High-Grade Pillars Targeted at Valenciana Mines

Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd.

11 July 2023

 

Guanajuato Silver Targets High-Grade Pillars at the Valenciana Mines Complex

Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. (the "Company" or "GSilver") (TSXV:GSVR)(AQUIS:GSVR)(OTCQX:GSVRF) is pleased to announce the commencement of a high-grade pillar exploitation program at the Company's 100% owned Valenciana Mines Complex ("VMC") in Guanajuato, Mexico.

James Anderson, CEO & Chairman, said, "After over 450 years of near-continuous production as one of the most significant silver mines in world history, the Valenciana Mines Complex retains hundreds of underground pillars that exhibit some of the highest silver grades within the entire Guanajuato mining district. Immediately following our acquisition of Valenciana, we recognized the substantial mineralized potential available to us contained within the old workings that were left behind by previous operators. Today, we are announcing the commencement of a pillar recovery program, as we begin extracting mineralized material from what has been dubbed the "La Patilla" pillar. We estimate this pillar's grade to be in the range of 300 g/t silver-equivalent to 330 g/t silver-equivalent based on numerous channel samples across the width of the structure. At approximately 100m in length, and averaging 35m in height, with an average mineralized width of approximately 2.75m, volumetrically the La Patilla pillar has the potential to fill our Cata mill to capacity for approximately one full month. Of course, mining in other areas of the mine continues as per our production ramp-up schedule."  The potential quantity and grade of silver-equivalent material at the "La Patilla" pillar is conceptual in nature; there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in "La Patilla" being delineated as a mineral resource. Silver-equivalent amounts are based on a ratio of one ounce of gold being equal to 80 ounces of silver; one troy ounce converted to the metric system equals 31.1035 grams.

The Valenciana Mines Complex has hundreds of small and large mining pillars located throughout an underground mine network that extends over 4km in strike length and 700m in vertical extent. The Company is targeting pillars that were all made between the years 1768 and 1950. Because many of these pillars were created during the Spanish colonial period using pre-modern mining techniques, they do not contribute to mine stability and can safely be exploited. Other pillars that qualify for this program will be replaced with backfill waste material as part of a program to return Guanajuato Silver's tailings back underground. Pillars are evaluated for their extraction suitability and mineral potential using the polygon method that calculates the volume, grade and tonnage for each pillar structure. Currently, four pillars are being evaluated in the Cata area of the mine; the Company estimates that that there are a minimum of 50 high-grade pillars that have the potential to be extracted as part of this program.

Image: Guanajuato Silver's geological team reviews the La Patilla pillar (the "Sideburn" pillar), which will be the first pillar removed as part of a program to extract numerous high-grade pillars at the Valenciana Mines Complex.

Figure 1: VMC longitudinal section showing primary areas being targeted for pillar recovery. The area of the La Patilla pillar is highlighted below.

Figure 2: Area of the La Patilla pillar.

Technical Information

Reynaldo Rivera, VP of Exploration of GSilver, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Rivera is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM - Registration Number 220979) and a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., please contact:

JJ Jennex, Gerente de Comunicaciones, T: 604 723 1433

E: [e-mail]

Gsilver.com

VSA Capital - AQSE Corporate Adviser

T: [phone]

Simon Barton - Corporate Finance

Thomas Jackson - Corporate Finance

Andrew Monk - Corporate Broking

David Scriven - Corporate Broking

About Guanajuato Silver

GSilver is a precious metals producer engaged in reactivating past producing silver and gold mines in central Mexico. The Company produces silver and gold concentrates from the El Cubo Mine Complex, Valenciana Mines Complex, and the San Ignacio mine; all three mines are located within the state of Guanajuato, which has an established 480-year mining history. Additionally, the Company produces silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates from the Topia mine in northwestern Durango. With four operating mines and three processing facilities, Guanajuato Silver is one of the fastest growing silver producers in Mexico. 

 

END