Unico Silver Limited (USL) has signed a binding letter of intent (LOI) to acquire full ownership of the Joaquin and Cerro Puntudo projects in Argentina from Pan American Silver.
This acquisition is set to consolidate USL’s position in the Santa Cruz precious metal province, pending the satisfaction of necessary approvals that are anticipated by the end of September 2024.
The Joaquin Silver District acquisition encompasses 16 titles across 35,000 hectares. It is located 60km west of Cerro Leon and accessible via public Routes 12 and 75.
This move is part of USL’s broader consolidation strategy, which has seen the company secure 100% ownership of several projects from both major and junior mining companies.
USL will become the first junior company to fully own this underexplored silver district.
The historical foreign estimate for the Joaquin mineral titles stands at 16.7Mt at 136 AgEq, translating to 73Moz AgEq, primarily located in the northern part of the epithermal vein system.
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Exploration efforts in the past have identified significant silver mineralisation at the La Negra and La Morocha prospects, with potential for extension into the Cerro Puntudo project.
Coeur’s acquired Joaquin in 2012 for $60m and Yamana purchased Extorre for C$414m.
Pan American’s focus shifted to developing a selective underground mining operation at La Morocha, leading to the publication of a feasibility study in January 2018 and the commencement of mining operations through to 2022.
With the recent acquisition of Yamana, Pan American also gained ownership of Cerro Puntudo.
Post-acquisition, USL seeks to initiate a comprehensive exploration programme on four advanced prospects to enhance the current foreign estimate and publish a maiden JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate (MRE).
USL managing director Todd Williams said: “The acquisition of Joaquin is a watershed moment for Unico Silver and brings into the portfolio a large open pittable silver resource on a permitted mining lease.
“The combination of Joaquin and Cerro Puntudo is a unique part of the transaction which sees 100% ownership of this emerging silver district into a single junior for the first time.
“The acquisition elevates USL into a unique global peer group with a clear pathway to +200Moz silver equivalent resource.”
In May 2024, Capella Minerals and Austral Gold reached an agreement to sell their entire 100% ownership of Sierra Blanca, the company behind the Sierra Blanca project, to USL.
