Impact Silver Highlights Potential of Plomosas Mine

Impact Silver Corp. provided a corporate update on the high-grade zinc-lead-silver Plomosas mine, which was recently acquired in the state of Chihuahua. The company expects to initially restart production in 2H23 at levels that will allow management to consider additional modifications and efficiencies. However, more significant production levels approaching design capacity are expected in 1H24.

After completing the acquisition of the Plomosas mine, the company initiated an extensive on-site program to revitalize and upgrade operations. Additionally, the company brought in new technical and supervisory personnel. The planned upgrades will enable production expansion. An aggressive exploration program has been prepared to potentially increase the size of the existing resource. Mine planning and rehabilitation have been ongoing as the company replaces and repairs underground equipment, including scooptrams.

Impact Silver is in the process of replacing the mill’s foundations while upgrading the ball mill, crushing and conveying systems and flotation cells. Similarly, the mill's design capacity is 150t/d with plans for further expansion.

In addition, there are plans to expand the existing tailings pond. Simultaneously, the design and permitting stages are underway for a larger pond. These efforts will provide additional capacity to restore and increase mill production in the short term, while also offering substantial tailings capacity for future production increases. Substantial cost-saving options are potentially available to the company as management considers alternative power supply options.

"We are delighted to have completed this transformative acquisition, bringing both production growth and exploration potential for the company in the future. Plomosas is a unique operation built entirely on a mineral system with historical global grade-one levels of over 13% zinc, providing exceptional potential for improving and expanding its current level of operations," said Frederick Davidson, President and CEO, Impact Silver. 

It is estimated that the mineral resources at Plomosas amount to 215,000t with a grade of 13.5% zinc, 6.3% lead and 34.0g/t silver in the indicated category. Additionally, there are 772,000t with a grade of 13.1% zinc, 3.0% lead and 19.0g/t silver in the inferred category. These estimates were made at a 3% zinc cutoff as of December 2021.