Galena Recapitalization Plan reports strong 2020 finish
WALLACE — The Recapitalization Plan efforts at Americas Gold and Silver Corporation’s (AGSC) Galena Mine continue to progress and the company is now in the midst of their exploration efforts.
Earlier this year, AGSC said that crews finished up expansive rehabilitation projects on the 4300 and 5500 levels and completed one third of their proposed exploratory drilling.
More recently, results from their Phase 1 Drilling Plan have been strong and they plan to continue those efforts well into the new year.
The exploration plan includes two different avenues for drilling, which include drilling extensions of the known veins at depth below current infrastructure, as well as targeting extensions of current known reserves and resources in the upper levels of the operation.
The exploration of known veins below the currently mined areas of the Silver Valley’s shallowest mine is particularly exciting, as the company believes that there is a possibility that several major known silver veins all converge into one large ore-rich area that has yet to be mined.
At the 5500 Level, operations continue to advance which will allow the company to establish new drill stations to better target the Triple Point vein system at depth and to continue drilling the down dip plunge of the 360 Complex.
Dip is the acute angle (and angle that measures less than 90 degrees) that a rock surface makes with a horizontal plane. The Triple Point is where the mine’s 175, 185 and Silver Veins are projected to converge.
This area is projected to be 100 meters below historical workings of the mine and so far, all of the projections have AGSC officials excited to continue the exploration efforts.
“We continue to see spectacular drill results from the Phase 1 drilling which has already added over 50 million ounces of silver at the Galena Complex, with a goal for a further 50 million ounces to be added by June 30, 2021,” Americas Gold and Silver President and CEO Darren Blasutti said in a recent release. “Drilling from the 4300 Level has the potential to add solid, incremental production in the near term while deeper drilling from the 5500 Level should position the operation to return to its peak 5 million ounces per year production longer term.”
AGSC also plans on doing additional exploration of the 72 Vein, which was discovered in 1999 and mined from 2000 through 2006. It produced more than 9.5 million ounces of silver during that time and was a significant contributor during the period when the Galena Complex produced more than 5 million ounces of silver per year.
The Galena Mine’s Recapitalization Plan was announced almost one year ago when Americas Gold and Silver Corporation entered into a strategic joint venture agreement with Eric Sprott. Sprott, an existing shareholder of Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (AGSC), committed $20 million that was designated for capital improvements and operations in exchange for 40% interest in the Galena Complex.
These investment dollars have been the lifeblood of the successful Recapitalization Plan that is currently going on at the mine and have allowed the company to increase development, modernize infrastructure, purchase new equipment, and expand their exploration of areas not being mined at this time.