Overview
Mexico’s Sinaloa state hosts a number of prolific silver and gold mines, including McEwen Mining’s (TSX:MUX) El Gallo Complex, Americas Gold and Silver’s (TSX:USA) Cosalá operations and Kootenay Silver’s (TSXV:KTN) Copalito silver-gold project. Between 2012 and 2019, gold production at the El Gallo mine alone totaled 295,000 ounces (oz) and silver production peaked at 142,000 oz.
Prismo Metals (CSE:PRIZ, OTCQB:PMOMF) has made a strategic move to join the list of successful explorers in this region. The company’s leadership team has decades of experience in the Mexican precious metals industry. Director, president and CEO Dr. Craig Gibson has been an exploration consultant since 1998 and a director of Garibaldi Resources (TSXV:GGI).
Additionally, advisor Dr. Peter Megaw sits on the board of directors and is co-founder of MAG Silver Corp. (TSX:MAG) and Minaurum Gold (TSXV:MGG). Megaw and his team are credited with MAG Silver’s Juanicipio discovery in the famous Fresnillo District as well as Excellon Resources’ (TSX:EXN) Platosa mine.
Prismo Metals has three current exploration projects: Palos Verdes, Los Pavitos and Hot Breccia. The Palos Verdes property covers 22.77 hectares within the historic Panuco-Copala silver-gold district in Sinaloa. The district is well-known for its numerous veins with historical production. While much of the district has been consolidated by Vizsla Resources (TSXV:VZLA), the Palos Verdes project is located near the district’s under-explored northeastern limit.
On January 9, 2023, Vizsla Resources acquired a right of first refusal to purchase the Palos Verdes project through a strategic investment agreement with Prismo Metals. Vizsla’s strategic investment consists of a cash payment of $500,000 and the issuance of one million common shares of Vizsla to Prismo. Pursuant to the strategic investment, the two companies have agreed to form a technical committee to pursue district-scale exploration of the Panuco silver-gold district.
Prismo Metals’ Palos Verdes property includes 700 meters of strike length along the Palos Verdes vein, which has been explored for 250 meters with findings yielding as much as 6.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 544 g/t silver from surface and underground sampling. A second vein system may be reflected in a northwest striking alteration zone, offering an additional high-grade exploration target on the property. In 2018, ProDeMin completed a diamond drilling program on the property, with notable drill results including 3.75 g/t gold and 1,098 g/t silver for 2.3 meters, as well as 8.42 g/t gold and 2,336 g/t silver for 0.8 meters.
In May 2019, the company and ProDeMin entered an option agreement in which Prismo may acquire a 75-percent interest in the Palos Verdes property. A second agreement with the owner of the remaining 25 percent will allow Prismo to obtain 100 percent ownership of the Palos Verdes concession. The company conducted a 2,000-meter drill program at Palos Verdes in 2022, designed to test the Palos Verdes vein and a structural intersection with a second vein at depths where it is believed that potential for a large ore shoot is present, similar to the drilling accomplished by Vizsla Silver on their adjacent land package.
Prismo’s 2,500-meter 2023 drilling program at Palos Verdes is currently underway. A rock chip sample from mapped veins returned an assay of 840.5 silver equivalent (700 g/t silver and 1.68 g/t gold) over a sample width of one meter. Five holes are now completed for a total of 727 meters and samples from the first three holes have been submitted to the lab for analysis.
The company’s Los Pavitos project is located in the Alamos region of southern Sonora, a well-mineralized area that hosts several active exploration and mining projects. The project consists of one concession covering 5,289 hectares. Early sampling and reconnaissance work has been carried out by previous companies, including Minera Cascabel.
Prismo Metals has signed a formal access agreement with Francisco Villa Ejido, the surface owner of the Los Pavitos Project to allow for exploration work and drilling. The agreement paved the way for a drill program that commenced in 2023 and completed a trenching program generating 347 samples from trenches submitted to the lab for assay.
An airborne Z‐tipper axis electromagnetic (ZTEM) geophysical survey was completed at Hot Breccia. Prismo received assay results for the first batch of samples taken at the project indicating the presence of not only copper mineralization but also gold mineralization associated with gossanous veins and shear zones.
