Mithril Silver and Gold (ASX: MTH) is making a strategic move to build on its Mexican precious metals plans with potential acquisition of the La Dura project.
Covering a total area of 2,052 hectares in Durango state, the historical gold and silver producer is located less than 20 kilometres from Mithril’s Copalquin district property and 5km from its support office in the town of El Durazno.
The agreement gives Mithril an option to purchase 100% interest in the five contiguous mining concessions covering 20 sq km at La Dura for approximately $6 million (US$4m).
The company will pay the vendors an upfront fee of approximately $38,000 (US$25,000), as well as 50,000 MTH shares, with regular instalments after that over a 48-month period to extend the option.
Proven Producing Mine
The La Dura mine has a history of small-scale gold and silver mining dating back to the 1920s, with upwards of 100,000 ounces of gold and 5.5 million ounces of silver produced.
Despite its lengthy history, the site has received limited modern exploration and Mithril is planning to complete LiDAR and aerial magnetic surveys over the property in the first year, and a minimum spend of US$200,000 on exploration work in the second year.
If Mithril purchases the La Dura concessions, the vendor will be entitled to a net smelter royalty of 2.5% on all production from the operation.
Mithril can reduce this to 1% with a payment of approximately $3.78m (US$2.5m).
Strong Local Knowledgee
"Mithril has a strong foundation of knowledge at La Dura, with management having completed exploration work on the property in 2017–2018,” chief executive officer John Skeet said.
“The team’s proven technical strengths and discovery experience at Copalquin position the company well to unlock value at La Dura.”
Mithril is currently undertaking an active exploration program at Copalquin where drilling is progressing at Targets 1 and 5, while Target 3 drilling is scheduled to begin in January 2026.
The company sees the first half of 2026 as “a pivotal period in the rapid advancement of the Copalquin district”, as it continues its development of the feeder system responsible for the widespread gold and silver mineralisation.
Mithril holds an exclusive option out to August 2028 to purchase the Copalquin mining concessions for US$10m.
