which are the main consumers in the country, do not pay rights for concessions for the use of water and despite this, these users tend to blame mining for the shortage. In Mexico, there are two types of concessions for the use of water: groundwater (located in subsoil aquifers) and surface water (found in rivers and lakes). According to CONAGUA, the main uses of this water resource are agricultural and livestock, which together consume approximately 76.7%; It is followed by urban public use, which is equivalent to 14.1%; the use for electricity generation with 5.1% and industries, whose consumption amounts to 4.1%. Of this amount, 0.9% corresponds to the mining sector.  It refutes the myth about water consumption in mining.
• Alamos Gold Inc, GoGold Inc, Aztec Minerals Corp, Silver Tiger Metals Inc, and Minaurum Gold Inc reported the best drilling intercepts in Mexico on the third week of November, 2022. Details are shown in the table below:

ON EXPLORATION

• Aztec Minerals Corp., reported results for five drill holes from the recently completed phase 3 drill program at its Cervantes project in Sonora. Highlights of the drilling include hole CAL22-027 in the West-Central area of the California Zone with 0.68 g/t Au over 120m; and hole CAL22-029, a step out extending the California Zone to the North, with 0.77 g/t Au over 57m. These results have expanded the footprint of the known extents of the mineralized and altered California quartz feldspar intrusive complex to the North. “The area currently being drilled measures approximately 900 meters long E – W by 730 meters wide, with demonstrated, continuous mineralization of up to 170 meters in depth. The porphyry gold-copper mineralization is still open in all directions”.
• Tocvan Ventures Corp., announced that initial drilling is ongoing at its El Picacho project in Sonora. The drilling program is focused on two primary areas within the San Ramon prospect: Las Guijas where underground chip samples range from 0.5 to 8.2 g/t Au, with an average of 3.6 g/t Au, and San Ramon where underground samples range from 0.3 to 22 g/t Au, with an average of 5 g/t Au. The property is currently permitted for 14 drill pads. El Picacho is host to several other target areas permitted for drilling that span across the 24 km² project area.
• Minaurum Gold Inc., provided an update on the underground rehabilitation work at the historical Promontorio mine within its Alamos Silver project. It informed that has successfully accessed and is dewatering the main haulage level along with clearing crosscuts in the El Tirito area of the mine, which lies approximately 300m from the Promontorio adit entrance. Approximately 200 tonnes of ballast and 50 tonnes of backfill have been removed from the first 300 m of the haulage level and stockpiled outside the mine entrance. Three of the five service holes that were drilled to provide air, water, and electricity to facilitate underground rehabilitation efforts intercepted the Promontorio Vein. The most significant drill intercept encountered 98 g/t Ag, 3.6% Pb, and 7.9% Zn over 5.8m. In addition, sampling and mapping of dumps at Promontorio revealed a boulder of massive sulfide vein assaying 3,320 g/t Ag, 54.7 g/t Au, 25% Cu, 6.5% Pb, and 1.1% Zn. “The boulder, measuring roughly a meter across, is an indication of the type of grades exploited by early miners at Promontorio”.

ON MINING

• Starcore International Mines Ltd., reported Q2, 2022 production and financial results from its San Martin mine in Queretaro. The company milled 57,165 tonnes of 1.46 g/t Au and 13 g/t Ag with metallurgical recoveries of 87.14% and 47.86% respectively, to produce 2,452 Oz AuEq.
• MAG Silver Corp., announced Q3, 2022 production and financial results from its Juanicipio project in Zacatecas, where it owns 44% of the property and Fresnillo plc owns the remainder 56%. The company reported on a 100% basis, that 180,808 tonnes of 513 g/t Ag were processed through the Fresnillo and Saucito plants to produce 2.42M Oz Ag, 4,901 Oz Au, 3M Lb Pb, and 4.56M Lb Zn. MAG reported a net income of USD $8.23M and cash of $USD 39.5M (Juanicipio had cash on hands of $USD 18.2M). Pre-commercial production sales totaled USD $49.7M, less USD $18.1 in mining and transportation costs and USD $6.4M in depreciation and amortization charges, netting USD $25.2M in gross profit by Juanicipio. The company also reported a cash balance at the end of the quarter of USD $18.2M down from USD $37.5M at the end of Q2, 2022.
• US Antimony Corporation reported September-October production results. The company milled 1,116 tonnes of 0.87 g/t Au and 96 g/t Ag from its Los Juarez Mine in Querétaro. In addition, the company announced that assay results from the previously announced soil sampling and rock chip programs on the 1km x 3 km grid at Los Juarez have been received with analysis values for Sb, Au, Ag, and trace elements. These results are being tabulated and assessed. Geologist and Geophysicist in Mexico have just completed the Geophysical Survey and are in the process of interpreting the results and generating a report. This report may be available prior to Q4 but most likely will be published early in Q1 of 2023.
• SilverCrest Metals Inc., reported Q3, 2022 production and financial results from its Las Chispas project in Sonora. The company produced 4,121 Oz Au and 373.5K Oz Ag (731.6K Oz AgEq) and had its first metal sales of 140.3K Oz Ag at an average price of USD $19.38 per Oz Ag, generating USD $2.7M in revenue. As of September 30, 2022 the company remains well-funded with cash and cash equivalents of USD $88.6M, and a debt balance of USD $90M.

