Mexico’s proposed higher mining royalties could block nearly $7bn in investments
The Mexican government proposed raising mining royalties under the argument that metal prices have risen in recent years.
Filo Mining (TSXV: FIL) reported on Wednesday additional results from drilling at the Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver project in San Juan province, Argentina, where a total of 15 holes (11,280m) were completed during the 2020/21 field season.
The latest results are highlighted by drill hole FSDH049, which returned 425.3m at 1.55% CuEq (0.42% Cu, 0.44g/t Au, 91.5g/t Ag). Included within the long intercept was the highest-grade silver intersection on the project to date, with 4m at 5,045 g/t Ag from a depth of 236m, contained within a broader silver interval of 56m at 629.1 g/t Ag from a depth of 228m.
Another hole, FSDH051, has extended the mineralized zone by 750m to the north, bringing the total north-south extent of continuous mineralization to 4,500m. This is the most northerly hole completed into the deposit to date, returning 344m at 0.50% CuEq (0.26% Cu, 0.21g/t Au, 9.4g/t Ag) from 246m.
The deposit is estimated to contain 3.1 billion lb copper, 4.4 million oz gold and 146.9 million oz silver in the indicated resource category, plus 1.1 billion lb copper, 1.8 million oz gold and 34.8 million oz silver inferred
This drill hole also includes a 36m intersection of elevated silver (50.5 g/t Ag) that lies along the projection of the main Filo silver zone and may represent its extension. If additional drilling is able to establish continuity, this would increase the length of the silver zone by 1km to a minimum north-south extent of 3km, Filo said.
Drill hole FSDH049 is within the current mineral resource, while FSDH051 is 1,700m north of the northern resource boundary. Both were collared prior to drilling the high-grade zone intersected in hole FSDH041 reported in May.
“Filo del Sol is growing into one of the largest copper-gold-silver discoveries ever,” Filo director Lukas Lundin said in Wednesday’s press release.
The deposit is estimated to contain 3.1 billion lb copper, 4.4 million oz gold and 146.9 million oz silver in the indicated resource category, plus 1.1 billion lb copper, 1.8 million oz gold and 34.8 million oz silver inferred.
“With Hole 51, we extended the deposit 750m to the north, outlining a 4.5km north-south strike of continuous mineralization,” added CEO Jamie Beck.
“Hole 49 is an excellent reminder of the precious metals-rich nature of the deposit. Starting with 30m of oxide gold from surface, Hole 49 then returned a substantial copper-gold-silver intercept which included the highest-grade silver intercept on the project to date.”
Beck said the company remains on track to resume drilling later in August as it prepares for year-round field operations.
Shares of Filo Mining jumped 4.6% by noon ET Wednesday following the drill results release. The Canadian miner has a market capitalization of C$1.1 billion.
