IMPACT Silver Corp. ("IMPACT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed the Share Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Sale Agreement") with Consolidated Zinc Limited (CZL:ASX) ("CZL") of Australia, previously announced on February 9, 2023, regarding the purchase of all outstanding shares of its subsidiary, Minera Latin America Zinc S.A.P.I de C.V.("MLAZ"), which holds a 100% interest in the high-grade, Plomosas zinc-lead-silver mine in the state of Chihuahua, northern Mexico.
Closing of this acquisition solidifies IMPACT’s position as one of Mexico’s most well funded and growth-minded intermediate miners – one that is well-positioned to offer investors high-grade production, balanced and aggressive growth, and exciting exploration upside going forward.
TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT
- The total purchase price of US$6 million consists of US$3 million in cash and the balance in the form of IMPACT shares (a total of 11,441,647 shares will be issued). Post closing adjustments based on changes in working capital will be made, as previously agreed to, between the two parties.
- Contractual restrictions have been applied to 75% of the share transfer component such that IMPACT Shares will be released from restriction in three equal tranches of 25% of the total number of shares issued to CZL, every 6 months, over 18 months from closing. 25% of the IMPACT Shares will be immediately held by CZL (subject to a statutory 4-month hold period from the date of issuance of the IMPACT Shares); and
- A 12% net profit interest ("NPI") royalty on production from the Plomosas project to CZL.
“We are thrilled to have completed this transformative acquisition that provides IMPACT with production in a second mining district, bringing with it both production growth and exploration upside to the Company going forward. Plomosas is a unique and fully permitted operation built on a large mineral system with global tier one historic grades at 13%+ zinc providing exceptional potential to both upgrade and expand its current level of operations. We intend to lean on our 17 years of successful underground operating experience at the Royal Mines of Zacualpan and leverage this know-how to provide meaningful shareholder value and significant upside potential for all stakeholders across our exceptional ESG-centric operation.” said Frederick Davidson, Chairman and CEO of IMPACT Silver.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The acquisition will expand IMPACT's production profile from one to two producing operations – the Plomosas zinc-lead-silver district in northern Mexico and the Royal Mines of Zacualpan silver-lead-zinc-gold district in central Mexico.
- At Plomosas, CZL reported JORC mineral resources1 of 215,000 tonnes grading 13.5% zinc, 6.3% lead and 34.0 g/t silver (indicated), and 772,000 tonnes grading 13.1% zinc, 3.0% lead and 19.0 g/t silver (inferred), at a 3% zinc cut-off at December 2021.
- IMPACT plans an aggressive drill program in 2023 to both infill the Plomosas resource and test extensions of known mineralization.
- Plomosas is known to host high-grade mineralization. Historical mining indicates grades in the global upper quartile for zinc, with approximately 2.5MT mined since 1943 grading 15-25% zinc, 2-7% lead and 40-60 g/t silver with low deleterious elements2.
- CZL has been mining Plomosas since September 2018. IMPACT plans to upgrade the mill and mine with the aim to continue mining alongside a meaningful expansion of operations.
- IMPACT's highly skilled operations team has 17 years of underground mining and flotation milling experience at its producing Zacualpan area assets, which will help up grade accelerate the efficient expansion of the Plomosas operation.
- Exploration potential at Plomosas is exceptional, with only 600m of the 6 km-long strike length having been explored to date. This is in addition to other exploration targets on the 3,019-hectare property including untested copper-gold targets with indications of high-grade material from surface.
PLOMOSAS PROJECT OVERVIEW
In 2021 CZL processed 31,695 tonnes of mineral resulting in 2,442 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 599 tonnes of lead concentrate. Mineral processing is currently done amidst a potential 150+ tonne per day capacity, conventional flotation mill that is currently operating below design capacity. The Plomosas Property is subject to an underlying 1% Net Smelter Royalty. The 3,019-hectare property covers extensive carbonate replacement deposit-type ("CRD") zinc-lead-silver mantos (beds) mainly hosted in carbonates (limestones, marbles).
Regionally, Plomosas lies in the same mineral belt as some of the largest CRD deposits in the world (see Map 1 below)2. The historic Santa Eulalia Mine is the world's largest historic CRD deposit and is located 100km west of Plomosas.
Historic resources and production of regional CRDs include:
- Santa Eulalia produced over 450Moz silver from 51MT averaging 350 g/t silver, 8.2% lead and 7.8% zinc and was mined over 300 years.
- Cinco De Mayo (Mag Silver Corp. (TSX/NYSE: MAG)) with limited drilling since 2012 reports Inferred Mineral Resources of 12.45 million tonnes at 132 g/t silver, 0.24 g/t gold, 2.86% lead, and 6.47% zinc at an NSR cut off of US$100/t.