ON FINANCING

• Vizsla Silver Corp., closed its previously announced bought deal financing of 23.8M units of the company at a price of CAD $1.45 per unit for gross proceeds of $CAD 34.5M. Net proceeds will be used to advance the exploration and development of its Panuco project in Sinaloa, including the delivery of an updated mineral resource estimate in Q4, 2022, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

ON RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

• Silver Tiger Metals Inc., released results from its on-going drilling program at its El Tigre project in Sonora, and provided an update on the underground rehabilitation of the El Tigre Mine. The most significant drill intercept was encountered in hole ET-22-378 with 0.12 g/t Au, 469 g/t Ag, 0.66% Cu, 0.5% Pb, and 0.6% Zn (525 g/t AgEq) over 6.5m, including 0.25 g/t Au, 1,002 g/t Ag, 0.39% Cu, 0.6% Pb, and 0.7% Zn (1,096 g/t AgEq) over 1m at the Benjamin Vein Zone, plus 0.15 g/t Au, 212 g/t Ag, 0.12% Cu, 2.5% Pb, and 6.9% Zn (524 g/t AgEq) over 6.9m, including 0.28 g/t Au, 940 g/t Ag, 0.6% Cu, 6.9% Pb, and 16.2% Zn (1,720 g/t AgEq) over 0.8m at the Shale Zone. The company also reported that the underground rehabilitation of the historic El Tigre mine is progressing well. Silver Tiger reported that to date it has rehabilitated over 450m in level 7, which was the main portal to the mine. “Silver Tiger is still on schedule to reach the Sooy Vein and then begin underground drilling of this new discovery under the Northern end of the unmined portion of the Historic El Tigre Mine”.
• Gatos Silver Inc., announced that it has filed a NI 43-101 technical report to disclose a Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve update for its Los Gatos project, Chihuahua.
• Alamos Gold Inc. reported new results from its ongoing drilling program and extended high-grade mineralization at its Puerto del Aire Deposit within Mulatos district, Sonora. Puerto Del Aire is a higher-grade underground deposit, adjacent to the main Mulatos pit, and is comprised of five zones including PDA1, PDA2, Gap, Victor and Estrella. Highlights of the drilling at PDA1 Zone include hole 21MUL051 with 32.24 g/t Au uncut ( 20.78 g/t Au cut) over a true width (TW) of 5.30m; hole 21MUL019 with 4.26 g/t Au over a TW of 2.25m, plus 26.28 g/t Au uncut (20.44 g/t Au cut) over a TW of 4.60m; hole 21MUL014 with 4.43 g/t Au over a TW of 4.50m, plus 18.01 g/t Au uncut (15.27 g/t Au cut) over a TW of 6.15m; hole 21MUL016 with 3.64 g/t Au over a TW of 6m, plus 3.02 g/t Au over a TW of 1.50m, plus 3.12 g/t Au over a TW of 11.50m, plus 3.63 g/t Au over a TW of 26.05m; hole MUL21021 with 10.66 g/t Au over a TW of 5.90m, plus 4.20 g/t Au over a TW of 12.25m, plus 14.57 g/t Au over a TW of 2.75m, plus 10.86 g/t Au over a TW of 8.35m; and hole 21MUL015 with 4.90 g/t Au over a TW of 1.15m, plus 6.78 g/t Au over a TW of 10.50m, plus 4.99 g/t Au over a TW of 1.40m. Highlights of the drilling at PDA2 Zone include hole 22MUL039 with 4.06 g/t Au over a TW of 0.85m, plus 13.89 g/t Au uncut (9.26 g/t Au cut) over a TW of 10.35m; hole 22MUL053 with 8.75 g/t Au over a TW of 13.15m, plus 7.7 g/t Au over a TW of 6m, plus 8.90 g/t Au over a TW of 3m, plus 4.20 g/t Au over a TW of 12.95m; hole 22MUL058 with 7.62 g/t Au over a TW of 14.65m; hole 22MUL052 with 3.07 g/t Au over a TW of 1.50m, plus 32.60 g/t Au over a TW of 2.35m, plus 10.90 g/t Au over a TW of 1.50m, plus 11.40 g/t Au over a TW of 1.50m; and hole 22MUL046 with 4.01 g/t Au over 1.70m, plus 13.22 g/t Au over 4.50m. Highlights of the drilling at Victor-Gap Zone include hole 21MUL011 with 31.97 g/t Au uncut (11.80 g/t Au cut) over a TW of 12.90m. “Drilling to date has demonstrated the significant potential to further expand high-grade mineralization at Puerto Del Aire with the deposit open in multiple directions”.
