Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/912601
D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 www.resourceworld.com 49 tion to the US dollar which has resulted in lower production costs that spur pro- duction, according to GFMS analyst Erica Rannestad. Americas Silver Corp. [USA-TSX; USAPF- OTCQX] has commenced production at the 100%-owned polymetallic San Rafael Mine (silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold) at its Cosala operations in Sinaloa, Mexico. Initially, the company is targeting a throughput of 1,500 tonnes per day (tpd). The mine is currently producing over 1,000 tpd as it continues its ramp-up. There is a stockpile of over 25,000 tonnes of San Rafael ore and a further 50,000 tonnes of Nuestra Senora ore at the mill, if required. Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. [AEM-TSX, NYSE] operates the Pinos Altos, Creston Mascota and La India mines as well as exploration projects, including El Barqueño in Jalisco and Morelos Sur in Guerrero State. The projects are all targeting gold and/or silver and copper. Pinos Altos and Creston Mascota produced 20,068 oz gold in 2016. At La India, 2016 production totaled 115,162 oz gold and 486,000 oz silver at cash costs of $395/oz gold. Alamos Gold Inc. [AGI-TSX, NYSE] owns and operates two mines in Mexico – the open pit, heap leach and mill Mulatos gold mine and the El Chanate open pit heap leach mine, both in Sonora. It is estimated Mulatos will produce 150,000 – 160,000 oz gold in 2017 with El Chante estimated to produce 50,000 – 60,000 oz. Alamos is also advancing the Esperanza heap leach gold/ silver development project in Morelos. Alio Gold Inc. [ALO-TSX NYSE AMERICAN] is expecting the San Francisco Mine in Sonora to produce 86,000 to 92,000 oz gold in 2017 at an AISC of less than US $1,000/oz. At Alio's development stage Ana Paula Project in Guerrero, a Pre-Feasibility Study has been completed and its Environmental Impact Assessment has been approved. Refer to Alio Gold story in Resource World Oct-Nov 2017, Volume 15, Issue 6. Argonaut Gold Inc. [AR-TSX] reported its San Agustin operation started commer- cial production on October 1, 2017, two weeks following its first gold pour. The project has been delivered on schedule and under budget. Argonaut's primary assets are the producing El Castillo and San Agustin mines which form the El Castillo complex in Durango, and the production-stage La Colorada Mine in Sonora. Advanced-exploration-stage proj- ects include the San Antonio Project in Baja California Sur. Q3 earnings were US $400,000. Argonaut is acquiring the Cerro del Gallo Project for $15 million. Auxico Resources Canada Inc. [AUAG-CSE] has released encouraging met- allurgical results from a 2.095-kg sample taken from the volcanic breccia host rock material in the footwall of the Campanillas Mine in the northeast corner of the 100%- owned, silver-gold Zamora property, Sinaloa. Gold recovery was 71.60% and 92.9% for silver. Initial sampling results of a single trench yielded a 50-metre-wide mineralized section grading 0.85 g/t gold, including 3 metres of 13.07 g/t gold at the Aguamas prospect on the Zamora property. Avino Silver and Gold Mines Ltd. [ASM-TSXV, NYSE AMER.; GV6-Germ.] operates the Avino Mine near Durango. Consolidated production highlights for Q3 2017 compared with Q3 2016 were: silver equivalent production increased by 17% to 760,756 oz; gold production increased by 47% to 2,673 oz; silver pro- duction decreased by 10% to 368,456 oz; and copper production increased by 6% to 1,106,305 lbs. Bacanora Minerals Ltd.'s [BCN-TSXV, AIM] Environmental Impact Statement for its Sonora lithium project has been approved. The company is continuing its feasibility study for a 35,000 tpa lithium carbonate operation to be completed in late 2017. The approval represents a major milestone for Bacanora and is in line with its strategy to construct an open-pit mine and a large-scale beneficiation processing facility. Battery-grade lithium carbonate has been continuously produced at the company's pilot plant since May 2016. The company also has a 100% interest in the Magdalena borate project in Sonora. Canasil Resources Inc. [CLZ-TSXV; 3CC-FSE] has several projects in Mexico. Drill results from the La Esperanza vein in the southeast of the project area, together with high silver-zinc-lead values from rock chip and dump samples from four veins in the northwest of the project area, suggest the potential for an extensive silver min- eralized system within the La Esperanza project area. Drilling last May returned encouraging silver assays. Candente Gold Corp. [CDG-TSXV] has earned an undivided 70% interest in the El Oro district, 110 km west-northwest of Mexico City with Goldcorp retaining its 30% minority interest in the district by participating pro-rata in all future expenditures. Canuc Resources Corp. [CDA-TSXV] is exploring its San Javier silver-gold project in Sonora State. That hosts a high-grade sil- ver and gold system located approximately 140 km south east of Hermosillo. Canuc recently acquired a new mining concession covering 151 hectares that envelops exist- ing land holdings to the northeast. Early exploration has determined that silver-gold mineralization strengthens to the northeast. Capstone Mining Inc. [CS-TSX] reported that copper production at its 100%-owned Cozamin Mine 3.8 km north of Zacatecas City exceeded expectations at 12,500 tonnes for the first three quarters of 2017, driven by higher throughput. Mine development continues to advance ahead of schedule, increasing production flex- ibility at the operation. Chesapeake Gold Corp. [CKG-TSXV] has begun a 5,000-metre diamond drill program at its 100%-owned Yarely Project, located near the proposed El Paso (Metates) plant site in Sinaloa state. Several differ- ent deposit types have been defined in six prospects and include skarns, epither- mal and mesothermal veins, disseminated zones, stockworks, and breccias. At the Central and Loretos prospects, 186 km of IP and resistivity geophysical surveys outlined a V-shaped chargeability anomaly 6 km long, up to 600 metres wide and over 300 metres deep. Coeur Mining Inc. [CDE-NYSE] has a 100% interest in the Palmarejo silver-gold MEXICO