Nazas is a new project acquired by Southern Silver (SSV.V) announced in February 2025. The property hosts a superb exploration target environment characterized by:
- DRILL-READY project with robust geochemical and geophysical targets.
- Reactive host rocks that yield HIGH-GRADE deposits. Fertile igneous rocks; abundant structural and stratigraphic traps.
- CLOSEOLOGY - Very large nearby deposit at Pitarilla. The district has highly base and precious metal endowed deposits.
- EXCELLENT INFRASTRUCTURE, skilled workforce and mining culture in this part of Mexico.
- EXPERIENCED MANAGEMENT TEAM - Synergieswith SSV.V expertise, staff and experience in Durango.
- EMERGING NEW SILVER DISTRICT - Discovery/Development Project at Pitarilla (15km away; Endeavor Silver) – Untested 7km strike at Nazas.
The Nazas project lies within heart of the Faja de Plata (Belt of Silver) of north central Mexico (Fig. 1). The belt is one of the most significant silver producing regions in the world, with current reserves/resources and historic production in excess of 3 billion ounces of silver.
Fig. 1.Major silver-rich deposits in the Faja de Plata belt, Northern Mexico. SSV.V projects Nazas and Cerro Las Minitas (CLM) are located in the main mineral deposit corridor.
Location
Located on the eastern flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range in north-central Durango State, Mexico. The property is accessible by road from the City of Durango, located approximately 150km to the south.
Project is located ~12Km east of Endevour Silver’s Pitarilla project. Nazas shares similar geology and mineralization styles (Fig. 2).
The claims were explored by LCI in the mid-to-late-90s and then by Silver Standard in the early-2000s. The adjacent Navidad claim was acquired and both properties were explored by Silver Standard in the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s.
Fig. 2. Project is located ~12Km east of Endeavour Silver’s Pitarilla project.
Acquisition and Commercial
The letter agreement provides Southern Silver the option to earn a 100% interest in the Nazas project by (i) making pre-production cash payments totalling US$130,000 over a 36-month period with a pre-production payment of US$25,000 payable every 6 months thereafter, and (ii) completing a minimum aggregate 8,000 metres of drilling on the project over a 4 year period. The Company will also pay US$25,000 in reimbursement of concession rights taxes. The project is subject to net smelter return royalty in the amount of 2% of net smelter returns on the current claims, 1% net smelter returns on any new claims acquired within an area of influence, and 0.5% of net smelter returns on any third party owned lands acquired within the area of influence. The net smelter return royalty will be reduced by half upon cumulative pre-production payments and net smelter return royalty payments totalling US$10 million.
Geology and Mineralization
Five different targets are identified on the property which will be the focus of future exploration on the property (Fig. 3)
Multiple epithermal vein occurrences occur throughout the property and are characterized by fine quartz stockworks localized along cross-cutting NW-SE and NE-SW-trending structures often enveloped within broad gold-enriched haloes, up to 60 metres wide, of oxidized hematite-goethite-bearing rock (Fig. 4). Drilling by Silver Standard at the Yerbabuena and Santa Rita targets returned strongly anomalous Au-Ag mineralization (+0.1g/t Au and +1g/t Ag) over 10s of metres in multiple drill holes. Mineralization remains open both laterally and at depth for further testing.
Deeper stratigraphy and associated base-metal-enriched mineralization are exposed at the Yescas prospect reflecting the potential for both porphyry and replacement styled mineralization. Three quartz-feldspar intrusive phases have been identified on the property and are similar to those associated with the Pitarilla deposit.
Fig. 3. Epithermal quartz vein and breccia textures on the Nazas Property, Durango.
Fig. 4. Epithermal quartz vein and breccia textures on the Nazas Property, Durango.
Fig. 5. Exceptional silver and gold results in historic samples. Samples can exceed 5000 ppm Ag and 7 g/t Au. Greater than 7km of mineralized strike length with limited historic drill testing.
Deposit Analogy - Pitarilla
The direct geologic analogy is Pitarilla (Endeavor Silver):
- One of the largest undeveloped Silver Resources in Mexico
- 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 (https://edrsilver.com/portfolio/development/pitarrilla/).
- Mineralization localized along structures and adjacent to quartz-feldspar intrusions
- Oxide mineralization hosted in Eocene volcanic stratigraphy
- Deeper sulphide mineralization in the lower Eocene and Cretaceous strata
- Endeavour Silver is targeting a Ag-Pb-Zn manto deposit hosted in limestone-conglomerate at the base of the Eocene
Exploration
Modern exploration of the Nazas project started in the mid-1990s by the vendor which staked it and adjacent ground, including the Pitarilla Property, on behalf of Silver Standard Resources Inc (now SSR Mining Inc.). SSR Mining sold the Pitarilla Project to Endeavor Silver Corp. in January 2022 and ceased exploration operations in Mexico returning the Nazas property to the vendors.
The claims were explored by LCI in the mid-to-late-90s and then by Silver Standard in the early-2000s to the mid-2010s.
The historic work indicates that there is excellent potential at Nazas for epithermal vein, porphyry and replacement style mineralization.
Comprehensive Database including:
- Property wide mapping
- Several thousand rock and soli samples
- Channel sampling
- Aster Maps
- Magnetic, IP, Gravimetric and Magneto-telluric data
- Results from 18 drill holes (12 RC and 6 DDH)
Five main targets are defined:
Yescas: Silver-lead polymetallic soil and rock anomalies; favourable carbonate stratigraphy; IP chargeability anomaly.
Cañoncito: Strongest Au anomalous zones (soil and rock); pathfinder Hg anomalies. Quartz vein/Hydrothermal breccia.
Dikes Estrellas: As-in-soil anomalies in soil data; Au-in rock anomalies
Alamo Mocho: Au-in-rock anomalies
Yerbabuena/Santa Rita: Two structural trends 320° and 60° control the mineralization; Coincident multi-element geochemical and alteration mineral anomalies identify target areas; Three quartz-feldspar intrusive phases have been recorded on the surface and in drilling and are similar to Pitarrilla deposit related intrusive rocks; Airborne magnetic dataset suggests possible buried porphyry. Recently identified potassic alteration of quartz-pyrite- sericite-chlorite-magnetite-secondary biotite.
Upcoming work on the Nazas project will focus on validation of the historic surface and drill data and further compilation and interpretation of what is a substantive database toward establishing drill targets for testing in Q3 2025. Data Compilation and interpretation are underway before finalizing drill target priorities.