PROJECTs
Esperanza
Alamos has progressed the project through advanced engineering, including metallurgical work, while also focusing on stakeholder engagement, including building community relations. The Company announced a Mineral Resource Estimate at Esperanza consisting of a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 30.5 million tonnes at 0.97 g/t AuEq for 956 thousand ounces AuEq and an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 8.7 million tonnes at 0.98 g/t AuEq for 277 thousand ounces AuEq (see news release dated November 16, 2022).
It is an oxidized skarn deposit hosted by a carbonate-bearing sedimentary sequence intruded by a granodiorite stock. The deposit has been extensively explored by previous operators, with significant drilling and metallurgical test work completed. Zacatecas Silver Corp. acquired the project in 2022 from Alamos and intends to advance it through further studies and potential development.
Highlights
Near Surface, Open-Pitable, Heap Leach
Near surface and low technical risk near surface oxide gold-silver deposit — that is most likely amenable to standard bulk open pit mining, and gold and silver, via conventional heap leach.
High Grade Oxide Gold Resource
Measured and Indicated: 956,000 oz AuEq oz Au @ 0.97 g/t AuEq (30.538 Mt @ 0.93 g/t Au and 8.7 g/t Ag)
Inferred: 276,000 oz AuEq oz Au @ 0.98 g/t AuEq (8,737 Mt @ 0.91 g/t Au and 14.5 g/t Ag)
Robust Exploration Potential
Robust exploration targets at depth including intrusion-related stockwork, breccia and skarn/disseminated gold mineralization. Multiple high priority exploration targets immediately adjoining the Esperanza.
Advanced Stage Low Technical Risk
Almost 70,000 metres of diamond and RC drilling has gently fold tabular zone of mineralization that is well defined by drilling.
The Esperanza Property is located 80 km south of Mexico City and 12 km from Cuernavaca in the State of Morelos. It consists of 8 mining concessions comprising 14,338 hectares. The property is easily accessible by unpaved roads off paved public highways. Both Mexico City and Cuernavaca are capable of providing a skilled workforce and infrastructure for exploration and development. The climate allows for year-round operation.
During the 1970s, several adits were developed as drifts along narrow high-grade silver-bearing quartz veins. Recursos Cruz Del Sur S. A. de C. V. acquired an exploration concession over the area in 1994, optioning the property to Teck in 1995, who returned it in 1998. Esperanza Resources (ESM) signed an agreement in 2003 and drilled the Property between 2005 and 2012, completing two mineral resource estimates and several metallurgical tests. In 2013 Alamos acquired ESM, completing two more mineral resource estimates. Zacatecas Silver Corp. acquired the project in 2022.
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About Zacatecas
Zacatecas Silver Corp. is a Mexico-based exploration company focused on advancing high-potential gold and silver projects within Mexico, one of the world’s premier mining regions.
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The Esperanza Mineral Resource Estimate consists of:
- Pit-Constrained Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 30.3 million tonnes at 0.97 g/t AuEq (0.92 g/t gold and 8.6 g/t silver) for 941 thousand ounces AuEq (899 thousand ounces gold and 8.4 million ounces silver) and Out-of-Pit Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 270 thousand tonnes at 1.73 g/t AuEq (1.58 g/t gold and 11.0 g/t silver) for 15 thousand ounces of AuEq (14 thousand ounces of gold and 96 thousand ounces of silver).
- Pit-Constrained Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 8.3 million tonnes at 0.93 g/t AuEq (0.86 g/t gold and 14.7 g/t silver) for 248 thousand ounces AuEq (229 thousand ounces gold and 3.9 million ounces silver) and Out-of-Pit Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 479 thousand tonnes at 1.83 g/t AuEq (1.77 g/t gold and 11.8 g/t silver) for 28 thousand ounces of AuEq (27 thousand ounces of gold and 182 thousand ounces of silver).
Qualified Person
The contents of this page have been reviewed and approved by Chris Wilson, B.Sc. (Hons), PhD, FAusIMM (CP), FSEG, FGS, Chief Operating Officer of Zacatecas.
The Esperanza project geology comprises a host sequence of grey to dark grey, fine-grained, thin to medium bedded limestone with chert bands, belonging to the Xochicalco Formation. The limestone is intruded by a northeast-oriented, ovoid, medium to coarse-grained, feldspar phyric granodiorite stock. The Esperanza gold-silver deposit is an oxidized skarn located in the south-central part of the concession area. Gold and silver mineralization is spatially associated with exoskarn alteration at the contact between granodiorite and limestone.
To date, Zacatecas Silver Corp. has not conducted drilling on the Property. Historic drilling by Golden Minerals is discussed in Section 5 of the Technical Report.
Muleros Zone
Situated south of Panuco and north of El Cristo, this vein system extends over a three-kilometre strike length and comprises three main veins: the South Vein, North Vein, and El Rosario Vein.
Esperanza
project
Company | Market Cap. | Project Name and Location | Resources and Reserves |
|---|---|---|---|
Rio Tinto | n/a
| Jadar, Serbia
| 85.4 Mt @ 1.76% LiO2 and 16.1% B2O3 (Ind.); 58.1 Mt @ 1.87% Li2O and 12.0% B2O3 (Inf.)¹. |
Ioneer Ltd. | AUD 510 million (12 month high of AUD 925 million)
| Rhyolite Ridge, CA
| 146.5 Mt @ 0.35 % LiO2 and 4.56 % B2O3 (M+I+I)².
|
5e Advanced Materials Inc. | AUD 214 million (12 month high of AUD 969 million) | Fort Cady, CA | 74.3 Mt @ 0.076 % LiO2 and 4.15% B2O3 (M+I); 96.9 Mt @ 0.069 % LiO2 and 4.75% B2O3 (Inf.)³. |
¹ Rio Tinto updates Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources at Jadar, Notice to ASX, 23 February 2022.
² IONEER USA Corp. Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) Report (Li2CO3 and H3BO3 values converted to LiO2 and B2O3).
³ 5e Advanced Materials Inc., Form 8-K, May 11, 2023. Commission File Number 001-41279