Prime Announces Plans for Los Reyes Project in 2021

Prime Mining Corp. (Prime) has presented a year-end update of its Los Reyes gold-silver project in Sinaloa, Mexico. The company announced its operational plans for 2021 and explained that the company has enforced COVID-19 safety and health measures.

Los Reyes is a district scale epithermal project in a prolific mining region in Sinaloa.  According to the company, mineralization in the Los Reyes area is low sulfidation epithermal gold/silver systems. In a press release, Daniel Kunz, CEO of Prime, said the company grew during 2020 and that at the moment, Prime operates with a highly skilled technical, management and governance team. Moreover, Kunz said the company’s geologic understanding of the Los Reyes property has increased the potential for a major new resource discovery.

Prime reported the development and operations of Los Reyes project in 2020. In the first months, the company published its surface sampling results that demonstrated significant outcropping mineralized areas that carried good grades over significant widths, outside the historical resources at Zapote. The company explained it reached a long-term agreement for surface use over the Los Reyes project area with the Tasajera ejido. This is a 15-year agreement and can be extended for another 15years. It covers project access and land use for exploration, engineering, construction, commissioning and commercial operations. The company reported this is a unique project that could bring stability and development to the Los Reyes region.

In April, Prime announced an M&I in-pit oxide mineral resource of 19.8Mt at 1.00g/t and 26.2g/t silver containing 633,000oz of gold and 16.6Moz silver. The most recent press release shows an update of the resource outlining an in-pit oxide mineral resource of 7.1Mt at 0.78g/t of gold and 30.0g/t of silver.

Additionally, the company reported strategic management changes including the appointment of Kerry Sparkes as Executive Vice President Exploration and Ian Harkas as CFO. Moreover, the new members in the Board of Directors includes Andy Bowering, Murray John, Daniel Kunz, Paul Larkin, Marc Prefontaine and Paul Sweeney. The company said this board has the exploration, construction and operating experience required to boost the exploration and development of the project in Mexico.

Los Reyes 2020 Progress

The company explained that previous operators completed various prefeasibility studies. However, they did not develop the project. As a result, US$20 million have been invested in exploration and engineering at the Los Reyes property. The work completed provides sufficient understanding of resources at Los Reyes. However, studies have been conducted only in 40 percent of the known structures. This shows that the project has a great potential of what is an intact epithermal gold-silver system that can be explored and can lead to the discovery of new resources.

Progress on the project includes field mapping, trench sampling, rock alteration analysis and interpretation and re-logging of historic diamond drill core. The company’s first diamond drill exploration program has identified adularia, “a crystalline mineral containing high-grade gold and silver that is associated with nearby altered rock types.”

Los Reyes 2021 Exploration and Development Plans

The company announced its plans for 2021, which include a second drill contractor in January and the expansion of the in-pit resources along strike and down dip. “The drilling will infill areas to increase M&I resources from inferred and provide new silver data,” said the company.

Prime explained that Fresnillo, Las Primas, Orito and newly identified structures close  to Guadalupe offer both open pit and significant underground opportunities for resource expansion and discovery at the Los Reyes property. Prime expects to complete the Phase 1 drill program in the first half of 2021, besides designing the Los Reyes deposit during the 3Q21 and to develop additional resource expansion targets. Moreover, the company said it will construct new infrastructure to expand the Phase II drill program in October.