Company Highlights
Prismo Metals is an exploration company targeting high-grade silver and gold projects in Mexico, one of the world’s top producers of precious metals. The company’s Palos Verdes property is located in the historic Panuco-Copala silver-gold district in Sinaloa, Mexico. The Palos Verdes property includes 700 meters of strike length along the Palos Verdes vein, which has yielded 6.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 544 g/t silver.The company’s Los Pavitos project is located in the well-mineralized Alamos region of southern Sonora. The project consists of one concession covering 5,289 hectares.Prismo’s management and advisory team offer decades of experience in the Mexican precious metals industry, including all aspects of exploration and resource development.Prismo acquired 100 percent of the Palos Verdes and commenced a drill program on the property. The drill results revealed four vein holes showing multiple discrete quartz vein stages lacing between breccia fragments showing distinctly differing mineralogy.The company also filed on SEDAR a NI 43-101 Technical Report for its Los Pavitos Gold-Silver Project in southern Sonora, Mexico.
Key Projects
Palos Verdes
The company’s Palos Verdes property is located in Southern Sinaloa, roughly 65 kilometers northeast of Mazatlán. The Palos Verdes concession covers 22.77 hectares and is situated within the historic Panuco-Copala mining district, the largest silver producer in Sinaloa.
History
Limited sampling has been performed on the property. According to a sample database compiled by ProDeMin, findings have yielded as much as 4.15 g/t gold and 732.7 g/t silver. Prior to the turn of the century, a 70-meter tunnel was driven along the Palos Verdes vein near the bottom of the Palos Verdes arroyo. In 2018, ProDeMin completed a diamond drilling program on the property. Notable drill results included 3.75 g/t gold and 1,098 g/t silver for 2.3 meters and 8.42 g/t gold and 2,336 g/t silver for 0.8 meters.
2023 Drill Program
The 2023 drill program at Palos Verdes is underway covering 2,500 meters. Prismo has drilled five holes spanning 727 meters. A rock chip sample from mapped veins returned an assay of 840.5 silver equivalent (700 g/t silver and 1.68 g/t gold) over a sample width of one meter. Hole PV-23-25 also intersected 11,520 g/t silver equivalent over 0.5 meters (3,100 g/t silver, 102 g/t gold and 0.26 percent zinc)
Los Pavitos
The company’s Los Pavitos project is located in the Alamos region of Southern Sonora, a well-mineralized area that hosts multiple active exploration and mining projects. Los Pavitos consists of one concession covering 5,289 hectares. Early sampling and reconnaissance work has been carried out by previous companies, including Minera Cascabel. The property’s numerous mines and prospect pits indicate historical interest.
A 2,500-meter drill program at Los Pavitos commenced in June 2023. About 295 meters of trenches have been constructed and sampled with assay results received for 96.7 meters. High-grade silver assays were discovered in surface sampling in the northeast Santa Cruz area.
Hot Breccia
The Hot Breccia project is Prismo’s latest acquisition located in the heart of the great Arizona Copper Belt, USA and is adjacent to Christmas Mine and Hayden Smelter. The Hot Breccia property has the same productive geologic units that host high-grade copper skarn mineralization at the adjacent, past-producing Christmas Mine. Prismo has the option to earn from Infinitum Copper (TSXV: INFI) a 75-percent interest in the Hot Breccia project.
The company completed an airborne Z‐tipper axis electromagnetic (ZTEM) geophysical survey at Hot Breccia and received assay results for the first batch of samples taken at the project. The results indicate the presence of not only copper mineralization but also gold mineralization associated with gossanous veins and shear zones.
Management Team
Craig Gibson – Director, President and CEO
Dr. Craig Gibson has extensive experience in the minerals industry. He received his BS (1984) in earth sciences from the University of Arizona and MS (1987) and PhD (1992) in economic geology and geochemistry from the Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno. He co-founded Prospeccion y Desarrollo Minero del Norte, S.A. de CV (ProDeMin) based in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2009. ProDeMin is a consulting firm providing a broad spectrum of exploration-related services to the mining industry and has been involved in several major precious metal discoveries in Mexico. Dr. Gibson is also a director of Garibaldi Resources Inc., a Vancouver-based junior exploration company; a certified professional geologist of the American Association of Professional Geologists; and a qualified person under NI 43-101.
Carmelo Marelli – CFO and Secretary
Carmelo Marrelli is the principal of the Marrelli Group, comprising Marrelli Support Services Inc., DSA Corporate Services Inc., DSA Filing Services Limited, Marrelli Press Release Services Limited, Marrelli Escrow Services Inc. and Marrelli Trust Company Limited. The Marrelli Group has delivered accounting, corporate secretarial and regulatory compliance services to listed companies on various exchanges for over twenty years. Marrelli is a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA, CGA), and a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a professional body that certifies corporate secretaries. He received a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Toronto. Marrelli acts as the chief financial officer to several issuers on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange and CSE, as well as non-listed companies, and as a director of select issuers.
