Vizsla Silver Restarts Drilling at Panuco

Canada-based Vizsla Silver announced drilling has been restarted at their Panuco property. 

Vizsla Silver, a mineral exploration and development company, has announced their recommencement of operations in their wholly-owned Panucho property in the state of Sonora, Mexico, a flagship gold and silver deposit. The announcement comes after the July 26 shutdown/suspension due to increased COVID-19 infections in the municipality. 

In July 2021, MBN reported Vizsla’s acquisition of the entire Panuco-Copala District through a binding agreement with Minera Rio Panuco, executing, at the moment, an exercise notice with Silverstone Resources, meant to accelerate the acquisition. Under the agreement, Vizsla was to acquire 100 percent of the Panuco property, including an area of 3,839ha, the Coco Mill, and 43 mining concessions. On its part, the Copala property includes 64 mining concessions and an area of 5,547ha. The deal came after several months of negotiations, primarily intended at Vizsla negotiation operations at the site with other companies, like the CAD$60 million deal struck back in February with Canaccord Genuity Corp., as reported by MBN. 

Vizsla´s President and CEO Michael Konnert, commented that “Following a steady decline in active case counts in the area surrounding the project and a thorough review of current state and federal government data, the company has decided to resume exploration activities earlier than previously stated,” adding the company’s excitement over the return to their +100 thousand meter drill program, intended to serve as their maiden project resource in 2022. Mr. Konnert added that the safety and health of workers remains their utmost concern, and that they will continue to monitor all individuals involved for positive cases. 

According to a schedule published by the company, operations restarted on August 25, in two rings in the Napoleon Resource Area, while on-site staff will remain low to better manage and observe Vizsla's COVID-19 protocols. On August 30, the company hopes to add four more rigs, one in the Napoleon Area and two additional ones in Tajitos. By September 2, the company expects to return to full capacity, which currently stands at ten rigs. 

Mr. Konnert shared with MBN Panuco’s consolidation, as a “a district-scale land package, comparable in size and geology to First Majestic’s San Dimas mine,” a project numbering twenty veins, many of which have shown high silver and gold grades. To date, the company has reported  that over 75,000 meters of drilling have been completed at Panuco, with promising high-grade veins as a result.