Canadian precious metals producer SSR Mining has invested C$30.66-million in explorer SilverCrest, which owns the Las Chispas project, in Mexico.
Announcing the private placement investment on Thursday, SSR CEO Paul Benson described the project as a “compelling” investment proposition, with exploration upside.
SilverCrest CEO Nic Fier commented in a separate statement that SSR’s acquisition of a 9.9% interest in the company was an important endorsement of the Las Chispas project. With this investment, SilverCrest would have more than C$40-million available to explore and advance the project.
The company was now fully funded to complete a resource update and a preliminary economic assessment in the first quarter of 2019. It also had enough finance resources to construct an exploration decline into the high-grade Area 51 zone of the Babicanora Vein and to fund an infill and expansion drilling programme to upgrade and potentially increase the precious metals resource.
Las Chispas has a mineral resource of 4.3-million tonnes at 3.68 g/t gold and 347 g/t silver, or 632 g/t gold-equivalent, for 511 500 oz of contained gold and 48.30-million ounces of contained silver.
The September 2018 resource update included a 75% increase in high-grade silver-equivalent ounces greater than 1 000 g/t from 32.2-million (Area 51 zone) to 56.3-million (revised Area 51 and Babicanora Norte Vein).
The resource estimate is focused on an estimated 5.5 km of about 20 known kilometres of cumulative vein strike length in the district.
SRR purchased 8 220 645 shares in SilverCrest at a price of C$3.73 a share.