VIZSLA SILVER ANNOUNCES 43% INCREASE IN MEASURED AND INDICATED MINERAL RESOURCES AT PANUCO, INCLUDING 46 MOZ GRADING 640 G/T AGEQ IN FIRST MEASURED RESOURCE ESTIMATE Vancouver, British Columbia (January 6, 2025) – Vizsla Silver Corp. (NYSE: VZLA) (TSX: VZLA) (Frankfurt: 0G3) (“Vizsla Silver” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the results of an updated Silver Mineral Resource Estimate”) for its flagship, 100% owned Panuco silver-gold project (the “Project” or “Panuco”) located in Sinaloa, Mexico. The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate was completed by Allan Armitage, Ph.D., P.Geo., of SGS Geological Services.
Highlights of the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, including a comparison to the previous mineral resource estimate released in January 2024:
43% increase in combined measured and indicated mineral resources from 155.8 to 222.4 Moz AgEq Added 46 Moz AgEq in new measured resources and 176 Moz AgEq in new indicated resources 9.4% increase in combined measured and indicated grade at Copala (580 g/t to 635 g/t AgEq) 4.5% increase in global indicated grade (511 g/t to 534 g/t AgEq) 18% decrease in inferred mineral resources from 169.6 to 138.7 Moz AgEq mostly due to conversion to indicated resources 4.9% decrease in inferred grade (433 g/t to 412 g/t AgEq)
Key Statistics:
The Updated Mineral Resource represents less than 10% of the known vein strike of the newly consolidated district 91% of the value of the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate is comprised of precious metals, including 56% from silver A total of 11 epithermal veins were included in the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate Total all-in exploration cost of US$0.41/oz AgEq discovered
Combined Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are estimated at 12.96 million tonnes (“Mt”) grading 307 grams per tonne (“g/t”) silver, 2.49 g/t gold, 0.27% lead, and 0.85% zinc (222.4 million ounces (“Moz”) silver equivalent (“AgEq”) at 534 g/t AgEq). The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate includes measured mineral resources of 28.6 Moz of silver, 214 thousand ounces (“koz”) of gold, 3.3 kilotonnes (“kt”) of lead, and 7.9 kt of zinc (46.1 Moz AgEq) and indicated mineral resources of 99.2 Moz of silver, 822 koz of gold, 31.6 kt of lead, and 102.3 kt of zinc (176.3 Moz AgEq).
Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated at 10.5 Mt grading 219 g/t silver, 1.96 g/t gold, 0.30% lead, and 1.01% zinc (412 g/t AgEq). The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate includes inferred mineral resources of 73.6 Moz of silver, 660 koz of gold, 31.2 kt of lead, and 106.2 kt of zinc (138.7 Moz AgEq).
The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate is centred on the western portion of Panuco, encompassing ~8.6 km of the known 86 km of cumulative vein strike in the district. The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate includes 157 new infill/expansion holes (69,754 metres) completed by Vizsla Silver between September 2023 and September 2024. In total, the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate is based on a total drill database of 979 holes (372,685 metres) completed by Vizsla Silver since November 2019. “We are pleased to announce the fourth significant resource update for the high-grade Panuco silver gold district,” commented Michael Konnert, President and CEO. “This update comes just four years after the initial discovery was made at Napoleon and represents only a snapshot in time as every vein included in the global project resource remains open for further expansion.”
“Drilling throughout 2024 focused on converting resources within the Copala and Napoleon areas into higher confidence categories and was designed to in-fill previously reported intercepts used for resource estimation in the Panuco Preliminary Economic Assessment published on July 24, 2024. Global Measured and Indicated resources now stand at 222.4 Moz AgEq grading 534 g/t AgEq, representing a 43% increase in contained ounces and a 4.5% increase in average grade, relative to the previous estimate. We are particularly excited to announce our first Measured Resource Estimate, containing 46 Moz at an average grade of 640 g/t AgEq. The bulk of the Measured resource is located at Copala, in and around areas designated for the first few years of mining. This update reflects the excellent mineralized continuity that exists at Copala. Reducing the space between drill holes at Copala to 25 metres has resulted in a significantly higher-grade profile in the upper levels of the resource and PEA mine plan.”
“Going forward, we continue to employ a dual track development approach at Panuco, advancing the Project through development towards production in the back half of 2027, while continuing district scale exploration through low-cost means. Ongoing initiatives include a fully funded and permitted test mine program, Feasibility Study and a 10,000-metre discovery-based drill campaign. This is a remarkable achievement that comes as a result of hard work and perseverance. I want to thank everyone from the entire Vizsla team, including our contractors and local communities, and look forward to another successful year in 2025.” Vizsla Silver will be hosting a webcast to discuss the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate at 10:00am PT on Thursday, January 9, 2025. To register, please click here.
