Silver X Mining (TSXV: AGX) has acquired full ownership of the early-stage Ccasahuasi gold project in central Peru from Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX, NYSE: B), in a move that removes third-party concession constraints while advancing what it sees as a potential district-wide gold resource base.
On Thursday, Silver X said it will buy the Lily 19 mining concession to obtain 100% of the project from Barrick. In return, Barrick will receive $30,000 in cash consideration, plus a net smelter return royalty with a partial buyback provision.
In a press release, Silver X chief executive officer José Garcia called Ccasahuasi a “strategic piece of a district” of the multi-asset precious metals platform that the company is building in the Nueva Recuperada district of Peru.
He highlighted the project’s location, being 1 km away from the company’s producing Tangana mine, as well as an inferred gold resource of 42,303 oz., defined by just under 1,000 meters of drilling in a system that has barely been explored.
“This transaction is not only about the current inferred mineral resource at Ccasahuasi. It is about securing control over a gold system that sits immediately beside our producing mine, was defined with limited drilling and remains open in directions that warrant additional exploration,” Garcia said.
Following the announcement, Silver X Mining’s share price rose by 2.8% as of 1 p.m. ET in Toronto, taking its market capitalization to C$218.8 million ($157.4 million).
Limited exploration
Since 2021, Silver X has advanced Ccasahuasi through a multi-phase program covering all critical aspects of early-stage resource definition. Geological mapping and surface samples led to the definition of a gold system of approximately 13.5 square kilometers.
Three of the four holes from limited drilling returned significant results, all exceeding 26 meters at grades above 0.7 gram per tonne gold. The system has yet to be drilled to depth or along strike, the company said.
The mineralized body, according to Silver X geologists, is currently estimated to be 40 meters thick and has potential extension toward the Tangana area. If confirmed by further drilling, this interpretation could support future resource expansion within the Ccasahuasi target area, the company said.
“We acquired 100% of this concession because we believe additional drilling is warranted to evaluate the potential scale of the system,” Garcia commented.
To date, Silver X has assembled 230 mining concessions covering 204.7 sq. km through various deals with Buenaventura, Pan American Silver and Peruvian Metals. The property hosts a historic mining area that dates back to the 16th Century, accounting for 200 million oz. of silver equivalent production.
The Tangana mining area, comprising a silver-lead-zinc system, was restored to production in 2022, and the company is currently ramping up operations to its nameplate capacity of 720 tonnes per day at the Nueva Recuperada processing plant.
