Prime Mining (TSX:PRYM) provided an update this week summarizing the highlights of its 2023 drill program at the company’s wholly-owned Los Reyes Gold-Silver Project in Sinaloa State, Mexico. The past year of drilling has continued to demonstrate the potential for resource expansion across multiple areas of the expansive project.
Scott Hicks, CEO of Prime, commented in a press release: “2023 was a standout year for Prime. In addition to other corporate and technical achievements, we effectively doubled the gold-equivalent resource ounces at our high-grade Los Reyes Project with drilling up to our December 2022 resource drilling cutoff. In 2023 we completed almost 60,000 metres of drilling, and we are excited to recap this 2023 exploration work today, as well as releasing notable new generative area intercepts at Mina, Orito Sur and Mariposa. Our 2024 drill program is already underway at Las Primas, Z-T and Guadalupe, and we are starting to see some exciting results from this initial 40,000-metre program come in. As in previous years, we will revisit this program as we continue to achieve our exploration goals for the Company and are looking forward to sharing results with our stakeholders along the way.”
Along the Z-T Trend, drilling intercepted wide, high-grade zones that support enlarging the gold-equivalent grade shell used for resource modeling. One standout hole was along the newly discovered “300 Trend” structure, returning 7.12 g/t gold equivalent over 2.1 meters estimated true width. The 300 Trend structure splays off the main Zapote trend and consists of gold and silver bearing quartz and breccia over approximately 2 kilometers. Prime tested an 800-meter section in 2023, hitting mineralization in all 11 widely spaced holes drilled to 250 meters depth.
In addition to the 300 Trend discovery, high-grade plunging shoots remain open at depth and along multiple kilometers of strike length unexplored by drilling. Surface mapping indicates the Z-T structure has over 4 kilometers of prospective strike. Expanding these plunging shoots is a key target for Prime’s 2023 exploration.
At the Tahonitas area, part of the Z-T Trend, drilling successfully extended silver-rich mineralization 350 meters to the southeast of previous drilling.
Along the Guadalupe Trend, exploration results hold the potential to significantly expand resources in the Guadalupe East zone. One standout hole, 23GE-147, returned 45.3 g/t gold and 2,723 g/t silver over 3.9 meters estimated true width. This very high-grade intercept expands mineralization along several structures within the current resource pit at Guadalupe East. 2023 drilling also expanded the overall resource grade shell by 370 meters to the southeast. Mineralization remains open along strike and at depth, presenting a compelling target for expansion drilling in 2023.
In the Central Trend, drilling expanded near-surface, open-pit amenable mineralization by over 150 meters southeast along strike from current modeling at the Noche Buena zone. Drilling also revealed a substantial volume of previously untested, high-grade material in the gap between the Noche Buena and San Miguel East resource pits. Filling in these areas to connect the two pits will be a focus for 2023 drilling.
Beyond expanding current resource areas, Prime had success with generative exploration drilling at several new target areas in 2023. These early-stage zones demonstrate significant high-grade potential outside of current resources.
Las Primas, situated between the Guadalupe and Central trends, contains multiple newly discovered high-grade plunging shoots analogous to mineralization at Guadalupe East. Early modeling at Las Primas suggests continuity over 450 meters strike length and 300 meters vertical depth. The area remains open in all directions after the initial round of 2023 drilling.
At Fresnillo, another new discovery located between the main Z-T and Central trends, 2023 drilling intercepted thick intervals of precious metals mineralization outside of current resource areas. Surface mapping and modeling are ongoing to guide follow-up drilling in 2024.
For 2024 exploration, Prime has laid out plans for 40,000 meters of drilling utilizing six active rigs on site. Efforts will remain focused on expanding high-grade resources at depth and along strike, while also testing early-stage targets to unlock the district-scale potential of the Los Reyes property. With success in 2023 exploration drilling, Prime continues systematically advancing Los Reyes toward development while also proving out major resource growth opportunities across multiple zones.
2023 Corporate Highlights
Advanced project investigations:
- Released Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) on May 2, 2023, based on year end 2022 drilling, outlining:
- 1.47 million Indicated gold-equivalent (“AuEq”) ounces at a 1.68 grams per tonne (“gpt”) average grade, comprised of 1.0 million ounces of gold at 1.16 gpt and 35 million ounces of silver at 40.4 gpt.
