Canada’s Silver One (TSX-V: SVE) is now the sole owner of the past-producing Candelaria silver mine, in Nevada, US, after inking a deal with SSR Mining (NASDAQ, TSX: SSRM).
To secure a 100% stake in Candelaria, Silver One had issued to SSR Mining a total $3.1 million in common shares over three years from 2017 to 2020, and assumed an $2.49 million reclamation bond.
“Silver One is currently updating the historical resource estimate to a current resource and completing metallurgical studies with the aim of completing an economic study,” chief executive Greg Crowe said in the statement.
Crowe noted the property also hosts significant exploration potential for gold and copper.
Between 1994 and 1999, under Kinross Gold (TSX: K)(NYSE: KGC), the Candelaria open pit mine produced 13 million ounces. Historically, the operation churned out more than 60 million ounces of silver.
The mine was shut down due to a deep drop in silver prices to under $5 per ounce and the property was sold to SSR Mining (then Silver Standard) in 2001. Reclamation works has been ongoing since 1998.
The Candelaria Mining District, located in west-central Nevada, is historically the richest silver mining region in the state. It is estimated to have produced 22 million ounces of the precious metal between the late 1880s and 1954.
From 1874 to 1883, the Northern Belle Deposit alone produced high grade lodes averaging 1,700 to 2,000 g/t silver. More recently, open pit mining between 1980 and 1999 resulted in the production of 47 million ounces.
