VANCOUVER, BC, July 5, 2022
/CNW/ - Zacatecas Silver Corp. ("Zacatecas Silver" or the
"Company", (TSXV: ZAC) (OTC: ZCTSF) (FSE: 7TV) is pleased to
announce that it has engaged Palaris Ltd. ("Palaris") to lead a
pre-feasibility study ("PFS") of the Esperanza Gold Project in
Mexico.
Palaris is an established mining consultancy that provides
bespoke services to mineral exploration and mining companies
worldwide, including pre-feasibility, feasibility, and optimisation
studies, life-of-mine engineering services, project management
services and mine finance advisory services. Palaris have completed
over 3000 projects in over 40 countries, which encompass most
deposit types, mining scenarios and commodities.
Dr Chris Wilson, Chief
Operating Officer and a Director of Zacatecas Silver comments, "The
appointment of Palaris is a significant step in the overall
advancement of the Esperanza Gold Project. A pre-feasibility study
is fundamental to decision making and forward planning, and the
appointment of Palaris demonstrates our desire to progress the
project as quickly and efficiently as possible. Timely completion
of a pre-feasibility study is important at Esperanza, as it will define the project's
scope, which is a core component of a MIA submission (Manifestación
de Impacto Ambiental or EIA)."
Palaris will work closely with the Company's technical staff,
independent mineral resource modellers and metallurgists, and the
in-country specialist consultancies responsible for the MIA. The
initial focus of Palaris will be to:
- Provide an overall scope of the project for input into the
MIA.
- Provide oversight to the Company during verification and
resampling of the historical RC and diamond drill core
database.
- Review of resource model prepared by the independent resource
modeller.
- Provide oversight on compositing of bulk samples for further
metallurgical test-work.
- Development of an open-pit mining method and life of mine
plan.
- Development of a mineral processing and gold-silver recovery
flow-path including design of heap leach pads.
- Design of overall project infrastructure and mine layout with
an aim of reducing footprint through life of mine.
- Economic analysis to include capital and operating costs
scenarios, and market studies and contracts, in order to establish
a best-in-class mining operation. This analysis will include a
trade-off study designed to assess the optimum scope, value, and
execution strategy for the project.
About Palaris
Palaris is a mining consultant and trusted mining advisor with
over 20 years of global industry service, with office in
Australia, South Africa, the UK and Canada. Palaris provides multi-service
consultancy with leading specialists from industry, providing deep
technical and financial knowledge to mining companies, banks and
funds. Palaris has completed over 3,000 projects and has developed
a track record of conducting all levels of technical study required
on projects that have led to successful outcomes, project financing
and development into full mining operations.
Qualified Person
The contents of this news release have been reviewed and
approved by Chris Wilson, B.Sc.
(Hons), PhD, FAusIMM (CP), FSEG, Chief Operating Officer of
Zacatecas Silver. Dr Wilson is a Qualified Person as defined
by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects and is responsible for all technical
information in this news release.
About Zacatecas Silver
Corp.
Zacatecas is a mineral resource
company with the gold focused advanced stage Esperanza Gold Project
and the silver focused advanced stage Zacatecas Property. The
Zacatecas Property is located in Zacatecas State, Mexico, within the highly prospective
Fresnillo Silver Belt, which has produced over 6.2 billion ounces
of silver. The Company holds 7,826 ha (19,338 acres) of ground that
is highly prospective for low and intermediate sulphidation
silver-base metal mineralization and potentially low sulphidation
gold-dominant mineralization. On December 15, 2021, Zacatecas Silver announced a
mineral resource estimate at the Panuco Deposit consisting of 2.7
million tonnes at 187 g/t AgEq (171 g/t Ag and 0.17 g/t Au) for
16.4 million ounces AgEq (15 million ounces silver and 15 thousand
ounces gold) (see Company's news release dated December 15, 2021).
The Zacatecas Property is 25 km south-east of MAG Silver Corp.'s
Juanicipio Mine and Fresnillo PLC's Fresnillo Mine. The Zacatecas
Property shares common boundaries with Pan American Silver Corp.
claims and El Orito which is owned by Endeavour Silver Corp. There
are four main high-grade silver target areas within the Zacatecas
Property concessions: the Panuco Deposit, Muleros, El Cristo and
San Manuel-San Gill. The Zacatecas Property also includes
El Oro, El Orito, La Cantera, Monserrat, El Peñón, San Judas and San
Juan silver-base metal vein targets, and such targets are
relatively unexplored and will be the focus of rapid
reconnaissance.
The advanced stage Esperanza Gold Project, comprising 14,337.83
hectares), is located in Morelos State, Mexico. To date, significant core and reverse
circulation drilling has occurred at the Esperanza Gold Project
resulting in a total of 389 drill holes for 69,716 metres.
Alamos Gold Inc. reported in its most recent annual
information form a resource estimate of a measured and indicated
resource of 34,352,000 tonnes at 0.98 g/t gold and 8.09 g/t silver
for 1,083,366 ounces of gold and 8,936,201 ounces of silver and
inferred resource of 718,000 tonnes at 0.80 g/t gold and 15.04 g/t
silver for 18,375 ounces of gold and 347,192 ounces of silver. The
Company considers this to be an historical resource for the
purposes of National Instrument 43-101. Resource blocks were
defined using with dimensions of 10 metres (m) by 10
m by five m. The estimation of grades was performed with
the ordinary kriging method on capped composites. An added step in
the estimation strategy was the utilization of the dynamic
anisotropy technique in Vulcan's unfolding options. This
added capability allows for a more realistic outcome of the
estimated grade's spatial distribution as it follows the folded
shape of the deposit. Assumptions used in the resource include the
following metal prices: gold price of $1,400 (U.S.) per
ounce (oz) and silver price of $22 (U.S.) per oz. The
resource assumed the following economic assumptions: recovery of
60.4 per cent at 0.2 g/t to 71.9 per cent at 1.6 g/t for gold, 25
per cent for silver, $2.60-per-tonne mining
costs, 64-cents-per-tonne general and administrative
costs, $4.20-per-tonne milling costs and a pit slope of 45
degrees. The Company considers the resource relevant due to its
identification and modelling of
the Esperanza deposit.
The Company has not done sufficient work to classify the
resource as a current mineral resource or mineral reserves and the
Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral
resources or mineral reserves. Although the resource estimate is
considered reliable, the Company will resample a portion of the
drill core for the purpose of carrying out a new resource estimate.
Furthermore, additional data verification, including resurveying of
select diamond drill holes collars; review of graphic drill core
logs, comparison of these logs with remaining half-cut core and a
cross check of select geological logs agonist database entries; and
a check of original assay certificates against the assays and drill
hole database.
On behalf of the Company
Bryan Slusarchuk
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Forward-Looking
Statements
Information set forth in this news release contains
forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the
date of this news release. These statements reflect management's
current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are
not guarantees of future performance. Zacatecas Silver cautions
that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and
that actual performance may be affected by many material factors,
many of which are beyond their respective control. Such factors
include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to
Zacatecas Silver's limited operating history, its proposed
exploration and development activities on its properties and the
need to comply with environmental and governmental
regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events,
conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates,
beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the
forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable
securities legislation, Zacatecas Silver does not undertake to
publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
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SOURCE Zacatecas Silver Corp.