SM: Nazareno Material Shows 30% & 40% Higher Gold & Silver.. Sierra Madre Gold and Silver Ltd. (ticker: SM.v or SMDRF for US investors) has begun underground development at the Nazareno silver-gold mine, part of the La Guitarra complex in Estado de Mexico.
More than 700 tonnes of mineralized material have already been transported to the Guitarra processing facility, and this material lies outside the 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate.
According to CEO Alex Langer, Nazareno becomes the third active mining centre at La Guitarra, coming less than a year after the company declared commercial production at its first mine on the property. The company expects this new zone to play a meaningful role in overall portfolio output as it advances its fully funded plan to lift plant throughput from 500 tonnes per day to more than 1,000 t/d by Q3 2027.
The Nazareno resource estimate published in 2023 outlined 309,877 tonnes at 257.3 g/t AgEq (214.9 g/t Ag, 0.55 g/t Au) in the Indicated category for 2,564,000 AgEq ounces, and 753,784 tonnes at 251.5 g/t AgEq (229.2 g/t Ag, 0.29 g/t Au) in the Inferred category for 6,096,000 AgEq ounces, using a 77.27:1 silver-to-gold ratio.
Initial reconciliation work comparing delivered material against the surrounding blocks in the 2023 Nazareno resource model indicates a 40% increase in silver grades and a 30% increase in gold relative to the model.
Development crews at Nazareno are currently widening the existing workings to full mineralized width and driving sills along the structure in both directions to evaluate the potential for long-hole mining in an area of closely spaced veins. Mapping following development blasting has identified multiple silver- and gold-bearing veins merging into a mineralized zone up to 8m wide.
To support development efficiency, Sierra Madre has purchased a portable Ingertrol Sandy 50 drill rig capable of drilling underground and at surface without the need to construct access roads.
The company plans to use this rig at Nazareno and also in the central Guitarra area to reduce development costs by drilling short fan holes from a single drive rather than advancing parallel development headings.
Full details here: https://sierramadregoldandsilver.com/read/auto-news-1759230098
Posted on behalf of Sierra Madre Gold and Silver Ltd.