- 0.73 million Inferred AuEq ounces at a 1.26 gpt average grade, comprised of 0.5 million ounces of gold at 0.85 gpt and 18.4 million ounces of silver at 31.5 gpt.
- Completed 58,896 metres (“m”) of drilling over 184 holes following success-based exploration program; 162 drill holes intercepted mineralization above approximately 0.2 gpt Au cutoff.
- Expanded high-grade mineralization at Z-T by 350 m along strike and multiple high-grade shoots by several hundred metres down dip.
- Grew the mineralized grade shells at Central and Guadalupe Trends, where we have discovered several new high-grade antithetic veins.
- Continued to develop generative targets, with particular success at Las Primas, as well as several other zones including Fresnillo, Mina, Mariposa and the 300 Trend.
- Advanced our metallurgical, geochemical, geotechnical and project understanding through testwork and field studies.
Strengthened Management Team and Board:
- Appointed Indi Gopinathan as VP Capital Markets and Business Development in April 2023.
- Appointed Advisor Kerry Sparkes to Board of Directors in August 2023.
- Completed internal management transition in late 2023, culminating in January 2024 appointment of Scott Hicks as CEO.
Ended year in strong financial position:
- Held approximately C$33 million in cash at December 31, following receipt of C$28 million from successful warrant acceleration program in May 2023.
Demonstrated commitment to Environment, Social and Corporate Governance:
- Released inaugural ESG report in April 2023.
- Social and community engagement activities, including agreement to double active work areas.
- Graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange to the TSX main board.
Z-T Drill Highlights – Additional New Discovery Strike Extent Down Dip and Below MRE:
- 6.19 gpt AuEq (3.33 gpt Au and 220.9 gpt Ag) over 11.6 m etw in hole 23TA-64 in Tahonitas, including:
- 41.92 gpt AuEq (24.0 gpt Au and 1,385.0 gpt Ag) over 1.0 m etw.
- 4.86 gpt AuEq (3.80 gpt Au and 82.0 gpt Ag) over 13.3 m etw in hole 23TA-69, located 100 m below the MRE resource pit, including:
- 9.30 gpt AuEq (8.15 gpt Au and 89.2 gpt Ag) over 3.7 m etw.
- 3.87 gpt AuEq (3.16 gpt Au and 54.9 gpt Ag) over 20.5 m etw in hole 23TA-71, located 220 m down dip and below the MRE resource pit, including:
- 8.72 gpt AuEq (7.63 gpt Au and 84.0 gpt Ag) over 5.5 m etw.
- 2.09 gpt AuEq (1.26 gpt Au and 63.9 gpt Ag) over 11.6 m etw in hole 23TA-90, including:
- 3.83 gpt AuEq (2.61 gpt Au and 94.5 gpt Ag) over 2.2 m etw.
Significant SE Strike Extension Potential at Tahonitas:
- 3.74 gpt AuEq (0.99 gpt Au and 212.5 gpt Ag) over 5.7 m etw in hole 23TA-100, located 350m along strike to the SE from the MRE pit crest, including:
- 10.94 gpt AuEq (2.97 gpt Au and 616.0 gpt Ag) over 1.3 m etw.
- 2.33 gpt AuEq (0.83 gpt Au and 115.9 gpt Ag) over 7.1 m etw in hole 23TA-91, located 150m along strike to the SE from the MRE pit crest.
Mariposa, a generative target northwest of Z-T, returned strong gold grades:
- 3.3 gpt AuEq (3.11 gpt Au and 14.8 gpt Ag) over 2.2 m etw downhole in new hole 23MA-11*
Guadalupe East – High Grade Gold and Silver
- 13.51 gpt AuEq (10.10 gpt Au and 263.8 gpt Ag) over 2.2 m etw in hole 23GE-142 at Guadalupe East, including:
- 23.46 gpt AuEq (17.80 gpt Au and 437.0 gpt Ag) over 1.2 m etw; and,
- 44.39 gpt AuEq (18.20 gpt Au and 2,024.0 gpt Ag) over 1.0 m etw
- 15.06 gpt AuEq (5.46 gpt Au and 742.0 gpt Ag) over 0.8 m etw in hole 23GE-136.
- 17.95 gpt AuEq (9.69 gpt Au and 638.55 gpt Ag) over 31.25 m etw in hole 23GE-147, including;
- 52.67 gpt AuEq (29.41 gpt Au and 1,797.3 gpt Ag) over 6.45 m etw, and including,
- 80.57 gpt AuEq (45.34 gpt Au and 2,722.6 gpt Ag) over 3.90 m etw.
