Santa Maria Project
Overview
The Opportunity
- Very high grade elevated level of epithermal veining property wide.
- 21 veins discovered to date on surface, only 2 partly drilled and all veins open on strike and at depth.
- 14 surface veins surface sample show elevated gold / silver values, remaining veins never sampled.
- No surface geochemistry, geophysics of any type done on the property.
- No regional, down to property wide, structural interpretation done on the property to determine relationship between veins, structures and mineralization.
- Similarities to Silver Crest’s early stage Las Chispas project.
Property
Santa Maria
Location
High-grade silver-gold property situated in the centre of the Mexican epithermal silver-gold belt in mining friendly Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Summary
- Historical mining area of La Union with mining dating back to the 1940’s.
- Option to own 100% from Golden Minerals.
- Previous work included test mining during 2015 and 2016.
- Systematic geophysics and surface geochemistry never historically completed.
- Robust vein system:
- 21 veins discovered to date on surface, only 2 partly drilled and all veins open on strike and at depth.
- Surface samples from 14 veins show elevated gold / silver values with remaining veins never sampled.
- Main vein mineral resources are open along strike and at depth.
- Potential to expand ore body as it’s open along strike and at depth plus infill of high-grade ore shoots.
- Foundation for growth:
Ownership
Option to own 100%
History
- Recognized as a significant metallogenic province, which has reportedly produced more silver than any other equivalent area in the world.
- Epithermal deposits are unique in terms of their unusually high silver grades (500 to 2,000 g/t Ag) and elevated base metals.
- Santa Maria is a high-grade silver-gold property situated in the centre of the Mexican epithermal silver-gold belt.
Location
- Located 19 km from Santa Bárbara and 39 km from Parral in State of Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Mining friendly jurisdiction of Parral has produced over 250M oz silver.
- Multiple major operators in the vicinity, including three toll mills within a 20 km distance.
- Significant infrastructure on site, including access to paved and dirt roads, grid power and labour.
- Strong community relationships in place.
Significant Project Database
2,528
samples from surface drilling
942
from underground drilling
2,186
underground channel samples
322
surface samples
- Large database of both surface and underground samples from previous work completed.
- Typically banded epithermal textures observed in underground working and drill core.
- Presence of certain silver minerals indicate elevated level of exposure within the epithermal system.
- Past exploration planned in the context of mineralized structures, assuming the Main Vein and Dos Veins followed structural trends observed on surface and throughout underground workings.
- Successful exploration drilling down-dip of workings supported past assumption.
Robust Vein System
- Very high-grade elevated level of epithermal veining property wide.
- Main Deposit strikes in east-west with gold and silver and North Veins also contain base metals in addition to silver gold.
- 21 veins discovered to date on surface, only 2 partly drilled and all veins open on strike and at depth.
- Surface samples from 14 veins show elevated gold / silver values with remaining veins never sampled.
- Deposit includes oxide and sulphide zones.
- Blended zone in the middle includes the richest mineralization.
- Geological modeling to date has defined two shoots as defined
Two Distinct Veins:
- 9,900 metres of drilling completed over 4 years.
- Main vein and Dos vein partially explored but open on strike and at depth and modelled to date.
IP Anomalies - Santa Maria Property
- First ever 3D IP survey with 50 m line spacing penetrated to 500 m minimum completed.
- 11 new priority targets outlined:
- Generally E-W trending
- IPSM-1 400 m to east of the last surface expression is sub-cropping and an extension of Santa Maria vein.
- All other anomalies define new trends in north and range from shallow to deep seated.
- 26 surface samples collected with results pending.
- Survey results support new theory of mineralizing events and structural controls which should enhance exploration success.
- 8,000 m drilling program underway.