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Mercado Minerals (CSE: MERC) has officially commenced its first diamond drill program at their flagship Copalito project in Sinaloa, Mexico. This strategic move marks a significant milestone for the silver-focused explorer as it seeks to unlock the potential of the Western Silver Belt within the Sierra Madre Occidental mining district.
The inaugural program consists of 3,000 metres of diamond drilling across approximately 25 drill holes. To execute the operation, Mercado has contracted HR Drilling, S.A.S. de C.V. The primary objective of this campaign is to investigate high-priority targets on four known mineralized veins: 5 Señores, El Agua, La Chiva, and El Pilar. Additionally, the program will conduct initial drill testing on the newly identified El Medio and Chente veins.
The current phase of exploration is designed to build upon 81 historical drill holes completed by previous operators. Notably, only 60% of the known veins at Copalito have been previously tested, often only to an average depth of 100 metres. Mercado intends to use this program to better define structural controls on silver-gold mineralization and identify areas where vein thickness or grade might increase at depth or along strike.
WATCH: What Changed in the Silver Market | Daniel Rodriguez – Mercado Minerals
“The program is designed to build on the historical data while also testing new areas that remain largely unexplored,” said Daniel Rodriguez, CEO and Director of Mercado Minerals. “This work will help improve our understanding of the structural controls on silver-gold mineralization and guide future drill targeting across both known and newly identified veins.”
Speaking recently in a Metals Investor Forum interview, Rodriguez highlighted that past exploration. “When we started looking at that data, what we figured out chronologically was where the previous operator left off left a lot of meat on the bone for us to go follow up on .. they made new vein extensions that they never tested.”
The technical team has utilized recent LiDAR and high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys to refine drill hole placement. Historical intersections at the site have shown promising results, including highlights from the 5 Señores vein that yielded significant silver and gold grades.
Some of those highlights include:
- BDH-20-004: 343 g/t silver equivalent (347 g/t silver, 0.22 g/t gold, 0.17% lead, 0.38% zinc) over 13.10 metres from a depth of 54.00 metres
- BDH-20-040: 859 g/t silver equivalent (335 g/t silver, 6.65 g/t gold, 0.51% lead, 2.12% zinc) over 2.25 metres from a depth of 31.00 metres
- BDH-21-046: 436 g/t silver equivalent (330 g/t silver, 1.24 g/t gold, 0.51% lead, 1.45% zinc) over 7.97 metres from a depth of 46.50 metres
Mercado Minerals last traded at $0.25 on the CSE.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Mercado Minerals is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. Canacom Group is currently long the equity of Mercado Minerals. The author has been compensated to cover Mercado Minerals on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. We may buy or sell securities in the company at any time. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.
