La Joya Silver (Cu-Au) Project

Our drilling results include some of the highest-grade hits ever reported from the Coloradito-Noria area of the La Joya property. One example is hole NOR-013, which was drilled a kilometre west of the Main Mineralized Trend and returned 451 g/t or 15.91 oz/ton Ag over 5 metres within a broader interval of 90 g/t over 43 metres," Michael Romanik, president of Silver Dollar.

Silver Dollar owns a 100% interest in the La Joya silver-copper-gold property (the "Property"). Optioned from First Majestic Silver in August 2020, Silver Dollar completed the acquisition in 2023 ahead of schedule (See news release of May 25, 2023). First Majestic acquired the Property in 2015 as part of its acquisition of SilverCrest Mines; however, no work was carried out on the Property between 2015 and 2020.

Located in the south-eastern portion of the State of Durango in the Mexican Silver Belt, the Property is an advanced exploration stage property consisting of 15 mineral concessions totaling 4,646 hectares and hosting the Main Mineralized Trend (MMT), Santo Nino, and Coloradito deposits (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Location of the La Joya Project along with past-producing and operating mines in the area.

The Property is situated approximately 75 kilometres (km) southeast of the state capital city of Durango in a prolific high-grade silver region with past-producing and operating mines, including Silver Stom's La Parrilla Mine, Industrias Penoles' Sabinas Mine, Grupo Mexico's San Martin Mine, Sabinas Mine, First Majestic's Del Toro Mine, and Pan American Silver's La Colorada Mine. Access and infrastructure near the Property are excellent (Figure 1).

Figure 2: Planview of the MMT, Santo Nino and Coloradito deposits, and Brazo and Central Dyke zones.

Modern exploration activity began on the Property in 1977, which included extensive drilling by previous operators: Luisman from 1977 to 1997, Boliden from 1998 to 2001, and Solid Resources in 2006. SilverCrest acquired the Property in June 2010 and initiated property-scale mapping and sampling that led to an improved understanding of the skarn and control of the mineralization. Two phases of drilling followed between 2010 and 2012, a 5,753.70 metre (m) Phase I program comprised of 26 holes and a 25,812.65 m Phase II program comprised of 78 holes. A Phase III program of 2,698 m of in-fill drilling comprised of 17 holes was also completed between February and March 2014. The Silvercrest drilling was relatively widespread in the MMT and the separate Santo Nino and Coloradito deposits (Figure 2 above, and Figure 3 and Photo 1 below). 

Results from Silvercrest's Phase I and II programs along with 5,907.26 m of drilling by Luisman in 18 holes were included in the geological database used as source data for the mineral resource estimation (below) on the MMT and Santo Nino deposits. The mineral resource estimate was based on results from 122 drill holes totaling 37,473.61 m and had an effective date of December 16, 2012.  

In December 2013, Silvercrest released a Preliminary Economic Assessment NI 43-101 Technical Report on the La Joya Property based on the mineral resource estimation (Table above). The mineral resource estimate was reported to conform to CIM definitions for resource estimation at that time. However, a qualified person of Silver Dollar has not done sufficient work to classify the historical resource, and the Company is not treating it as a current mineral resource. Independent data verification and an assessment of the mineral resource estimation methods are required to verify the historical mineral resource.

Figure 3: Model of historical mineral resources for the MMT and Santo Nino deposits

Completing the acquisition of the La Joya Project last year was a major milestone for the Company. Our team has done an excellent job establishing a positive working relationship with the local communities and advancing the project, particularly when you consider we entered into this agreement during the height of COVID-19 restrictions," said Mike Romanik, president of Silver Dollar. “We have completed almost 6,000 metres of exploration drilling thus far, with results that include the discovery of the Brazo Zone, and continue with our new target development work. We would also like to thank the local communities for their cooperation and support.”

Photo 1: Reviewing historical drill core at the La Joya storage facility.

Work to date by Silver Dollar has focused on the underexplored Coloradito-Noria area of the Property and is highlighted by the discovery of the Brazo Zone, approximately 1 km west of the Main Mineralized Trend or MMT (Figure 4). Silver Dollar has completed two phases of core drilling, with the Phase I program consisting of 11 holes totaling 2,424 m of drilling (See news releases of March 24, 2022, and May 4, 2022, for assay results) and the Phase II program, consisting of 17 holes totaling 3,428 m of drilling (See news releases of June 13, 2022, August 17, 2022, and October 25, 2022, for assay results).

Figure 4: Location of Silver Dollar's Brazo discovery and Phase I and II drill holes. 

Silver Dollar's latest exploration programs have focused on new target development primarily consisting of geological mapping with limited drill testing to follow up on data from the ground magnetic (MAG) survey conducted in 2022. As previously reported (See news release of December 15, 2022), the MAG survey identified three notable anomalies (Figure 1: S-1, S-2, and S-3):

Figure 5: Coloradito-Noria geology, MAG anomalies, and target areas.

S-1 is a parallel zone to S-2 located 400 m to the east in a generally blind area mostly covered with caliche (hardpan) with limited outcrops of limestone and hornfels. Samples assayed from this area have not returned any significant results to date despite the magnetic reactions exhibited by some of the samples.

S-2, located approximately 400 m east of S-3, is now known as the Central Dyke Zone where mineralization is found in association with a dyke that runs north-south to north-northwest through the central part of Cerro Coloradito. This is the priority area for drill target development with exploration results described in detail below.

S-3 is coincident with the Brazo Zone where drill testing in hole NOR-23-030 encountered intense and extensive alteration but did not intersect Brazo style mineralization. A sharp change in the angle of the intrusive contact underscores the importance of the structural mapping that has been taking place to better define future drilling.

Central Dyke Zone:

As previously reported (See news release of February 13, 2013), assay results from 156 channel samples along with 14 rock samples taken from outcrop and dumps have delineated the Central Dyke Zone over a strike length of 770 metres. The highest-grade assay came from a historical underground working called Hueco Grande, where sample #161 (Photos 2 and 3) returned 7.01 g/t Au, 3,513.4 g/t (123.93 oz/t) Ag, 0.07% Cu, 5.33% Pb and 0.48% Zn.

Photos 2 and 3: Sample 161 and where it was taken from the Hueco Grande historical working.

Note: The rock sample results and the photograph above are selective by nature and may not be representative of the true grade or style of mineralization across the Property.

Photos 4 and 5: Trenching and sampling in the Central Dyke Zone.

We are very pleased with the La Joya target development work and particularly the stellar sampling results that have now delineated the Central Dyke Zone over a strike length of 770 metres," said Michael Romanik, president of Silver Dollar. "Notably, sample 161 from the Hueco Grande working returned our highest grade to date on the Property at 123.93 ounces per ton silver."

Silver Dollar owns a 100% interest in the La Joya property subject to a 2% net smelter returns royalty on all minerals produced from the Property.

The technical information on this webpage has been approved by Mike Kilbourne, P.Geo., an independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.