Alain Lambert – Executive Chairman
Alain Lambert, who co-founded Prismo in 2018, is a lawyer by training and has over 35 years of experience in financing and advising small and medium-sized companies operating in various industries including technology, manufacturing and the natural resources sector. He has been involved in private and public financings totaling more than $1 billion. He has an extensive network of investors, investment bankers, analysts and investor relations professionals. Lambert acts as an advisor to public and private companies regarding financings, mergers and acquisitions plans, debt structuring as well as going-public transactions. Throughout his career, Lambert has served as a director and member of the audit committee and governance committee of small and medium-sized private and public companies. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from the University of Montréal and a diploma of collegial studies, specializing in administration from the College Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montréal, Québec.
Martin Dupuis – Director
Martin Dupuis has over 25 years of experience covering all stages of a project’s life, from exploration through feasibility and engineering studies, construction, mine expansion and operations. Dupuis serves as Vizsla Silver’s chief operating officer. He was instrumental in the oversight and delivery of the company’s maiden resource estimate. Prior to joining Vizsla Silver, Dupuis was director of geology for Pan American Silver, technical services manager for Aurico Gold, and chief geologist at several other operations.
Jorge Rafael Gallardo-Romero – Director
Jorge Rafael Gallardo-Romero has been a consultant geologist of Cascabel since March 1992. He also acts as Mexico exploration manager of Gainey Capital Inc. (since January 2015) and of Minera Goldzone SA de CV (since March 2011). Gallardo-Romero graduated from the University of Sonora with a degree in Geology in 1984.
Jean-François Meilleur – Director
Jean-François Meilleur has been active in the capital market since 2006 as a managing partner of Paradox Public Relations and PE Partners providing strategic advisory, investor relations services and being a supportive shareholder providing development capital to different ventures. In May 2017, Meilleur was appointed president and CEO of Canada Strategic Metals. From 2012 to 2018, Meilleur was VP at Critical Elements Corp. Meilleur holds a bachelor’s degree from the HEC business school (Hautes Études Commerciales) in Montreal, with a specialization in marketing and finance. He is also a managing partner and co-owner of Paradox Public Relations.
Maria Guadalupe Yeomans Otero – Director
Maria Yeomans Otero is a geologist who graduated from Universidad de Sonora, Mexico, in 1986, with master’s studies in business administration at the same university. She has been a part of the team at Cascabel since 1992 and is now the office manager. She speaks English fluently and has extensive experience in the administration, legal and commercial relations related to mining.
Louis Doyle – Director
Louis Doyle has over 30 years of experience focused primarily on capital markets and public companies. Since 2016, he has also provided consulting services to private companies seeking listing on Canadian exchanges. Since January 2016, Doyle has been the executive director of Québec Bourse. Between October 1999 and December 2015, he was the vice-president, Montréal of the TSX Venture Exchange. As such, he was responsible for business development and listing activities in the provinces of Québec and Atlantic Canada. During his tenure, he acted as chairman of the TSX Venture listing committee and was a member of the policy committee. Doyle also led the nationwide TSX Venture mentorship program and further acted regularly as a speaker and advisor at conferences and workshops. He also holds directorship roles with two other publicly traded companies. Doyle was granted 150,000 incentive stock options exercisable at $0.165 per share before June 26, 2027. Also, three other directors were each granted 50,000 incentive stock options, exercisable at $0.165 per share before June 26, 2027.
Peter Megaw – Advisor
Dr. Peter Megaw is best known as co-founder of MAG Silver Corp. and Minaurum Gold Inc. He and his team are credited with MAG Silver’s Juanicipio discovery in the famous Fresnillo District and Excellon Resources’ Platosa mine. He received his doctorate from the University of Arizona and has more than 35 years of experience exploring for silver and gold in Mexico. Megaw is a certified professional geologist by the American Institute of Professional Geologists and an Arizona Registered Professional Geologist. He is the author of numerous scientific publications on ore deposits and is a frequent speaker at academic and international exploration conferences. He was awarded the 2017 Thayer Lindsley Award for the 2003 discovery of the Juanicipio silver deposit in the Fresnillo District, ultimately leading to a further 600 million ounces being identified in the immediate area. Megaw also received the Society of Mining Engineers 2012 Robert M. Dreyer Award for excellence in applied economic geology.
Allan Frame – Director of Business Development
Allan Frame recently retired from the investment business. During his successful forty-seven-year career, Frame focused primarily on working with mining companies, helping them raise over $100 million and having had the benefit of being associated with multiple major discoveries, including the Snip Deposit now owned by Skeena Resources Ltd.