We are a Colorado-based gold-silver junior producer, with one operating mine in Mexico and a pipeline of development and exploration projects in Mexico, Argentina and Nevada. We transitioned from exploration firm to gold-silver producer in January 2021 when we began production at the Rodeo open pit gold mine in Durango State, Mexico. Mining activities at Rodeo’s pit concluded in June 2023, and the Company is now processing its stockpiled mineralized material. In early 2023, we announced that terms for the sale of the Velardeña Properties gold-rich pyrite concentrates have improved significantly over previously-available terms. After completing several successful sales of concentrate under these new terms, Golden announced in June 2023 that it intends to restart mining operations at Velardeña, pending obtaining sufficient financing, which is still in progress. The improved sales terms allow us to move forward with the re-opening of the Velardeña mines without needing to build a bio-oxidation plant, as was previously contemplated.
Golden Minerals offers investors leverage to gold and silver prices. We hold independently-prepared Technical Report Summaries (SEC S-K 1300-compliant) and Preliminary Economic Assessments (NI 43-101-compliant) on five of our precious metals projects. Our Rodeo gold mine has since January 2021 generated cash that has supported our exploration and development work at other projects. Mining activities at Rodeo’s pit concluded in June 2023, and the company is now processing stockpiled mineralized material..
In early 2023, we announced that terms for the sale of our Velardeña Properties' gold-rich pyrite concentrates have improved significantly over previously-available terms. After completing several successful sales during the second quarter 2023, we are now moving forward with plans to re-open the Velardeña mines, pending obtaining sufficient financing, which is still in progress.
We hold a number of exploration projects in our pipeline, including several which have shown potential through drill results to date, including the Sarita Este gold prospect in Argentina, and the El Quevar silver project in Argentina (currently farmed out to Barrick; Barrick has reported interesting initial drill results in its search for gold on the property). With an effective date of February 24, 2023, an initial mineral resource estimate was completed for our Yoquivo silver-gold project that estimates an inferred mineral resource of 937,000 tonnes at 570 g/t Ag eq (equivalent ounces are calculated using prices of $1,840/oz Au and $24.00/oz Ag) on five veins that had enough drill density to support mineral resources.