Endeavour Silver has announced the discovery of a new area of high-grade mineralization within the Melladito vein at the company’s Bolanitos mine in Mexico. Of the 14 holes drilled, eight intersected high-grade gold and silver.
Drill highlights include 1.5 metres of 24.3 g/t gold and 787 g/t silver, 1.1 metres of 12.5 g/t gold and 50 g/t silver as well as 2.7 metres of 7.37 g/t gold and 170 g/t silver.
The drilling has traced mineralization over an area of 100 metres by 200 metres, which remains open.
The company believes that this zone could continue towards two areas of historic mine workings to the east and west.
“This year, we are discovering new resources in the Melladito vein, which should allow us to develop and mine there next year, as the orebody is only 300 metres from the La Luz ramp and 300 metres from the San Miguel ramp,” Bradford Cooke, the company’s CEO, said in a release.
Cooke added that exploration work at Bolanitos was stopped on April 1 due to a Mexican government suspension of non-essential activities amid the covid-19 pandemic and that the mining industry can now restart.
Endeavour plans to resume its exploration drilling on or after June 1.
In the first quarter of the year, Bolanitos produced 86,125 oz. of silver at all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $44.17 per oz.
The company also operates the Guanacevi and El Compas mines in Mexico.
Last quarter, its total silver-equivalent output was at 1.5 million oz. at AISCs of $18.38 per oz.
Endeavour’s stock was trading up 5.2% at Wednesday’s close on the NYSE. The company has a $286 million market capitalization.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)