A technical report is being prepared on the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (“NI-43-101”) and will be available on the Company’s website and SEDAR within 45 days of the date of this release. The effective date of the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate is September 9, 2024.
Panuco Project Resource Summary (150 g/t AgEq cut-off) 1Metal price assumptions are $26.00/oz silver, $1,975/oz gold, $2,425/t lead and $2,976/t zinc. 2Metal price assumptions are $24.00/oz silver, $1,800/oz gold, $2,425/t lead and $2,976/t zinc.
Panuco Project Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource Summary by Vein (150 g/t AgEq cut-off) Note: 1AgEq = Ag ppm + (((Au ppm x Au price/gram) + (Pb% x Pb price/t) + (Zn% x Zn price/t))/Ag price/gram). Metal price assumptions are $26.00/oz silver, $1,975/oz gold, $2,425/t lead and $2,976/t zinc. 2AuEq = Au ppm + (((Ag ppm x Ag price/gram) + (Pb% x Pb price/t) + (Zn% x Zn price/t))/Au price/gram). Metal price assumptions are $26.00/oz silver, $1,975/oz gold, $2,425/t lead and $2,976/t zinc. *Animas and San Antonio use metal price assumptions are $24.00/oz silver, $1,800/oz gold, $2,425/t lead and $2,976/t zinc.
Panuco Project Measured, Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resource Sensitivity Table *Does not include Animas or San Antonio
Panuco Project Updated Mineral Resource Estimate Notes:
The updated mineral resource was estimated by Allan Armitage, Ph.D., P. Geo. of SGS Geological Services and is an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Armitage conducted three site visits to the Property: May 29, 2023, November 6 to November 8, 2023, and May 23, 2024. The classification of the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate into Measured, Indicated and Inferred mineral resources is consistent with current 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The effective date for the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate is September 9, 2024. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate and numbers may not add due to rounding. All mineral resources are presented undiluted and in situ, constrained by continuous 3D wireframe models (considered mineable shapes), and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated or Measured Mineral Resources with continued exploration. The database comprises a total of 979 drill holes for 372,685 metres of drilling completed by Vizsla Silver between November 2019 and September 2024. The mineral resource estimate is based on 29 three-dimensional (“3D”) resource models, constructed in Leapfrog, representing the Napoleon-Cruz-Josephine area (13 wireframes), Luisa area (3 wireframes), the Copala-Tajitos-Cristiano area (7 wireframes), Animas (5 wireframes) and San Antonio (1 wireframe). Silver, gold, lead and zinc were estimated for each mineralization domain in the Panuco Project. Blocks within each mineralized domain were interpolated using 1.5 metre capped composites assigned to that domain. To generate grade within the blocks, the inverse distance squared (ID2) interpolation method was used for all domains. All estimates are based on variable block dimensions (by deposit area) and estimation search parameters (by domain). Average density values were assigned per zone based on 2,293 samples analysed by ALS in Zacatecas, Mexico or inhouse plus 16% standards, duplicates and sample checks. It is envisioned that the Panuco Project deposits may be mined using underground mining methods. Mineral resources are reported at a base case cut-off grade of 150 g/t AgEq. The mineral resource grade blocks were quantified above the base case cut-off grade, below surface and within the constraining mineralized wireframes. The base-case AgEq Cut-off grade considers metal prices of $26.00/oz Ag, $1,975/oz Au, $2425/t Pb and $2976/t Zn and considers metal recoveries of 93% for silver, 90% for gold, 94% for Pb and 94% for Zn. The base case cut-off grade of 150 g/t AgEq considers a mining cost of US$45.00/t rock and processing, treatment and refining, transportation and G&A cost of US$50.00/t of mineralized material. The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.
The Company remains well-funded for its 2025 operational objectives including 1) a fully permitted bulk sample test mine program, 2) updated metallurgical test work, 3) delivery of a Feasibility Study and 4) ongoing discovery-based drilling designed to test high priority targets located in the eastern areas of the district. Depending on ongoing exploration success, the Company plans to publish a further update to the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate in the second half of 2025.
Discovery Costs
To date, the Company has incurred an aggregate of approximately US$146.7 million in exploration expenditures over the life of the Project. This equates to an estimated discovery cost per silver equivalent ounce of US$0.41 for resources defined in the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate.
About the Panuco project
The newly consolidated Panuco silver-gold project is an emerging high-grade discovery located in southern Sinaloa, Mexico, near the city of Mazatlán. The 17,856.5-hectare, past producing district benefits from over 86 kilometres of total vein extent, 35 kilometres of underground mines, roads, power, and permits.
The district contains intermediate to low sulfidation epithermal silver and gold deposits related to siliceous volcanism and crustal extension in the Oligocene and Miocene. Host rocks are mainly continental volcanic rocks correlated to the Tarahumara Formation.