Golden Minerals (TSX: AUMN; NYSE: AUMN) has released a second set of assays results from its Rodeo gold-silver project, 80 km west of its Velardena project in Mexico's Durango state.
Highlights include 25 metres grading 6.66 grams gold per tonne and 13.9 grams silver per tonne starting at a depth of 8 metres in drill hole 20-012.
Other notable assays include 21 metres grading 2.85 grams gold and 10.7 grams silver from 13 metres downhole in 20-017, including a higher-grade core of 6 metres grading 5.1 grams gold and 15 grams silver.
"We continue to intersect thick intervals of near-surface, high-grade gold mineralization at Rodeo," Warren Rehn, the company's president and CEO, said in a press release. "The results of this infill drilling program are showing an improvement in gold grades on average compared to previous drill hole results. This further supports our plan to develop the project and process this high-grade material in our oxide plant at Velarde??a."
The drill program consisted of infill and limited step-out holes and will provide additional material for metallurgical and geotechnical test work.
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) released in April envisions an open-pit mine with a mine life of 2.25 years that could be put into production for initial capex of US$1.5 million.
Life-of-mine payable production was estimated at 34,000 oz. gold and 89,000 oz. silver at all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) of US$843 per oz. gold, net of byproduct credits. The early-stage study forecast after-tax free cash flow of US$24.89 million and an after-tax net present value of US$22.46 million at an 8% discount rate.
In a press release announcing the PEA results in mid-April, the company said it expects to bring Rodeo into production in 2021 and Rehn noted that the project presented an "opportunity to realize over $24 million of after-tax cash flow in two years' time with very low capital requirements, which will, in turn, support our work at Velardena and other exploration targets."
Velardeno is a former operating property with two underground mines and two mills.
The Rodeo project currently contains indicated resources of 0.4 million tonnes grading 3.3 grams gold and 11 grams silver for 46,000 contained oz. gold and 200,000 oz. silver for a cutoff grade of 0.83 grams gold per tonne.
At press time in Toronto, Golden Minerals was trading at 58 ? per share within a 52-week trading range of 21 ? and 81 ?.
The company has around 149 million common shares outstanding for an $86.3-million market capitalization.