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.

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.

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.

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.”