Nevada has produced some of North America’s biggest mining stories, but Americore Resources (TSXV:AMCO, OTCQB:AMCOF) believes there could still be considerably more to uncover at its past-producing Trinity Silver Project.
In this episode of The Capital Compass, Americore President and CEO Jeff Poloni joins Ricki Lee to discuss the company’s strategy for advancing Trinity from a historical resource toward a current resource and, ultimately, potential development.
Unlike a grassroots exploration project, Trinity already benefits from historical production, drilling and a known silver resource. Its shallow mineralization could also offer a significant economic advantage, with Poloni highlighting the potential for lower-cost open-pit development compared with underground mining.
Modern exploration is now helping Americore look beyond the historically explored area. Hyperspectral analysis, magnetic surveying and historical IP data are being used to identify alteration patterns and prospective targets across the project’s more than 22,000-acre land package. According to Poloni, historical drilling covered only around five to eight per cent of the property.
Next steps include an updated technical report from SRK, further drilling and metallurgical work, as Americore works toward a potential mineral resource estimate or preliminary economic assessment.
Watch the video above for the full conversation, or read the transcript below, and tell us your thoughts on Americore Resources and the Trinity Silver Project.
Americore looks to unlock Trinity’s silver potential
Ricki:
Jeff, let’s start with the project itself. Trinity is a former producing silver mine, as I mentioned, with a substantial historical resource. You’ve said this isn’t simply about confirming what’s already there, it’s about growing it. What makes Trinity such an exciting opportunity today?
Jeff:
I think we have to look at this project as more of a development project as not necessarily an exploration project. We are obviously going to do more exploration, basically we’re looking at taking a historical resource, moving it to a current resource and developing it. We have the opportunity to develop some of the stockpile there, we’re going to look at monetizing that and moving the project forward.
Ricki:
One of the themes you’ve highlighted is the shallow nature of the mineralization. Why is near surface mineralization such an important advantage from both an exploration and potential development perspective?
Jeff:
It’s basically a cost factor. When you’re looking at shallow deposits, you can mine an open pit. That’s a substantial economic advantage. Probably tenfold cheaper than going underground.
Ricki:
Over the past couple of months, you’ve announced new targets generated through hyper-spectral analysis and other modern exploration techniques as well. How are these technologies changing your understanding of the project? What are they telling you about the potential to expand the resource?
Jeff:
The hyper-spectral survey we did covered the whole property. It looked at alteration patterns, stemming from the pit itself and expanding it through the whole 22,000 acres that we have. It gives us an advantage of looking at different alteration patterns and possible different indicators of other deposits.
Ricki:
Beyond the existing historical resource that we’ve mentioned, the project also covers more than 22,000 acres in a prolific Nevada mining district. How much upside do you believe exists across the border land package? And is the current drilling only scratching the surface?
Jeff:
The current drilling, the historical drilling really only covered about 5%, maybe 8% of the property itself. It was really focused around the Trinity pit and the opportunity to look at other areas that we’ve looked probably hyper-spectral. We did a mag survey, and the historical IP has given some indications of other areas that are really prospective.
Ricki:
Exciting stuff. As investors look ahead over the next year, what do you think are the key milestones they should be watching for as Americore works to expand the Trinity Silver Project?
Jeff:
I think in the near future we will have an updated technical report. We’ve asked SRK to do a revised edition of it which should be done in the near future. Obviously, that’ll give us indications of their recommendation, where we should drill, not only to confirm the historic resource, but also to expand it. We’ll probably do some metallurgical work, which will move us all towards mineral resource estimate or a PA within the next maybe eight months.
Ricki:
Thank you so much for joining us today, Jeff.
Jeff:
Thank you for having me. Appreciate it
Ricki:
Once again, that is Jeff Poloni, CEO at Americore Resources. For more information, visit www.americoreresources.com My name’s Ricki Lee, and this has been the Capital Compass. Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you again next time.
