With a history going back more than five centuries, Mexico is well known as a Top 10 global producer of gold and silver, even though production in 2016 actually took a slight step back from 2015, edging down by five million tonnes to about 140 MT.
Nearly three-quarters of the gold produced last year came from the three Mexican states of Sonora, Zacatecas and Chihuahua, making them prime exploration targets for companies of all sizes.
Radius Gold Inc. (TSX-V:RDU) recently got into the action, optioning the Amalia project in Chihuahua in June. The Vancouver-based company has a portfolio of projects covering North, Central and South America with not only precious metal prospects, but lithium as well.
The 380-hectare project is known to host high-grade epithermal gold-silver mineralization and located 35 kilometres southwest of the historic Guadalupe y Calvo mining district.
Radius has increased the project exponentially by staking 10,000 hectares surrounding Amalia. Since taking its position in June, Radius has been conducting exploration over 3.5 kilometres of strike and a 600-metre vertical interval with promising results.
On Tuesday, Radius reported that channel sampling at Amalia unearthed "bonanza gold and silver." Initial results from 272 surface and underground rock chip samples were highlighted by four metres grading 6.04 g/t gold and 1,702 g/t silver; 30 metres grading 0.58 g/t gold and 151 g/t silver; and 1.5 metres at 114 g/t gold and 57 g/t silver from three, separate targets on the property.
With the latest data, Radius is optimistic about a significant discovery at Amalia, as it dovetails with previous sample assays returning grades such as 16.4 g/t gold and 5,180 g/t silver across one meter at Campamento, the main target area.
Shares have jumped up 15% in Tuesday morning trading to 11.5 cents and are trying to break over their 200-day moving average (at 12.3 cents) for the first time since June 26.
