Category: Exploration and Development

Thompson Falls, Montana. United States Antimony Corporation reports significant price increases in antimony and that it has successfully transitioned from custom smelting antimony concentrates at the Madero, Coahuila, Mexico plant to its own mine production. This Company’s antimony business plan is to accelerate production from its Mexican antimony mines with internal cash flow. The mines had been idle for two years.

Mark Brennan, President and CEO of Sierra Metals stated “We have been seen tremendous growth in ore throughput and copper production at the Bolivar Mine over the past 5 years, however we have also seen ore grade erosion that has partly offset the expansion benefits of our earnings potential. Since 2015 we have been working aggressively to add new higher-grade, higher-value tonnage at Bolivar. Our objectives for 2017 are to increase production further, reduce costs and complete successful brownfield exploration that can be brought into the production schedule in 2018.” He continued, “The Bolivar district is prolific in its geological activity. We are optimistic that we can add resource tonnage while also improving ore grade. This makes us optimistic for our cash flows and EBITDA outlook in 2018.”

Mexus Gold US announced that the company continues to move steadily towards first production. Regino Vargas of MarMar Holdings, Mexus’ JV partner, reported that as of March 5th the testing of the leaching circuit is complete with satisfactory results. ChemTreat Chemical Company is now on site and has delivered and installed the ML7640 chemical treatment equipment. This specialized equipment adds chemicals and maintains the leaching solution to the heap leach pad. The equipment will take several days to test and calibrate at which point the leaching process will begin.

The results from these three drilling campaigns have: confirmed that continuous mineralization extends below the Valdecañas Bonanza Grade mineralization; revealed a substantial widening of this deeper mineralization into a well-defined dilatant zone; and, resulted in the discovery of the new “Anticipada Vein”, within the vein system. A new resource estimate incorporating the drilling results from these programs is in progress and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2017.

Since commencing drilling in July through December 15, 2016, Oceanus completed 35 diamond drill holes totalling 6,467 meters of HQ-size core in the first phase of the infill program carried out primarily in the central area of the El Tigre deposit over the past-producing El Tigre Mine. Diamond drilling resumed on January 10, 2017 after a three week break for the holidays. This second phase of the drilling program currently has one drill rig working to test the southern extension of the deposit and the other rig drilling the 500 meter gap to the north between the camp and Mula Mountain. Oceanus has completed another 17 diamond drill holes totalling 2,959 meters of HQ-size core during January and February and anticipates another 15 holes will be drilled during March to complete drilling on the infill sections.

British Columbia mining and exploration icon Louis Wolfin, who founded Avino Silver & Gold Mines in 1968 and ran the company for over 30 years, died peacefully at his home on Friday, March 3. He was 85 years old.

Keith Piggott, Chairman, President and CEO of Goldgroup commented: “Our primary focus for 2017 is to continue to ramp up gold production and lower crushing and mining costs through bringing better efficiency into Cerro Prieto, which will improve the financial position of the Company moving forward.”

Kootenay Silver Inc. is pleased to announce plans are underway to proceed with the 2017 exploration program being conducted and operated by Pan American Silver Corp on its La Negra silver discovery in Sonora, Mexico. The program is part of an option agreement between Kootenay and Pan American that provides Kootenay with a series of work and cash commitments and a carried to production interest on La Negra.

N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, President & CEO remarked, “We expected the area drilled to be mostly mined out and are very pleased to discover that much of the mineralization in this area is intact. The initial drill hole results at the Babicanora Vein suggests high-grade mineralization and a continuous, well-defined mineralized vein and structure that averages over four metres in true thickness. We have been able to trace the Babicanora Vein, on surface and underground, for over one kilometre within an altered and mineralized trend that is over 2.5 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide. Underground access to this vein is via a 230-metre long 4 by 4 metre horizontal adit (see attached Photo), which was driven by a French company during the 1860s. We are drilling the Babicanora Vein from the face of this adit, and are encountering high grade drill intercepts within 8 to 33 metres of the adit.”

Exploration results from the recently completed property wide soil sampling grid (approximately 1,000 samples) have confirmed the existence of the primary gold target, 600 metres X 800 metres. Historical data has been incorporated with the Company’s recent exploration work, resulting in field evidence that the north-south trending shear/vein structures coalesce in various zones along strike. This has reinforced the geological model that wider zones of gold mineralization, flanking the high-grade shear structures, some of which continue to be mined by local gambosinos (miners), where grades appear to be in the 15 g/t gold range, exist. The Company’s sampling of the one to two metre-wide structures has resulted in grades up to 46 g/t gold.