Unico Silver Limited reported assay results from 56 drill holes totalling 7,823 metres completed as part of the Company’s ongoing 30,000m drill program at Joaquin Project, located in Santa Cruz Province.
By Panorama Minero
Drilling continues to deliver strong gold–silver intercepts across multiple prospects, including the first drilling completed by USL at the Breccia Puntudo prospect, as well as infill and step-out drilling at La Negra SE and La Morocha SE.
Results confirm shallow oxide mineralisation at Breccia Puntudo and demonstrate that mineralisation at La Negra SE remains open to the southeast and at depth, supporting the upcoming JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate currently being finalised as part of the Joaquin Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).
Highlights include:
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First drilling by USL at the Breccia Puntudo prospect has confirmed shallow oxide gold-silver mineralisation with significant intercepts including:
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JRC045-26 28m at 284gpt AgEq (Silver Equivalent) (2.5gpt Au (Gold), 38gpt Ag (Silver)) from 61m, including:
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13m at 513gpt AgEq (4.8gpt Au, 43gpt Ag) from 67m
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JRC046-26 20m at 277gpt AgEq (2.7gpt Au, 18gpt Ag) from 57m
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JDD162-26 6m at 992gpt AgEq (9.6gpt Au, 58gpt Ag) from 56m, including:
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3.2m at 1,800gpt AgEq (17.8gpt Au, 80gpt Ag) from58.1m
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Breccia Puntudo represents a gold-rich mineralised structure located outside the historical NI 43-101 Foreign Estimate, with the mineralised trend traced over 3km of strike with limited historical drilling.
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Two drill rigs are currently operating at Breccia Puntudo focusing on extensional drilling and regional exploration, targeting both resource expansion and new discoveries along this emerging corridor.
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Hole JDD161-26 (27m at 162gpt AgEq from 215m) represents the deepest hole drilled to date at La Negra SE and confirms mineralisation extending beyond the limits of the pending MRE.
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Drilling at La Morocha SE continues to deliver wide oxide silver-gold intercepts, including:
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(JDD147-26) – 77.6m at 94gpt AgEq (0.3gpt Au, 63gpt Ag) from 114m
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(JDD148-26) – 83m at 99gpt AgEq (0.4gpt Au, 55gpt Ag) from 48m
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Given the receipt of outstanding drill hole assays for infill holes at La Negra SE and Breccia Puntudo, the MRE supporting the Pre-Feasibility Study is due shortly.
Managing Director Todd Williams stated:
“The Company continues to make strong progress across multiple exploration and development workstreams at Joaquin. Infill drilling at La Negra SE and extensional drilling to the southeast continue to demonstrate that mineralisation remains open both down plunge and at depth. Notably, hole JDD161-26 (27m at 162g/t AgEq from 215m) is the deepest hole drilled to date at La Negra SE and confirms strong alteration and mineralisation extending vertically beyond the limits of the upcoming Mineral Resource update. Step-out drilling targeting extensions to the southeast is ongoing, with assays pending for several key holes.
We are also extremely encouraged by the first results from drilling at Breccia Puntudo. Wide zones of shallow oxide gold-silver mineralisation have validated historical drilling and highlight the potential for a new mineralised corridor outside the historical foreign resource estimate. While exploration at Breccia Puntudo is still at an early stage, the structure extends for approximately 3 kilometres and presents significant scope for additional discoveries.
In parallel with exploration success, Pre-Feasibility Study workstreams are progressing well. Geotechnical samples from the Q4 2025 drill campaign are currently undergoing laboratory testing, with results expected to support open-pit design parameters by the end of March. In addition, 14 composites from Joaquin and Cerro León oxides have been dispatched to Nevada for comminution testing to support front-end flowsheet design. Phase 2 Environmental Baseline studies are scheduled to commence in April and represent the final field campaign required to support the provincial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval process”.
At present, the mineral resource at Joaquín is on the order of 68 Moz of silver equivalent.
