Mercado Minerals (CSE:MERC) has begun its
first drill program at Copalito, the company’s flagship
project in Sinaloa state, Mexico.
The 3,000-meter program encompassing about 25 holes will target five
segments of known veins at 5 Señores, El Agua, La Chiva and
El Pilar.
5 Señores and El Agua will be the initial veins tested.
“We are excited to be launching the next phase of
exploration at Copalito with this 3,000-metre drill program
targeting several segments of known mineralized veins across the
project. The program is designed to build on the 81 historical
drill holes completed by the previous operator while also testing
new areas that remain largely unexplored,” CEO Daniel
Rodriguez stated in the March 10 news release.
“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,
unlocking the broader potential of the project. Our team has been
working non-stop on the ground at Copalito since mid-January, and
I look forward to returning to site as drilling advances and
sharing results from the program over the coming months.”
Rodriguez grew up speaking Spanish, and he is fully bilingual.
Knowing what the locals are saying not only allows the transfer of
valuable information regarding the projects but helps to build
relationships with in-country team members, nearby communities and
local indigenous.
Everybody on Mercado’s side of
the project speaks Spanish and has Mexican ancestry.
According to Mercado, only 60% of the 5 Señores, El Agua, La
Chiva and El Pilar veins have been drilled to an average depth of
100 meters. The maiden drill program aims to determine possible
structural controls on the strength of silver-gold bearing vein
mineralization. Holes will target areas of potential thickening of
vein mineralization, higher grades as well as step out along strike
and to depth in several areas. Recent LiDAR and high-resolution
airborne magnetic surveys with mapping and planning have assisted in
pinpointing drill hole locations.
Copalito Project
The Copalito Project is approximately 123 km northeast of Culiacan,
Sinaloa. The property has good access, moderate topography and
infrastructure nearby. The neighboring property to Copalito is
McEwen Inc’s (NYSE:MUX) El Gallo mine complex, located 35 km
to the west.
Mercado has acquired an option to purchase seven concessions
covering 2,820 hectares. The option is to earn 100% over five years,
with staged cash payments totaling $3.5 million. Six known veins on
the project have a cumulative strike length of 8 km.
Copalito and Zamora, Mercado’s other project, are both located
within the Western Mexico Silver Belt in Sinaloa state. The
properties are near power, roads, infrastructure and local
workforces in a mining-friendly jurisdiction. This emerging belt of
the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, which hosts
existing mines and recent discoveries, includes:
- Vizsla Silver’s (TSX:VZLA) Panuco District
- First Majestic Silver’s (TSX:AG) San Dimas
- Pan American Silver’s (TSX:PAAS) Alamo Dorado
Historical third-party high-grade silver and significant gold and
base metal drill intercepts include 347 g/t silver, 0.22 g/t gold,
0.178% lead and 0.38% zinc over 13.10 meters at the 5 Senores
Vein; and 125 g/t silver, 2 g/t gold, 0.34% lead and 0.58% zinc
over 23m at the El Agua Vein.
Kootenay Silver (TSXV:KTN) was the most recent operator.
Kootenay drilled 81 holes over six veins. This historical drilling
has only tested approximately 60% of the veins’ strike and
only to an average depth of 100m. Several productive veins and vein
segments delineated in the drilling are ready for follow-up deeper
drilling and along strike.
Mercado has also acquired the existing drill data, which provides an
excellent base for future exploration drill targeting of higher and
thicker-grade portions of veins along strike and to depth.
In talking with CEO Daniel Rodriguez, he said the technical team,
including Senior Technical Advisor Robert Duncan, believes they are
at, or near, the top of the mineralizing system as evidenced by vein
textures including chalcedonic quartz, geochemical signatures and
precious-to-base-metal ratios.
Recent exploration
Mercado Minerals has been in the field at Copalito since January.
Program
highlights include commencement of a detailed mapping and
prospecting program focused across 40% of the project area, which
remains unexplored.
The field crew planned to resample,
gold, lead and zinc vein mineralization in select historical drill
core from the six known veins.
The company also planned
to re-log historical core to refine geological understanding;
advance logistics for the first-phase drill program, including
securing drill pad access, water, power, drill and equipment
contractors, and further refine drill targets and other necessary
operational infrastructure for the now ongoing drill campaign.
