Impact Silver set to acquire second Mexican mine
Impact silver Corp. [IPT-TSXV, ISVLF-OTC Pink, IKL-FSE] said it has signed a binding conditional agreement to buy the Plomosas zinc-lead-silver mine in Chihuahua State, in northern Mexico. It said an agreement has been signed with a subsidiary of Consolidated Zinc Ltd. [CZL-ASX] of Australia, which holds a 100% of the Plomosas asset.
The Plomosas project is located 110 kilometres by road from Chihuahua City, the state capital. In 2021, CZL processed 31,695 tonnes, producing 2,442 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 599 tonnes of lead concentrate. Mine access is via three portals reaching a depth of 250 metres below surface and an old shaft, which can be refurbished, Impact said. The project includes a 200 tonne-per-day conventional flotation mill, which was recently operating under capacity.
The acquisition will expand Impact’s production profile from one to two producing operations, including Plomosas and the Royal Mines of Zacualpan silver-lead-gold district in central Mexico.
Impact said the US$6 million purchase price consists of a minimum of US$3 million in cash and the balance in Impact shares, plus a 12% net profit interest payable to CZL. Completion of the transaction is anticipated on or before April 7, 2023.
“We are truly pleased to acquire a second mining district after evaluating hundreds of projects over the years in an effort to grow Impact,” said Impact Chairman and CEO Frederick Davidson. “Currently, Plomosas is a relatively small mining operation on a large mineral system. Our goal is to upgrade and expand operations to optimize production from the large mineral system.’’
News of the agreement was released after the close of trading on February 9, 2023, when Impact shares close at 32 cents. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 67 cents and 24 cents.
CZL has been mining Plomosas since September, 2018 except for some temporary short suspensions. Impact said it plans to upgrade the mill with the aim to continue mining followed by plans for expanding operations.
CZL reported Plomosas JORC mineral resources of 215,000 tonnes, grading 13.5% zinc, 6.3% lead and 34.0 g/t silver in the indicated category, plus 772,000 tonnes of grade 13.1% zinc, 3.0% lead and 19.0 g/t silver in the inferred category, at a 3.0% zinc cutoff at December, 2021.
Impact said it is planning a drill program in 2023 to infill and test extensions of the known mineralization.
It said exploration potential at Plomosas is exceptional with only 600 metres of the 6.0-kilometre long structure assessed plus other exploration targets on the 3,019-hectare property including untested copper-gold targets.
“Regionally, Plomosas lies in the same mineral belt as some of the largest silver-lead-zinc carbonate replacement deposits (CRD) in the world.