Mineral exploration and development company Silver Bull Resources has announced the termination of an option agreement with a subsidiary of South32, citing the illegal blockades at the Sierra Mojada project, in Mexico.

The ongoing blockades are preventing South32 from progressing exploration activities.

“While we are disappointed that South32 has decided to terminate the option agreement for Sierra Mojada, we understand their reasoning given the inability to access the project site since September 2019. We appreciate South32’s professionalism throughout this partnership,” said CEO Tim Barry.

The blockade of the Sierra Mojada project by the local mining cooperative, Sociedad Cooperativa de Exploración Minera Minero Norteños, has been in place since September 2019.

Barry said there had been no intervention by the appropriate authorities to bring the blockade to an end.

“Despite the company’s many attempts to reach a reasonable path towards an amicable settlement, we have been unable to gain permanent access to the project site. We hope that this unfortunate recent outcome will encourage the appropriate government agencies to take immediate action to remove the illegal blockade for the betterment of the project and the broader local community and businesses.”

Silver Bull will continue to assess the current situation at Sierra Mojada and other opportunities outside of Mexico as they present.

The Sierra Mojada deposit is an open pittable oxide deposit with a National Instrument 43-101-compliant measured and indicated mineral resource of 70.4-million tonnes grading 3.4% zinc and 38.6 g/t silver for 5.35-billion pounds of contained zinc and 87.4-million ounces of contained silver.

Included within the global resource is a measured and indicated “high-grade zinc zone” of 13.5-million tonnes with an average grade of 11.2% zinc at a 6% cutoff, for 3.336-billion pounds of contained zinc, and a measured and indicated “high-grade silver zone” of 15.2-million tonnes with an average grade of 114.9 g/t silver at a 50 g/t cutoff for 56.3-million contained ounces of silver. Mineralization remains open in the east, west, and northerly directions.