Silver Spruce Takes Full Ownership of Chihuahua Silver Claims

Canadian junior explorer Silver Spruce Resources has secured a 100% interest in the Pino de Plata silver claims in western Chihuahua, converting a prior option into outright ownership and removing the time limit that had constrained development of the property.

The company said it executed an assignment agreement on July 2 with the holder of the four Pino de Plata concessions, making Silver Spruce the sole owner. The arrangement upgrades a May 2025 option that had kept the claims in the former holder's name pending further payments and carried a three-year deadline to sell the property. Under the new terms, there is no time limit on development, exploration or sale.

Silver Spruce paid US$10,000 to the former holder and will owe 10% of gross proceeds if the claims are later sold. Additional payments of US$15,000 are due in 2027 and 2028, followed by US$25,000 annually in each subsequent year until a sale. The concessions carry no royalties and no exploration spending requirements. The assignment agreement is being registered with Mexico's Ministry of Mining.

The company said it has held face-to-face meetings with landowner representatives and legal counsel in Chihuahua and Hermosillo in recent months to discuss land access, exploration and development, marking the first in-person talks with landowners since 2019. Negotiations are ongoing. Silver Spruce remains current on property taxes through the 2H26 and is advancing a proposed Phase 1 exploration drilling program.

Company geologist Paul K. Smith said the transaction strengthens the project's foundation. "This represents a significant advancement for Silver Spruce's ownership of the Pino concessions, which is now direct and enduring. We look forward to finally get on the ground and complete preliminary geological surveys ahead of mobilizing drilling equipment upon negotiating a land access agreement," he said.

A Never-Drilled Target Beside a Major Producer

The 397ha Pino de Plata silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold concessions sit in the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic complex, within the northwest-trending Sonora Gold Belt. The property lies 15km west of Coeur Mining's Palmarejo open-pit and underground operations and is largely surrounded by ground Coeur acquired through its December 2014 purchase of the adjacent San Miguel project, a US$146 million all-share deal with Paramount Gold and Silver.

Pino de Plata hosts surface silver values averaging above 50g/t, with local targets exceeding 500g/t. A 1985 sample at the Santa Elena zone reportedly returned 672g/t silver, 2.09% lead and 4.15% zinc. The property carries three target types: disseminated eithermal, carbonate replacement and vein mineralization. It has never been drilled despite supporting small-scale historical production from artisanal workings.

Chihuahua Silver Activity Accelerates

The acquisition lands as elevated precious-metals prices revive exploration across Chihuahua, Mexico's second-largest silver-producing state and host to the country's largest undeveloped polymetallic reserves. Between January and October 2025, the state produced MX$43.588 billion in gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc, up from MX$34.620 billion a year earlier, according to state figures cited by Mexico Business News. Investor appetite for Mexican silver has strengthened as gold and silver hold multi-year-high prices into 2026. Chihuahua's government has mapped a roadmap of eight advanced projects worth a combined US$3.6 billion through 2030, anchored by Discovery Silver's Cordero and Fresnillo's Orisyvo.

Neighboring Palmarejo underscores the district's scale. Coeur guided 2026 output there to 95,000-105,000oz of gold and 6.25-7.0Mozof silver, and in late 2025 ran its largest exploration campaign since 2012 across a 300-square-kilometer package only 3% of which has been explored.

Silver Spruce's portfolio also includes the early-stage Jackie gold-silver project in Sonora and the Melchett Lake polymetallic project in Ontario.