Mercado Minerals announced an update to the program on Feb. 19.
The company identified three new
veins just by walking the property and taking surface
samples.
The news release states that newly
discovered veins have been identified in outcrop across three
previously unexplored regions, with considerable areas yet to be
assessed.
Three areas of vein mineralization occur as
quartz to quartz-carbonate veins, vein breccias and stockworks that
range in width from 0.5 to 1.5 meters.
One of the new
vein discoveries, currently interpreted to be the extension of the 5
Señores Vein, occurs approximately 1 kilometer to the
northwest of the last known location of the vein. This vein segment
can be traced intermittently in two large outcrops over
approximately 100 meters of strike length.
The second
vein discovery, located near a historical surface float sample that
returned 460 g/t silver, 0.31 g/t gold, 0.17% lead and 0.16% zinc,
appears to be an extension of either the Cobriza or El Pilar veins.
This new vein can be traced intermittently in four outcrops over 200
meters of strike length.
The third discovery is
located about 500 meters southwest of the 5 Señores Vein, in
an area with no previously documented mineralization. This area
is intriguing as it is potentially located outside of the Copalito
Graben, within which all previous known mineralization has been
discovered.
All newly identified veins and mineralization
have been sampled and are ready for shipment and analysis, including
assaying.
Plan map of Copalito vein array with three areas of new
mineralization occurrences outlined.
In my opinion, the discovery of three new veins is significant,
especially since Mercado did it without the benefit of geochemical
and geophysical survey results. It was “boots on the
ground” prospecting — walking the property with pickaxes
and hand lenses, hunting for new sources of mineralization.
The news release states that mapping and prospecting, designed to
comprehensively cover all areas of the Copalito Project yet to be
mapped and explored, is now 40% complete.
The
high-resolution drone based magnetic survey has been completed, with
data now being compiled for detailed interpretation. Early
integration of magnetic results with existing geological and
geochemical datasets is yielding encouraging correlations.
Processing
of the completed drone LiDAR survey is underway. Initial
interpretation is expected to enhance understanding of surface
expressions, identify subtle topographic features associated with
veining, reveal areas with historical mine workings, and highlight
new areas of interest for sampling and mapping.
A
systematic soil grid covering the know vein system and un-explored
portions of Copalito is now 25% complete. The program is designed to
fingerprint the soil geochemical signature over the known veins and
expand the grid towards the northwest to help further define the
extension of existing veins or identify new target areas.
Mercado announced on Dec. 1 that it had closed a non-brokered private placement, issuing
27,990,000 units at CAD$0.20 per unit, for gross proceeds of
$5,598,000. On December 4th the company announced it
had raised an additional $1,005,000.00 for a total of
$6,603,000.00
The offering included participation and a
strategic investment from Vizsla Silver in Mercado.
Having
Vizsla Silver participate in the financing and come on as a
strategic shareholder is a major coup for Mercado Minerals. Being a
strategic shareholder means they are not just there for financial
help but also technical assistance; they want to see Mercado succeed
and are there to support the company.
The silver shortage is real
Conclusion
Mercado Minerals’ flagship Copalito Project presents a
district-scale opportunity with known and drilled silver-gold,
low-sulfidation vein mineralization that is open for
expansion.
The company has targeted five segments
of four known veins for drilling and discovered three new veins just
by walking the property and taking surface samples.
Highly successful Vizsla Silver ($1.7B market cap trading at nearly
$5/sh) participated in the December financing and has come on as a
strategic shareholder — showing its confidence in MERC.
Comparable
exploration-stage juniors operating in Mexico are Pacifica Silver
(CSE:PSIL) developing the Claudia Project ($47.9m market cap); and
Capitan Silver (TSXV:CAPT) with its Cruz de Plata Project in Durango
state ($171.1m market cap).
At a market capitalization of
~$17 million and a low 75 million shares o/s, Mercado Minerals imo
might offer more immediate upside potential.
Mercado Minerals Ltd.
CSE:MERC
2026.03.16
Share Price: Cdn$0.275
Shares Outstanding: 75m
Market Cap:
Cdn$16.9m
MERC website
Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com
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