Yoquivo

Overview

Yoquivo is an exploration stage gold-silver project located in northwest Chihuahua State, Mexico. The Yoquivo District is a past producing, bonanza grade epithermal vein gold and silver district located 35 kilometers southeast of the Ocampo Mining District. The Yoquivo claims cover an underexplored epithermal precious metals district that shows similar mineralization to the adjacent Ocampo mining district. During 2022, we completed payments required under Yoquivo’s two option agreements and now hold 100% ownership of the Yoquivo concessions subject to royalty interests between 2% and 3% net smelter return payable on production to third parties and capped at $2.8 million in the aggregate. Since 2020, exploration and delineation drilling of 16,565 meters in 70 holes has advanced Yoquivo to this stage. In March 2023, we announced completion of an initial Mineral Resource estimate and Technical Report for Yoquivo. See "Resources & Geology" tab for details. 

In October 2024, Golden announced it has signed a binding agreement to sell Yoquivo to Advance Metals Limited (ASX: AVM), an ASX-listed entity focused on the acquisition, discovery, and advancement of high-quality metals projects. Under the terms of the agreement, AVM shall purchase 100% of the Yoquivo Project from Minera de Cordilleras S. de R.L. de C.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Golden Minerals, for total consideration of US$570,000, payable in cash, plus value added tax (“VAT”) as follows:

• A non-refundable cash payment of US$20,000, plus VAT, for AVM to have the right to carry out due diligence for a seven-day exclusive period, beginning on October 24, 2024.
• On November 1, 2024, AVM shall make a US$275,000 cash payment, plus VAT, to Golden.
• On November 21, 2024, AVM shall make a final US$275,000 cash payment, plus VAT, to Golden (collectively, the “Transaction Payments”).

Closing of the Transaction will be subject to additional conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and completion of due diligence review by AVM. In the event that AVM decides not to complete the Transaction, AVM will be subject to a breakup fee of 20% of the Purchase Price.

Exploration Activity

We completed a phase 3 drill program in July 2022 that totaled approximately 5,700 meters in 24 drill holes. This program was designed to further delineate the previously encountered vein-hosted mineralized intervals.  In Q4 2002, the company began a fourth round of drilling of around 3,000 meters. We plan to complete a maiden gold-silver resource estimate for release in Q1 2023. Highlights from phase 3 drilling included:

• 2.2m @ 10.21 g/t Au and 138.8 g/t Ag
• 0.4m @ 30.80 g/t Au and 5260.0 g/t Ag
• 4.2m @ 0.16 g/t Au and 229.2 g/t Ag
• 80.1m @ 0.89 g/t Au and 64.5 g/t Ag
• 1.7m @ 0.13 g/t Au, 354.6 g/t Ag

We conducted a phase 2 drill program in Q4 2021. The program included 3,949 meters comprised of 21 holes exploring the Pertenencia, Esperanza and Dolar vein systems. Drill holes were designed to follow up on the high-grade zones intersected by our 2020 drill program and to explore additional veins to identify new high-grade zones. We reported results from the first five holes of the program on January 27, 2022 and another nine holes on February 16, 2022.

Summary assay results from the 2021 drill program include:

Previously, we completed a first phase, 3,400-meter, 15-hole drill program in Q4 2020, exploring the principal veins at Yoquivo. The exploration program was designed to target the Pertenencia, San Francisco and Esperanza vein systems to better understand the nature and distribution of the gold-silver mineralization. Of substantial interest was the discovery of a new vein parallel to and east of the Pertenencia vein.  While the other principal veins have been partially mined from surface to the water table (up to 130 meters) in the case of San Francisco and Pertenencia, and over a much less extensive vertical interval in the case of El Dolar and Esperanza, the new vein is unmined from surface. Highlights included the following:

• YQ_20_001  Pertenencia Vein
  • 1.3m grading 5.69 g/t Au and 223 g/t Ag (650g/t AgEq) within
  • 4.2m grading 2.34 g/t Au and 190 g/t Ag (365 g/t AgEq)
• YQ_20_002 Pertenencia Vein
  • 0.6m grading 1.14 g/t Au and 423 g/t Ag (509 g/t AgEq) within
  • 1.9m grading 0.45 g/t Au and 150 g/t Ag (184 g/t AgEq)
• YQ_20_006 Esperanza Vein
  • 1m grading 5.0 g/t Au and 118 g/t Ag (524 g/t AgEq) within
  • 3.6m grading 1.77 g/t Au and 49 g/t Ag (190 g/t AgEq)
• YQ_20_007  Esperanza Vein
  • 0.4m grading 8.76 g/t Au and 60 g/t Ag (717 AgEq) within
  • 2.8m grading 1.2 g/t Au, 65 g/t Ag (155 g/t AgEq)
• YQ_20_010    New Vein
  • 0.2m grading 15.4 g/t Au and 1150 g/t Ag (2305 g/t AgEq) within
  • 5.4m grading 1.9 g/t Au and 135 g/t Ag (278 g/t AgEq)
• YQ_20_011   New Vein
  • 3.0m grading 4.2 g/t Au and 734 g/t Ag (1049 g/t AgEq) within
  • 12.3m grading 1.3 g/t Au and 225 g/t Ag (323 g/t AgEq)
• YQ_20_012    New Vein
  • 0.3m grading 135.5 g/t Au and 7480 g/t Ag (17,643 g/t AgEq) within
  • 1.2m grading 34 g/t Au and 1895 g/t Ag (4445 g/t AgEq)

