Unico Silver (ASX:USL) is on track to deliver an updated JORC mineral resource estimate this year at the company’s 100% owned Joaquin Project in Santa Cruz, Argentina.
The company has received the latest assay results for 29 holes (4,699m) as part of an ongoing drilling program, which brings total reported assays since drilling started in September 2025 to 60 holes totalling 9,812m.
This forms part of a 30,000m drill program focused on regional exploration and new discoveries, and the delineation of high-confidence, pit-constrained, free-milling silver ounces at Joaquin, the receipt of outstanding drill assays also expected this year.
The next steps include focusing on expanding the mineralised footprint to the southeast and at depth, in addition to infill drilling shallow high-grade zones to Indicated resources status.
Regional scout drilling targeting the covered extensions of both vein trends, exploring for repetitions of the high-grade mineralised shoots is also on the agenda.
Unico will also undertake geotechnical drilling to support open pit mine design input parameters, as well as ongoing mapping, soil and rock chip sampling expanding the current area of interest to adjacent untested vein trends.
In November 2025, the company received $40 million of firm commitments for a placement from a number of existing and new domestic and offshore institutional investors.
Unico immediately put the funds to work to accelerate drilling across Joaquin increasing from three to five rigs, enabling completion of extensional and infill drill programs and fast-tracked conversion of La Morocha SE and La Negra SE discoveries into indicated resources to support the maiden Feasibility Study in H1 2026..
Managing Director Todd Williams says given the evolving nature of the La Negra SE and La Morocha SE mineral resources, the company has elected to advance the Scoping Study workstreams internally and move straight to a PFS once a high-confidence resource is declared in Q1 2026.
The revised work program includes a dedicated drill rig to fast-track metallurgical and geotechnical drilling required to support project design and development decisions, ensuring critical PFS inputs are delivered on schedule and allowing us to bring forward key study workstreams.
Canaccord Genuity (Australia) acted as sole lead manager and bookrunner to the placement, and SCP Resource Finance acted as co-manager.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Unico Silver
