Advance Metals (ASX:AVM) has struck a deal with two separate companies to earn up to an 80% interest in two gold projects in Victoria and acquire a silver project in Mexico.
The junior explorer, which has a market capitalisation of around $6.6 million, has entered a binding joint venture agreement with Serra Energy Metals (CSE:SEEM) to earn up to an 80% stake in the Myrtleford and Beaufort gold projects in the Victorian Goldfields – a region that has produced over 80 million ounces.
At the same time, Advance Metals will acquire Swordfish Silver, a subsidiary of Sailfish Royalty (TSX-V:FISH) and the owner of the Gavilanes Project in Mexico.
Advance Metals says the JV deal with Serra Energy represents a “low-cost opportunity” providing exposure to a gold project which has in recent years achieved “significant drilling results at a time of record high gold spot prices”.
The gold price is fetching over US$2,650 ($4,254) an ounce at the time of writing.
The tenements that make up the Myrtleford and Beaufort gold projects host hundreds of mineralised workings, according to Advance Metals, including over 70 past-producing “high-grade” underground gold mines, many that remain largely unexplored with modern techniques.
At the Myrtleford Project, Serra has identified a 13km-long trend of gold mineralisation, known as the Happy Valley Trend.
The area hosts numerous historic gold mines that were only mined to shallow depths during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Recent drilling confirmed “high-grade” quartz veins extending well below the historic workings, highlighting substantial exploration potential.
Prior drilling returned top results of 11.5m @ 160.4 grams per tonne gold from 190m, including 0.6m @ 2,430g/t.
All up, Serra has identified 45km of strike length that co-relates to several historical gold workings and mines.
At the Beaufort Project a 20km trend has been uncovered that has been historically mined for alluvial gold, with estimated past production of 1.16 million ounces.
Serra has so far spent $6 million on advancing the Myrtleford and Beaufort gold projects, which Advance Metals says provides a strong foundation for future development and discovery.
Meanwhile, the Gavilanes Silver Project in Mexico hosts a foreign resource of 22.4 million silver equivalent ounces at an average grade of 245.6g/t.
The deposit is located in the San Dimas mining district of Durango, Mexico, about 23km northeast of the San Dimas mine owned and operated by First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG).
This is the second project in Mexico for Advance Metals, with the explorer also owning the Yoquivo Project, which has a foreign estimate of 937,000 tonnes @ 570g/t for 17.23 million contained silver equivalent ounces.
Current exploration has tested just 0.17km2 of the main zone, while an additional 0.28km2 of known veins are undrilled and a remaining 130km2 still to be explored.
The deposit is open at depth, with indications of increasing copper and gold grades.
Advance Metals says the Gavilanes Project represents a “significant district-scale opportunity” with an additional 130km2 of similar geology to the host area yet to be explored.
Historic drill intercepts returned top hits of 3.3m @ 2,540g/t silver from 109.75m, 6.3m @ 2,016g/t from 77.15m and 4.3m @ 1,279g/t from 109.25m.
The majority of the Gavilanes Project acquisition consideration is tied to milestones, including achieving a resource size of 60 million ounces at 300g/t silver equivalent or greater.
Advance Metals exited a trading suspension following news of the acquisitions. The company has been halted from trading since 17 December 2024.
Investors welcomed the news, with shares gaining as much as 26.5% on Monday (6 January) to reach an intra-day peak of $0.043.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Advance Metals
