If You Invested in Zacatecas Silver (ZCTSF)

Zacatecas Silver Corp. (OTCQB: ZCTSF) is a mineral exploration and development company focused on silver and gold projects in Mexico. According to company disclosures, it has two key assets: the Zacatecas Silver Project in Zacatecas State and the Esperanza Gold Project in Morelos State. Both projects are described as advanced, resource-backed properties that provide exposure to silver and gold in established Mexican mining jurisdictions.

The Zacatecas Silver Project is located in Zacatecas State, Mexico, within the highly prospective Fresnillo silver belt, which has produced over 6.2 billion ounces of silver. The company states that it holds 7,826 hectares (19,338 acres) of ground that is highly prospective for low-sulphidation and intermediate-sulphidation silver base metal mineralization and potentially low-sulphidation gold-dominant mineralization. Within this land package, Zacatecas Silver has defined an inferred mineral resource at the Panuco South and North underground deposits totaling 3.41 million tonnes at 187 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq) (173 g/t silver and 0.18 g/t gold) for 20.5 million ounces AgEq (19.0 million ounces silver and 19.2 thousand ounces gold), as reported in a news release dated May 31, 2023.

The Zacatecas Silver property lies approximately 25 kilometres southeast of MAG Silver Corp.'s Juanicipio Mine and Fresnillo PLC's Fresnillo Mine. The company notes that the property shares common boundaries with claims formerly held by Pan American Silver Corp., now controlled by Defiance Silver, and with El Orito, owned by Endeavour Silver. The Panuco vein system, which hosts the current resource, is described as remaining open in all directions, with drilling targeting extensions of high-grade mineralization both within and beyond the existing resource envelope.

In addition to Panuco, Zacatecas Silver has identified the El Cristo vein system as a major exploration target within the Zacatecas Silver Project. El Cristo is described as the northwestern strike extension of the well-known Veta Grande vein system, which has reported but unverified historical production of approximately 200 million ounces of silver equivalent. On the company’s ground, the El Cristo system has a strike length exceeding 3 kilometres within a dilation zone up to roughly 600–650 metres wide and comprises multiple steeply dipping quartz–carbonate–sulphide veins characteristic of intermediate sulphidation, silver-dominant lead–zinc base metal systems.

Previous work at El Cristo included 28 scout diamond drill holes totaling 2,815 metres, primarily targeting near-surface extensions of veins near historical workings and areas of anomalous surface geochemistry. The company reports that 22 of the 28 holes intersected silver and base metal mineralization, with intercepts such as 9.00 metres at 158 g/t AgEq, 0.82 metres at 592 g/t AgEq, and 3.00 metres at 262 g/t AgEq. Petrographic studies indicate that many intercepts were in oxidized vein material, with higher silver equivalent grades observed in deeper, unoxidized sulphidic zones. The company has highlighted deeper parts of the El Cristo veins as low-risk, high-reward drill targets and notes that the system is open in all directions.

Beyond Panuco and El Cristo, Zacatecas Silver has outlined additional exploration targets within the Zacatecas concessions, including the San Gill breccia zone and the Muleros zone. The San Gill breccia zone is located in the southern part of the main concessions, approximately two kilometres southwest of the Veta Grande vein, and is characterized by intense brecciation and quartz veining with abundant iron oxides after sulphides. The Muleros zone, situated south of Panuco and north of El Cristo, is described as a vein system extending over a three-kilometre strike length and comprising three main veins: the South Vein, North Vein, and El Rosario Vein.

The company emphasizes community and surface access arrangements as an important part of its work at Zacatecas. It reports having secured a community access agreement with the Ejido Panuco, unanimously approved, providing surface access for drilling at Panuco. It has also finalized surface access agreements with private landowners at El Cristo, enabling the establishment of drill pads across priority targets. These agreements are presented as supporting ongoing and planned drill programs at both Panuco and El Cristo.

The Esperanza Gold Project in Morelos State, Mexico, is described by Zacatecas Silver as an advanced-stage, low-cost, low-capital-intensity and low-technical-risk growth project. The company reports a Mineral Resource Estimate at Esperanza consisting of a measured and indicated resource of 30.5 million tonnes at 0.97 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) for 956 thousand ounces AuEq and an inferred resource of 8.7 million tonnes at 0.98 g/t AuEq for 277 thousand ounces AuEq, based on a news release dated November 16, 2022. These resources include both gold and silver, with the company noting approximately 8.51 million ounces of silver in the measured and indicated category and 4.1 million ounces of silver in the inferred category, largely within a pit-constrained resource.

Esperanza is characterized as an advanced, open-pittable oxide gold project with established metallurgy and heap-leach potential. The company states that the project benefits from several years of near-surface, higher-grade feed with a minimal strip ratio and that the deposit offers optionality across mining and recovery scenarios, including the ability to develop in stages. Esperanza is located within the Tetlama community, which the company describes as hosting the entire project footprint and demonstrating long-standing support. Substantial historical technical work, including engineering and metallurgical studies, has been completed on the project, which Zacatecas Silver views as contributing to project de-risking.

Zacatecas Silver links its portfolio to broader regulatory and market developments. It highlights that silver was added to the U.S. critical minerals list in 2024 and notes that Mexico supplies a significant portion of U.S. silver imports. The company also points to a recent open-pit mining permit granted in Mexico to another issuer as a sign of an improving permitting environment for open-pittable projects. Within this context, it presents Esperanza as a rare, advanced, open-pittable oxide gold project in Mexico not currently controlled by a producer and suggests that district-scale projects in established Mexican mining jurisdictions may be gaining strategic importance.

Across both projects, Zacatecas Silver describes a strategy centered on resource expansion, exploration of high-priority vein systems, and evaluation of strategic alternatives for advancing its assets. At the Zacatecas Silver Project, this includes drill programs targeting extensions of known high-grade mineralization at Panuco and deeper, untested sulphidic zones at El Cristo. At Esperanza, the company refers to ongoing evaluation of pathways to advance the project under what it views as a more constructive regulatory climate in Mexico.

According to multiple company news releases, technical information for Zacatecas Silver’s projects has been reviewed and approved by Chris Wilson, B.Sc. (Hons), PhD, FAusIMM (CP), FSEG, FGS, who serves as Chief Operating Officer and is identified as a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. This technical oversight is cited in connection with mineral resource estimates and exploration results at both the Zacatecas Silver and Esperanza Gold projects.