New Discovery Made at Santa Elena Gold-Silver Mine in Mexico

According to a report on Mining.com, First Majestic Silver announced the extension of high-grade ore bodies at its Navida deposit in north-west Mexico, with a second gold-silver discovery made at the Santo Niño vein in the Santa Elena mine, located nearby.

Hole EWUG-25-050 at Navida intersected 6.8m of ore at 703m depth, with a gold grade of 14.8 g/t and silver grade of 642 g/t. The same hole intersected 5.9m of ore at 569m depth, with a gold grade of 11.1 g/t and silver grade of 215 g/t. The project is situated 150 km north-east of Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora state.

Ovais Habib, a mining analyst at Scotia Capital, stated, "We believe that the higher-than-expected grade results from the resource conversion drilling programme support an extension of the mine life and adjustments to production."

Santa Elena is one of the company's four mines in Mexico. Drilling 900m south of the beneficiation plant also discovered a large epithermal quartz-adularia vein named Santo Niño, containing gold and silver, within a newly discovered fault. The confirmed ore body extends over 600m along strike and 200m down-dip, remaining open in all directions.

Santo Niño Discovery

At the Santo Niño vein, hole SE-25-19 intersected 5.24m of ore at 366.25m depth, with a gold grade of 1.51 g/t and silver grade of 81 g/t. This includes mineralization 12.34m thick with a gold grade of 1.65 g/t and silver grade of 11.3 g/t. Additionally, mineralization 0.43m thick with a gold grade of 27.50 g/t and silver grade of 641 g/t was encountered.

On Wednesday, Don DeMarco, an analyst at National Bank Financial, cautioned, "The latest intersections at Navida and Santo Niño highlight the high potential of the Santa Elena/Ermitaño mine, with the possibility of resource growth and an extension of the mine life."

Four Deposits Identified

Following the new discoveries at Navida and Santo Niño, the Santa Elena mine now has four significant gold-silver deposits, including Ermitaño and Santa Elena. This demonstrates the growth potential of the area. The gold and silver grades at Navida significantly exceed those reported in the resource estimate announced in March.

These four deposits "lay the foundation for the company's future resource expansion and operational growth," Habib said. "Continued exploration success can further expand the long-term potential of the area and solidify Santa Elena's position as a core asset."

Currently, nine drilling rigs are operating at Navida. Drilling to the east this year has extended the Winter vein by 175m and the Navida vein by 325m. The total length along the strike reaches 1.3 kilometers, and the dip is 450 meters, confirming the lateral continuity and vertical extent of the high-grade ore body.

The company stated that, as of now, significant gold and silver mineralization has been encountered in 13 out of the 23 diamond drill holes completed by San Nino. Among the western upper part of the ore vein, 11 occurrences of ore show continuous distribution and relatively high grade.

San Nino is located 2.2 kilometers northwest of Ermitano West.