The Penasquito Story
THE BLACKBERRY TEAM'S SUCCESS AT PENASQUITO
Execute the pit optimization plan by drilling up to 101 infill and step-out core holes with the goal of increasing the amount of higher-grade reported silver ore within the revised pit perimeter; increasing the average silver yields per metric ton of ore; and upgrading the resource classifications from inferred and indicated to measured and indicated.
Peñasquito is the second-largest mine in Mexico and the fifth-largest silver mine in the world with estimated reserves of 17,800,000 oz of gold and 1,070,000,000 oz of silver. Before starting Blackberry Ventures I, LLC, the BlackBerry team started Western Silver, a mineral exploration company focused on discovering and developing silver properties. It was based in Vancouver from 1997 To 2006. Western Silver identified the Peñasquito property as likely having a large resource of silver. Their company bought Peñasquito in 1997 and successfully explored the 39,000-hectare property.
Dr. Thomas Patton
—Senior VP of Exploration
for Blackberryand the Man Behind Peñasquito
Dr. Tom Patton
In January, 2019, Newmont Mining Corporation announced it will buy rival Goldcorp Inc. The acquisition is valued at US$10 billion. Penasquito (Goldcorp’s largest holding) represents US$4.6 billion of the $10 billion acquisition.
The BlackBerry team believes the Nieves property could hold significant silver reserves. They anticipate Nieves could become Mexico’s fourth open pit mine.
Fundamentals
NIEVES is located in the Famed Mexican Silver Belt — the Faja de Plata. The Faja de Plata is the most prolific silver province in the world. Since its discovery in the 16th century, more than 10 billion ounces of silver and 70 million ounces of gold have been produced.
History
The history of the area is rich. The first discovery in the area covered by the Nieves Property was the Santa Rita Vein in 1560 by Spanish explorers (Turner, 1999; Cavey, 1999).
Geology
Silver mineralization on the Nieves property is classified as low-sulphidation epidermal and is the primary target. Epidermal silver veins are dominant in the Altiplano Region of Mexico that include world-class examples such as Pachuca, Zacatecas, Fresnillo, and Guanajuato.