Guanajuato Silver Plans Record 75,000m Drill Program for 2026

Guanajuato Silver has released its consolidated drilling guidance for 2026 alongside production results for 2025, outlining a substantial expansion of exploration and infill activities across its five wholly owned underground mines in Mexico. The new program covers the Bolanitos mine, the El Cubo Mines Complex, the Valenciana Mines Complex (VMC), and the San Ignacio mine in Guanajuato, as well as the Topia mine in Durango.

The company plans to complete approximately 75,000m of drilling in 2026, marking a major increase compared with prior years. The program combines both exploration and infill drilling aimed at defining mineralization, supporting near-term mine plans, and expanding the company’s resource base across its portfolio.

James Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Guanajuato Silver, said the expanded program reflects a shift toward long-term growth. "In 2026, we will be significantly expanding our drilling budgets to ensure Guanajuato Silver is best positioned to expand its mineral resources at all of its assets in Mexico. Sufficiently capitalized, we can now, for the first time in the company's history, make the investments required to grow our resources, establish our first reserve estimates, and generate long-term production growth. As one of only a handful of true junior precious metals producers, Guanajuato Silver offers investors outsized leverage to the silver price. We enter the new year with optimism and with a solid roadmap for success."

Of the planned total, about 45,000m are allocated to exploration drilling, while roughly 30,000m are dedicated to infill drilling. Exploration activities are designed to extend known mineralization through step-out drilling and to test new zones and structures across the company’s mining districts. Infill drilling is intended to improve geological definition ahead of mining, supporting grade control, tonnage estimates, and development planning.

The company stated that the 2026 program is a change from previous campaigns and reflects a broader commitment to resource growth and technical de-risking. Key objectives include establishing initial mining reserves at most operations, with the exception of Bolanitos, which already has a reserve base from before Guanajuato Silver’s acquisition, strengthening the 2026 and 2027 mine plans through tighter geological control, and updating or expanding mineral resources at each mine as well as at the Horcon exploration asset in Jalisco, located about 80km northwest of Guanajuato.

Preparation for the drilling campaign has been underway for several months. Guanajuato Silver reported progress on permitting for surface drilling at Bolanitos, El Cubo, and Horcon, and expects to receive the remaining approvals before the end of the 2Q26. Planned underground drilling activities do not require additional permits.

Alongside its guidance, the company also reported consolidated production results for 2025. At Bolanitos, production reached 608,388oz of silver and 15,270oz of gold. Output from the company’s other four operations, Topia, El Cubo, VMC, and San Ignacio, totaled 1,238,866Moz of silver and 10,321oz of gold, in addition to 2,787,175 million pounds of lead and 3,380,069 million pounds of zinc.

Mining Exploration: An Overview

Since 2022, Mexico’s exploration sector has slowed, with investment falling from over US$500 million (MX$8.6 billion) in 2023 to an estimated US$400 million in 2025. The decline reflects global market pressures and domestic regulatory uncertainty, prompting companies to adopt a more cautious approach. A central concern has been the 2023 Mining Law reform, which reserves exploration rights primarily for the SGM and imposes stricter environmental and operational obligations on private firms.

While the previous administration implemented these measures, the current government has maintained a state-led model. President Claudia Sheinbaum has confirmed that no new mining concessions will be granted during her term, emphasizing sustainable development and strategic oversight. Even as the government works to streamline pending permits and support large-scale exploration within the existing framework, companies still face higher financial and legal risks due to increased royalties, tighter environmental standards, and budget constraints.

Despite these challenges, Mexico’s investment environment in mining has shown signs of recovery. In 2024, the country rose to 49th place in the Fraser Institute’s Mining Investment Attractiveness Index, up from 74th in 2023. The improvement was driven mainly by a stronger Geological Potential Index, which increased from 37.50 to 64.29 points, while the Policy Perception Index saw a modest rise from 35.02 to 39.78 points. The 2023 ranking had been Mexico’s lowest in 14 years.

Recently, Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard announced plans to accelerate mining permit approvals in 2026 to support large-scale exploration and meet rising global demand for critical minerals. “We reaffirmed our commitment to restart large-scale exploration next year, streamline pending permits, reduce processing times, and facilitate investment,” Ebrard said. He noted that in the current geopolitical climate, access to minerals and processing capacity is essential for competitiveness and supply chain stability. “Securing supply chains is a national priority,” he added, confirming that three new mining permits have already been approved, covering land-use authorizations for exploration and extraction as well as environmental impact approvals.

Miners Set Aggressive Drill Programs Across Key Projects in Mexico

Several mining companies are preparing drilling and exploration programs for 2026 across Mexico. Torex Gold plans a record US$77 million exploration and drilling budget, its largest annual investment, with US$43 million allocated to the Morelos Property targeting ELG Underground, the Media Luna cluster, and regional areas such as Atzcala and El Naranjo, while US$18 million at Los Reyes will fund a 20,000m program and preliminary economic studies.

Defiance Silver has also launched a new drilling campaign in Zacatecas, consisting of at least 10,000m of oriented core drilling aimed at advancing a new mineral resource estimate for the San Acacio deposit and testing additional high-grade silver targets following the Lucita discovery. Meanwhile, GR Silver Mining received a five-year drilling permit from SEMARNAT for its San Marcial Area at the Plomosas Silver project in Sinaloa, authorizing unlimited drilling from 46 new sites. The permit provides flexibility to expand known mineralization and supports longer-term resource growth through step-out and exploration drilling.