In October 2018, we announced high-grade assays from a recent surface sampling program at Yoquivo. 

Sample highlights are shown below:

• 6m assaying 5.9 grams per tonne (“g/t”) Au and 937 g/t Ag from the Pertenencia Vein
• 4m assaying 2.3 g/t Au and 489 g/t Ag from the Central Breccia Zone
• 2.9m assaying 2.3 g/t Au and 345 g/t Ag from the San Francisco Vein
• 6m assaying 1.7 g/t Au and 399 g/t Ag from the Pertenencia Vein

Location, Access And Facilities

The Yoquivo district is located on the headwaters of the Mayo River in the northern part of the Sierra Madre Occidental, approximately 45 kilometers (“km”) west of San Juanito. The property is located 32km south of Agnico Eagle’s Pinos Altos Mine (2018 production est. 181,000 oz Au¹) and 35km southeast of the Ocampo mining district (a gold producer sold to Minera Frisco for (US) $750M in 2012²).

¹ Pinos Altos est. 2018 production from Agnico Eagle Website
² Aurico Gold to sell the Ocampo Mine to Minera Frisco for US$750M

Title And Ownership

We hold an option to purchase seven concessions totaling 1,975 hectares for payments totaling $0.75 million over four years and subject to a 2% NSR royalty on production capped at $2 million.

The Yoquivo property covers an erosional ‘window’ of andesites beneath Oligocene-aged rhyolites. Multiple silver-gold bearing epithermal veins have been mapped and sampled. The two most important veins are the San Francisco and Pertenencia veins, both of which have been mapped and sampled over a two-kilometer strike length. Numerous splays and parallel structures have also been identified and sampled.

Mineral Resource Estimate - Q1 2023

In March 2023, we announced completion of an initial Mineral Resource estimate and Technical Report for Yoquivo. The Mineral Resource estimate is reported in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves using the 2019 edition of the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines.The estimate was prepared by the independent engineering firm Mine Technical Services (“MTS”), with an effective date of February 24, 2023.

Yoquivo Inferred Mineral Resource Statement

Mineral Resource table notes:

1. Mineral resources have been classified using the mineral resource definitions set out in S–K 1300. The estimate was current as at 24 February, 2023.

2. The Qualified Person for the resource estimate is Mr. Aaron J. Amoroso, MMSA (QP), a Golden Minerals employee.

3. Mineral resources assume a traditional underground cut-and-fill mining method; a silver price of US$24/oz, a gold price of US$1,840/oz, a minimum mining width of 1 m; assumed silver and gold metallurgical recovery of 85%; an average mining cost of US$75 /t mined; average processing and general and administrative cost of US$50/t processed; transportation and selling cost of US$0.95/oz Ag and US$15/oz Au; and a gold and silver royalty of 2%.

4. Mineral resources are reported insitu within a grade shell constructed from composites above a cut-off grade of 200 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq), where AgEq = Ag g/t + Au g/t * (1,840/24), where 1,840 is the gold price per ounce in US$, and 24 is the silver price per ounce in US$.

5. All tonnage, grade and contained metal content estimates have been rounded; rounding may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content.

Yoquivo Drill Results

Yoquivo 2022 (Third) Drill Program, Complete Results, reported February 07, 2023

Yoquivo 2021 (Second) Drill Program – Complete Results, reported March 3, 2022

Yoquivo 2020 (First) Drill Program - Results Collars and Assays, reported January 27, 2021

Yoquivo Surface Samples - 2018

Historic Drill Data for Yoquivo Project; West Timmins Resources, 2007

Yoquivo Maps

Technical Reports

Tetra Tech, Yoquivo Project, Technical Report Summary on Mineral Resource Estimate, February 24, 2023. Prepared under SEC S-K 1300 guidelines.

Mine Technical Services, Ltd., NI 43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resource Estimate, February 24, 2023. Prepared under Canadian NI 43-101 guidelines.