• GoGold Resources Inc., released strong results from the new drilling program at its Los Ricos South Main Area and at the newly acquired Eagle concession in Jalisco. Highlights of the drilling include hole LRGG-22-209 collared at Los Ricos South Main Area with 3.15 g/t Au and 276 g/t Ag (6.84 g/t AuEq or 513 g/t AgEq) over 33.2m, including 30.19 g/t Au and 2,588 g/t Ag (64.69 g/t AuEq or 4,852 g/t AgEq) over 3m, including 73.10 g/t Au and 5,620 g/t Ag (148.03 g/t AuEq or 11,103 g/t AgEq) over 1m; and hole LRGG-22-043 collared at the Eagle Concession with 67 g/t Au and 78 g/t Ag (1.72 g/t AuEq or 129 g/t AgEq) over 8.2m, plus 1.32 g/t Au and 216 g/t Ag (4.20 g/t AuEq or 315 g/t AgEq) over 20.7m, including 2.73 g/t Au and 428 g/t Ag (8.44 g/t AuEq or 633 g/t AgEq) over 9.3m, including 7.89 g/t Au and 999 g/t Ag (21.21 g/t AuEq or 1,591 g/t AgEq) over 2.5m, including 17.20 g/t Au and 2,130 g/t Ag (45.80 g/t AuEq or 3,420 g/t AgEq) over 0.70m. The purpose of the program is to better define the very high grade portions of the current deposit that may be amenable to bulk underground mining.  “The Company exploration team has been completing detailed mapping and sampling at Jamaica over the last year and sees the same structure that was drilled in the main zone at Los Ricos South extending for several kilometers over the Jamaica concessions.  This offers the potential for an additional bulk tonnage target in Los Ricos South, with continuity from the Main Area and Eagle”.
• Zacatecas Silver Corp., announced its initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at its Esperanza Gold project in Morelos. A summary of the MRE is shown in the table below:

ON DEALS AND CORPORATE ISSUES

• Zacatecas Silver Corp., entered into an agreement with Gold Standard Media and with Future Money Trends LLC to raise awareness of the Company's shares among investors.  The engagement is for 12 months of services, with amounts payable as follows: USD $100K on acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange, USD $100K within 3 months, USD $100K within 6 months and USD $100K within 9 months.  Subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, the activities will commence late November, 2022 and are for a period of one year.

ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Fundación Grupo México in alliance with the Government of Jalisco, promoted the forest recovery in the Municipalities of Sayula, Encarnación de Díaz and Ocotlán through the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET) in coordination with the Intermunicipal Boards of the Environment (JIMA) and the Jalisco Solidarity Volunteers.

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 below, quartz stockwork veining from a low sulphidation epithermal vein system in a project in Sonora, Mexico.  Photo by Miguel A Heredia.

On the picture above, quartz stockwork veining from a low sulphidation epithermal vein system in a project in Sonora, Mexico.  Photo by Miguel A Heredia.