Pitarrilla Project, Mexico
Pitarrilla is a large undeveloped silver, lead, and zinc project located 160 kilometres north of Durango City, in northern Mexico. The project is within the Municipality of Santa María del Oro and Indé on the eastern flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. There are several mines in operation in Durango, including our Guanacevi mine, which has been in operation since 2005. The property comprises of 4,950 hectares across five concessions and has significant infrastructure in place with direct access to utilities, including access to the grid. A number of key permits are already in place for underground mining and development, including permits for water use and discharge, general use of explosives, change use of soil, as well, underground mining and development are permitted under an Environmental Impact Statement.
Prior to Endeavour’s acquisition, Pitarrilla was owned by SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ/TSX: SSRM; ASX: SSR). From 2003 to 2012, SSR Mining conducted extensive drill campaigns on the project. Concurrently, SSR Mining published two technical reports, consisting of a prefeasibility study in 2009 focused on a high-grade underground mine scenario and a feasibility study in 2012 which evaluated an open-pit concept. Endeavour acquired the Pitarrilla Project from SSR Mining in 2022. Endeavour plans to evaluate various scales of production, including an underground option, which would strengthen the long-term production profile of the Company and provide significant value to shareholders.
Endeavour Silver published an initial mineral resource estimate on the Pitarrilla project, following the completion of the acquisition and filed a technical report, prepared by SGS Geological Services.
The following information is derived from the 2022 Pitarrilla Report:
The total Indicated Mineral Resources (open pit and underground) at Pitarrilla totals 158.6 million tonnes containing 491.6 million ounces (oz) silver (Ag) grading 96.4 grams per tonne (gpt), 1.1 billion pounds (lbs) of lead (Pb) grading 0.31%, 2.6 billion pounds of Zinc (Zn) grading 0.74% for a total of 693.9 million ounces of silver equivalent (AgEq) grading 136 gpt.
The Inferred Mineral Resource (open pit and underground) totals 35.4 million tonnes containing 99.4 million oz Ag grading of 87.2 gpt, 281 million lbs Pb grading 0.36%, 661 million lbs Zn grading 0.85% for a total of 151.2 million ounces AgEq grading 132.7 gpt.
Silver equivalent grades are calculated using this formula: Ag (gpt) + [Pb (%) X 2204.6 X Pb Price / Ag Price X 31.1] + [Zn (%) X 2204.6 X Zn Price / Ag Price X 31.1] with price assumptions of Pb $1.00, Zn $1.30 and Ag $22.00.
Pitarrilla Mineral Resources Summary (effective as of October 6, 2022):