- South32’s (ASX, LSE, JSE:S32) (formerly Arizona Mining) Taylor deposit at the north end of the CRD belt in Arizona– reported Measured plus Indicated Resources of 115MT averaging 3.85% zinc, 4.34% lead and 79 g/t silver, and Inferred Resources of 24MT averaging 3.73% zinc, 3.82% lead and 91 g/t silver, and remains open at depth and along strike.
- Other large CRD mines also occur in the region (see Map 1 below)
Reference to these regional CRDs are for information purposes only and there are no assurances that Plomosas will achieve similar results.
Location map of Plomosas Mine and Nearby Mines and Infrastructure
Cozen O’Connor LLP acted as legal advisor to IMPACT Silver Corp. Jett Capital Advisors, LLC acted as financial advisor to Consolidated Zinc Limited.
ABOUT IMPACT SILVER
IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV:IPT) is a successful mineral producer and explorer with two mining projects in Mexico.
Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver-Gold District: IMPACT owns 100% of the 211 km2 Zacualpan project where four underground silver mines and one open pit mine feed the central 500 tpd Guadalupe processing plant. To the south, the Capire Project includes a 200 tpd processing pilot plant adjacent to an open pit silver mine with an NI 43-101 inferred mineral resource of over 4.5 million oz silver, 48 million lbs zinc and 21 million lbs lead. (see IMPACT news release dated January 18, 2016, for details and QP statement, and Footnote 3 below for report reference) Company engineers are reviewing Capire for a potential restart of operations to leverage improving commodity prices. Over the past 17 years, IMPACT has developed multiple exploration zones into commercial production and have produced over 12 million ounces of silver, generating revenue more than $241 million.
Plomosas Zinc-Lead-Silver District: Plomosas is a high-grade zinc-lead-silver producer with exceptional exploration upside potential. The Company aims to recommence operations in the near term followed by plans for expanding operations through the balance of 2023 and into 2024. Exploration potential at Plomosas is exceptional with only 600m of the 6 km-long structure having been explored to date. This is in addition to other exploration targets on the 3,019-hectare property including untested copper-gold targets with indications of high-grade material from surface. Regionally, Plomosas lies in the same mineral belt as some of the largest carbonate replacement deposits in the world.
Additional information about IMPACT and its operations can be found on the Company website at www.IMPACTSilver.com. Follow us on Twitter @IMPACT_Silver and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/impactsilver
Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure
George Gorzynski, P.Eng., is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Gorzynski is Vice-President, Exploration and a director of IMPACT.
On behalf of IMPACT Silver Corp.
"Frederick W. Davidson"
President & CEO
For more information, please contact:
Jerry Huang
CFO | Investor Relations
O: (604) 681 0172 or inquiries@impactsilver.com
C: (778) 887 6489 Direct
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Footnotes:
1. Plomosas mineral resources are reported by Consolidated Zinc Ltd. (CZL:ASX) on their website (https://www.consolidatedzinc.com.au) under the Australian JORC (2012) Code as mineral resources "depleted as at December 2021". IMPACT's Qualified Person has reviewed but not verified in detail these current reported mineral resources and is only reporting them as material recent mineral resources reported by CZL and available in the public record. IMPACT believes the estimates are relevant and reliable, given they are reported to Australian JORC standards; however, IMPACT's Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify them as current Canadian NI 43-101 mineral resources.
2. Reference: Alexandri, A. Gonzalez, H., & Salas, H. (2022). Plomosas Project (CZL), Field Visit Report. IMPACT Silver Corp. private report on field visits and compilation of historic and recent data, 56 pages.
3. Reference: Ristorcelli, S.J. & Gorzynski, G. (2016). Technical Report on Mineral Resources for the Capire Silver-Lead-Zinc Project, Pedro Ascencio Alquisiras Municipality, Guerrero, Mexico. Prepared for IMPACT Silver Corp. by Mine Development Associates, Reno, Nevada. 82 pages. Available on www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This IMPACT News Release may contain certain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to IMPACT that is based on the beliefs of IMPACT management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to IMPACT management. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements include but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential for defining and extending the known mineralization at Plomosas, and plans for drilling and future operations at the Company’s projects.
Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and assumptions, including with respect to, without limitation, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, pandemics and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. IMPACT does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, except as required by law.
At Zacualpan, the Company's decision to place a mine into production, expand a mine, make other production related decisions, or otherwise carry out mining and processing operations, is largely based on internal non-public Company data and reports based on exploration, development and mining work by the Company's geologists and engineers. The results of this work are evident in the discovery and building of multiple mines for the Company and in the track record of mineral production and financial returns of the Company since 2006. Under NI 43-101, the Company is required to disclose that it has not based its Zacualpan production decisions on NI 43-101 mineral resources or reserve estimates, preliminary economic assessments, or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure.