- 27.56 gpt AuEq (8.17 gpt Au and 1,498.0 gpt Ag) over 0.6 m etw in new hole 23GE-144*
Orito Sur, a generative target north of Guadalupe East, returned strong gold and silver grades:
- 5.3 gpt AuEq (2.70 gpt Au and 200.5 gpt Ag) over 2.4 m etw in new hole 23OS-01*
Mina, a generative target northeast of Guadalupe East, also returned strong grades:
- 4.24 gpt AuEq (2.54 gpt Au and 131.3 gpt Ag) over 4.9 m downhole in new hole 23MINA-13*
Central – High Grade, Near-Surface Material at Noche Buena
- 4.99 gpt AuEq (4.11 gpt Au and 67.9 gpt Ag) over 9.1 m etw in hole 23NB-46, located 150 m along strike from the bottom of the MRE pit, including:
- 37.48 gpt AuEq (31.40 gpt Au and 470.0 gpt Ag) over 1.1 m etw.
- 1.50 gpt AuEq (1.23 gpt Au and 20.5 gpt Ag) over 14.0 m etw in hole 23NB-39, located immediately adjacent to the MRE pit, including:
- 5.17 gpt AuEq (4.19 gpt Au and 76.0 gpt Ag) over 2.0 m etw.
- 2.43 gpt AuEq (0.91 gpt Au and 117.3 gpt Ag) over 6.5 m etw in new hole 23NB-59*
Noche Buena and San Miguel East – Drilling to Fill the Gap Returns Strong Silver Values
- 4.49 gpt AuEq (1.48 gpt Au and 232.6 gpt Ag) over 5.0 m etw in hole 23NB-51, including:
- 8.00 gpt AuEq (2.70 gpt Au and 409.4 gpt Ag) over 2.6 m etw and;
- 3.51 gpt AuEq (3.36 gpt Au and 11.9 gpt Ag) over 1.2 m etw.
- 3.81 gpt AuEq (1.62 gpt Au and 169.2 gpt Ag) over 2.6 m etw in hole 23NB-53, including:
- 8.21 gpt AuEq (2.77 gpt Au and 420.0 gpt Ag) over 1.0 m etw;
- 1.33 gpt AuEq (0.55 gpt Au and 60.1 gpt Ag) over 4.4 m etw in hole 23SME-37, including:
- 2.65 gpt AuEq (2.03 gpt Au and 48.2 gpt Ag) over 0.7 m etw;
- 2.23 gpt AuEq (0.99 gpt Au and 95.9 gpt Ag) over 1.4 m etw in hole 23SME-34, located on the north-east side of San Miguel East.
Las Primas Area – Prime Discovery:
- 15.63 gpt AuEq (11.60 gpt Au and 311.1 gpt Ag) over 4.5 m etw in hole 23LP-18, including:
- 27.52 gpt AuEq (20.39 gpt Au and 550.8 gpt Ag) over 2.5 m etw, and including,
- 56.28 gpt AuEq (41.90 gpt Au and 1,111.0 gpt Ag) over 1.1 m etw;
- 12.34 gpt AuEq (10.85 gpt Au and 114.9 gpt Ag) over 2.5 m etw in hole 23LP-14 at Las Primas, including:
- 17.50 gpt AuEq (15.40 gpt Au and 162.2 gpt Ag) over 1.7 m etw.
- 1.73 gpt AuEq (1.70 gpt Au and 2.3 gpt Ag) over 9.6 m etw in hole 23LP-06, including:
- 4.94 gpt AuEq (4.88 gpt Au and 4.7 gpt Ag) over 3.0 m etw.
- 1.20 gpt AuEq (0.87 gpt Au and 25.8 gpt Ag) over 14.6 m etw in hole 23LP-07, starting just below surface.
Fresnillo – Prime Original Discovery
- 1.67 gpt AuEq (1.44 gpt Au and 17.6 gpt Ag) over 15.8 m etw in hole 22FRE-09, including:
- 5.36 gpt AuEq (4.73 gpt Au and 48.4 gpt Ag) over 2.9 m etw.
- 1.65 gpt AuEq (1.06 gpt Au and 45.2 gpt Ag) over 10.9 m etw in hole 23FRE-19, including:
- 12.30 gpt AuEq (6.63 gpt Au and 438.0 gpt Ag) over 0.85 m etw.
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