Reyna Silver options Mineral Hill project, Nevada
Reyna Silver Corp. [TSXV-RSLV; OTCQX-RSNVF; FRA-4ZC] has entered into an option agreement with Minquest Ltd. on the Mineral Hill project located in Eureka County, Nevada. This historic district was an inlier including eight patented claims and 20 unpatented claims within the overall Gryphon project.
“Mineral Hill was producing some of the highest-grade silver-rich [carbonate replacement deposit] mineralization ever found in this part of Nevada well before its neighbors Eureka, Cortez and Railroad were even discovered, so acquiring these patented claims fills an important missing piece in the Gryphon property puzzle,” said Jorge Ramiro Monroy, CEO of Reyna Silver. “All these districts show overlapping Carlin gold and CRD mineralization, but previous exploration at Gryphon just focused on the gold, so filling this hole lets us apply our broader integrated vision to unlock the full gold, silver and critical ketals potential of the overall Gryphon system.”
Mineral Hill was a significant historic silver-lead-zinc CRD producer with an average grade of 140 oz/ton Ag (3,968 g/t Ag) production during its prime in the 1870s with average grades lowering to 24 oz/ton Ag (680 g/t Ag) toward the end of mine life. Studying this portion of the Gryphon system allows the technical team to understand the geometry of the mineralization and begin following it toward source and potentially more mineralization.
The major deposits of the Lander and Eureka county area, including the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend and the Carlin trend, were noted as CRD deposits prior to discovery of the massive Carlin gold systems in the 1960s.
Ralph Roberts, famous Carlin trailblazer, cited CRDs as the significant deposits in his papers in 1960 and 1966 including Eureka, Railroad and Cortez which are now collectively known for producing over 60 million oz of gold. The association of CRDs and Carlin deposits has been recognized for years though the relationship is not fully understood.
The agreement gives Reyna Silver the ability to earn a 100% ownership interest in the Mineral Hill project, subject to Reyna performing the following by July 31, 2030: incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of US$1.55 million on the project; and making cash payments to Minquest in the aggregate amount of US$1.81 million. On exercise of the option by Reyna Silver, Reyna Silver will grant Minquest a 2.5% net smelter return royalty. Reyna Silver will have the option to repurchase 1.25% of the 2.5% NSR royalty at any time by paying Minquest US$2.5 million.
Additionally, Reyna Silver is looking forward to starting the 2024 drill program imminently building upon the concatenation of historic work, extensive mapping and reinterpretation of geology resulting in exciting new targets. The camp is ready to go, earthworks on the east side are almost finished and the drill rig will arrive soon.
Reyna Silver focuses on exploring for high-grade, district-scale silver deposits in Mexico and the United States. In Nevada the company has recently entered into an option to acquire 70% of the 10,300-hectare Gryphon Summit project in a 50/50 partnership with Reyna Gold Corp.
The Gryphon project shows features indicating uniquely superimposed/overprinted silver-lead-zinc-copper carbonate replacement (CRD), Carlin gold and critical metals mineralization.
Also in Nevada, the company is advancing its option to acquire 100% of the Medicine Springs project where the company is exploring a potentially significant silver-lead-zinc-copper CRD-skarn-porphyry system.
The company’s Mexican assets are 100-owned and include the Guigui project and Batopilas project, both located in Chihuahua state. The Guigui project covers the interpreted source area for the Santa Eulalia carbonate replacement deposit district and Batopilas covers most of Mexico’s historically highest-grade silver system.