Silver Dollar La Joya Silver Project

La Joya Silver (Cu-Au) Project

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 ahead of schedule in 2023 (See news release of May 25, 2023). First Majestic initially 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.

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

The Property is lies roughly 75 kilometres (km) southeast of the state capital city of Durango in the southeastern portion of the Mexican Silver Belt with past-producing and operating mines, including Silver Stom's La Parrilla Mine, Industrias Penoles' Sabinas Mine, Grupo Mexico's San Martin Mine, First Majestic's Del Toro Mine, and Pan American Silver's La Colorada Mine. Access routes and regional infrastructure near the Property are well developed (Figure 1).

An advanced exploration-stage property, La Joya comprises 15 mineral concessions totalling 4,646 hectares and hosts the Main Mineralized Trend (MMT), Santo Niño, and Coloradito deposits (Figure 2).

Planview of the MMT, Santo Nino and Coloradito deposits, and Brazo and Central Dyke zonesFigure 2: Planview of the MMT, Santo Niño 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 geological mapping and sampling, which 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 Niño 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 162012 (below).

La Joya Mineral Resource Update 121612

Historical Resource ModelFigure 3: Model of historical mineral resources for the MMT and Santo Nino deposits

In December 2013, SilverCrest completed a NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment Technical Report for the La Joya Property, based on the preceding mineral resource estimate that conformed to the CIM Definition Standards in effect at the time. Silver Dollar’s Qualified Person has not yet completed sufficient work to reclassify this 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.

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

Silver Dollar’s exploration to date has concentrated on the underexplored Coloradito–Noria area, culminating in the discovery of the Brazo Zone about 1 km west of the Main Mineralized Trend (MMT; Figure 4).

Two core-drilling campaigns have now been completed:

Phase I comprised 11 holes totalling 2,424 m of drilling (See news releases of March 24, 2022, and May 4, 2022, for assay results).

Phase II comprised 17 holes totalling 3,428 m of drilling (See news releases of June 13, 2022August 17, 2022, and October 25, 2022, for assay results).

LaJoya DDH Plan Map 110122 LRFigure 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 5: S-1, S-2, and S-3):

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

S-1 lies parallel to S-2, located 400 m to the east, in a largely blind area blanketed with caliche (hardpan) with only sporadic limestone and hornfels outcrops. Assays from this area have yet to return significant results, despite magnetic anomalies in several samples.

S-2, situated approximately 400 m east of S-3, is now termed the Central Dyke Zone. Mineralization here is structurally controlled by a north–northwest–striking dyke transecting the central core of Cerro Coloradito. This zone is the top drill‐priority area, with detailed exploration results outlined below.

S-3 corresponds to the Brazo Zone, where hole NOR-23-030 encountered intense, pervasive alteration but did not intersect Brazo-style mineralization. A pronounced inflection in the angle of the intrusive contact underscores the critical importance of ongoing structural mapping to refine future drilling.

Central Dyke Zone:

As reported in Silver Dollar's news release of February 13, 2024, assay results from 156 channel samples and 14 rock samples collected from outcrop and historic dump material delineated the Central Dyke Zone over a strike length of 770 metres. The highest-grade assay came from the historic Hueco Grande underground working, 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.

Sample 161 and where it was taken from the Hueco Grande historical workingPhotos 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.

Ongoing work includes additional trenching and sampling (Photos 4 and 5) to further expose, sample, and interpret the Central Dyke mineralization with the aim of refining and defining potential drill targets.

Trenching and sampling in the Central Dyke ZonePhotos 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 Greg Lytle, President of Silver Dollar. "Notably, sample 161 from the Hueco Grande underground 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.

Contact

Investor Relations: 
Greg Lytle, President, CEO & Director
Direct line: 1+ (604) 839-6946

Email: 

Admin. Contact:     
Phone:  (250) 474-7999
Fax:  (250) 474-7997
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Mailing address:
179-2945 Jacklin Road, Suite 416
Victoria, BC Canada
V9B 6J9