The Canadian company aims to make the underexplored gold-silver project ready for drilling by the end of this year
The Margaritas gold-silver property has two concessions spanning 500ha. (Credit:swm/Freeimages)
Silverton Metals, a Canadian exploration and development company, has agreed to acquire the Margaritas gold-silver property in the Durango state in Mexico from Zapata Exploration and 0924682 B.C.
In this connection, the company has signed a share purchase agreement with the two sellers to acquire Impulsora De Proyectos Mineros, a subsidiary of Zapata.
As per the terms, Silverton Metals will issue 7.5 million of its shares and offer a net smelter return royalty of 0.5% to the sellers.
The Margaritas property consists of two concessions called Margaritas and Ampliacion las Margaritas, that span a total of 500ha.
It is an underexplored, high-grade epithermal gold-silver deposit, which is hosted in the volcanic rocks of the Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range system.
Margaritas’ mineralisation consists of native gold and accessory silver, and gangue of silica, clays, as well as traces of pyrite.
Silverton Metals president and CEO John Theobald said: “We are very excited about the Margaritas acquisition as it contains a high-grade gold vein open in all directions with visible gold and the potential to be a bonanza-grade deposit.
“Both the environmental permit application and community agreement process have already commenced, which have given the company a head start on the exploration of the project. Favourable topography facilitates drilling and or tunnelling and eventually would also facilitate underground mining.”
Theobald said that based on simple mineralogy, gold from the Margaritas property can be extracted easily by employing the gravity and leaching methods.
Silverton Metals aims to get the project ready for drilling by the end of this year.
The Margaritas deposit is said to be a gold dominant low-sulphidation epithermal system. It is similar to productive deposits like La Cienega and Bacis, which are located 250km away, in Durango.
The closing of the deal is contingent on meeting certain customary conditions and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.