Prime Mining recently reported step-out drill holes at the southernmost end of Noche Buena in the Central Trend, which returned excellent gold and silver grades. Can you talk us through some of the highlights?
We published nine holes from Noche Buena, in the Central trend of our Los Reyes gold-silver project in Mexico. These including such outstanding results as 3.48g/t AuEq (3.12g/t Au and 27.7g/t Ag) over 7.6m estimated true width (e in hole 24NB-78, including 8.64g/t AuEq (7.8g/t Au and 64.8g/t Ag) over 2.8m etw, as well as 2.16g/t AuEq (1.75g/t Au and 31.9g/t Ag) over 11.3m etw in hole 24NB-67, including 8.65g/t AuEq (7.42g/t Au and 95.3g/t Ag) over 2.3m etw.
These step-out drill holes at the southernmost end of Noche Buena in the Central Trend not only returned excellent gold and silver grades, but defined a new high-grade shoot located several hundred metres beyond our October 2024 resource update. The mineralization encountered is at grades and widths indicative of underground expansion potential. And mineralization remains open at depth and along strike to the south, with strong potential for significant extension via the 2025 drilling currently underway. We are excited for 2025 to bring a continuation of similar positive results as we continue further step-outs along strike and down dip at Noche Buena.
You also intersected new continuous high-grade veins at Tahonitas in the Z-T Trend. What has this demonstrated about the project, and how has it adapted your exploration plans?
At Tahonitas, which is located in the south-east end of the Z-T Trend, drill results included 5.67g/t AuEq (2.23g/t Au and 266.1g/t Ag) over 4.2m etw in hole 24TA-149, including 9.49g/t AuEq (3.94g/t Au and 428.7g/t Ag) over 2.1m etw, in addition to 1.62g/t AuEq (1.36g/t Au and 19.9g/t Ag) over 15.2m etw in hole 24TA-144, including 4.94g/t AuEq (4.22g/t Au and 55.3g/t Ag) over 3.7m etw.
The quality of the high-grade results from the new Tahonitas Footwall Zone in Z-T demonstrates the continued resource expansion potential beyond what has been included in the updated underground and open pit mineral resource estimate. The southernmost holes are over 650m south of the MRE pit crest and approximately 250m along strike from the southern-most stope. All intercepts in these highlight drill holes are less than 200m from surface and located south along strike and outside the resource pit crest, with potential for either open pit or underground extraction.
These results delineated a newly discovered high-grade ore shoot at the southernmost end of Tahonitas. This shoot is currently defined over 260m by 140m and remains open along strike in both directions and at depth. It will be a key focus for follow-up drilling.
While the results wouldn’t change our exploration plans, I would note that our grassroots, boots on the ground field programmes, such as mapping and soil sampling, have led to this exciting new discovery.
Back in November you filed an NI 43-101 Technical Report for the updated MRE for Los Reyes. What does this mean in terms of resource expansion potential?
The drill cut-off date for the updated MRE was 17 July 2024. Since then, Prime has continued to drill across its property with exciting results which are promising for future resource expansion, both underground and open pit.
In December, we announced drill results at Guadalup East, highlighting 42.07g/t AuEq (14.25g/t Au and 2,150.0g/t Ag) over 1m etw in hole 24GE-160. The results demonstrate the high grades typical of this area and were located over 400m away from the main Guadalupe East resource area. We believe the old mine workings, including the Echeguren Shaft, which is approximately 300m from these highlight holes, provide good hunting ground for further discovery, given the mineralization we have found to-date by referencing these workings for drill targeting.
In mid-January, we released drill results from Tahonitas in the Z-T Trend, including 5.67g/t AuEq (2.23g/t Au and 266.1g/t Ag) over 4.2m estimated true wide in hole 24TA-149 and 1.62g/t AuEq (1.36g/t Au and 19.9g/t Ag) over 15.2m etw in hole 24TA-144. The southern-most holes from the published results are over 650m south of the MRE pit crest and approximately 250m along strike from the southern-most stope. Not only did we delineate a newly discovered high-grade ore shoot at the southernmost end of Tahonitas, but that shoot, currently defined over 260m by 140m, remains open along strike in both directions and at depth and will be a key focus for follow-up drilling.
In late January, we released results from Noche Buena, located between the Central and Guadalupe Trends, including 3.48g/t AuEq (3.12g/t Au and 27.7g/t Ag) over 7.6m etw in hole 24NB-78 and 2.16g/t AuEq (1.75g/t Au and 31.9g/t Ag) over 11.3m etw in hole 24NB-67. The high-grade extension, defined by a number of the published holes, confirms a 300m, high-grade shoot along strike from current stopes defined in our last MRE. The downdip extent of this high-grade shoot has been defined at over 120m, remains open, and presents an opportunity to add a significant volume of inferred stopes with follow-up drilling.
Also, February’s drill results from the generative target Fresnillo, located between Z-T and Central, included 1.99g/t AuEq (1.82g/t Au and 13.1g/t Ag) over 9.6m etw in hole 24NB-75. Such results demonstrate extension of high-grade mineralization near-surface and roughly 120m up-dip from the stopes generated in the 2024 MRE for the Fresnillo target area. As these drillholes help to ‘fill in’ more sparsely drilled areas, their addition is likely to drive an increase to reportable inferred ounces in future estimates for the Fresnillo area.
What are the next steps for Los Reyes?
Prime’s next steps include:
- Engineering and project optimization, advancing toward a preliminary economic assessment
- Success-based drilling programme to continue in 2025, focused on:
– Extending high-grade Z-T Area shoots (open at depth, along strike, north, and south)
– Expanding known high-grade mineralization at Guadalupe East
– Increasing Central Area resource via Noche Buena and San Miguel East
– Generative target drilling – high-grade intercepts (Las Primas, Mariposa, Fresnillo, and others) - Continue community relations and stakeholder engagement
- Baseline environmental survey complete, permit planning ongoing
How do you find operating in a jurisdiction such as Mexico? What benefits does it have to offer?
Mexico is a fantastic jurisdiction for mining, with highly skilled and hardworking people, investment friendly regulatory regime, and highly prospective exploration potential. We believe the mining law changes of May 2023 were established to ensure a standard for community engagement and environmental stewardship, which we are happy to support as we develop Los Reyes.
We also believe that open pit mining permits will open up again for companies who demonstrate responsible development strategies. While Los Reyes can be approached from an underground or open pit perspective depending on the regulatory regime, we ideally would like to see the flexibility in order to extract resources via the best method.
