Vizsla Silver (VZLA) - Technical Assessment & Roadmap

Vizsla Silver Corp. (formerly Vizsla Resources Corp.) is a Canadian company focused on growing shareholder value by exploring, developing, and acquiring precious and base metal assets. The company's flagship asset is the Panuco silver-gold epithermal vein project in Mexico. 

Merlin Marr-Johnson caught up with Michael Konnert, President and CEO, Vizsla Silver. Michael is the Co-Founder and Partner at Inventa Capital Corp, a private resource investment company. He was previously the Co-Founder and CEO at Cobalt One Energy Corp., which was acquired by Blackstone Minerals Ltd. in 2017. He has nearly 10 years of experience in the natural resources industry, specializing in executing successful corporate strategies for mineral exploration companies. His educational credentials include a B.Com degree from Royal Roads University and a Diploma in Entrepreneurship from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.  

Company Overview

Vizsla Silver is a precious and base metals acquisition, exploration, and development company. It was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX-V: VZLA) and the OTC markets (OTCQB: VIZSF). Canam Alpine Ventures Ltd. is the company's subsidiary. 

Vizsla Silver is exploring high-grade discoveries on a district scale and developing them into a resource in Sinaloa, Mexico. In the past 18 months, the company has moved from an initially consolidated district with an option agreement to having 2 large-scale high-grade silver discoveries, moving towards a resource. The company has 100% ownership of the Panuco district. 

The Panuco district is a one-of-a-kind Mexican asset as it's acquired from private players. This project features a well-built infrastructure with 4-lane highways running through the property. The company has a 500t/day permitted mill operation. 

Drilling Operations

Vizsla Silver is currently running a 100,000m drill program at the Panuco district with 10 drill active rigs, making it the world's most aggressive silver drill program. The company is looking to put out a resource in Q1 2020 with a strong focus on the Napoleon Vein Corridor, and the Tajitos Vein Corridor present in the western part of the district. 

The average monthly drilling rate for this operation is 9,000m-10,000m. Following a covid-related closure, the company's assay turnaround time currently stands between 6-8 weeks. It is fast-tracking the assays ahead of the resource data cut-off on December 1st. The company is looking to gather extensive data from this drilling program. 

Vizsla Silver released a technical report in early 2019 laying out a plan for a 90,000m drill program. Since then, the company has gained a deeper insight into the resource, particularly towards the vein interpretation at the Napoleon deposit. 

The company currently has 200 holes drilled at the Napoleon vein corridor over a 3km long trend. It was able to trace mineralization over a 2km area and discovered the resource area that is spread across 1km. The company is currently stepping out of this resource area and is expanding along strike length in the north and south. The company has drilled the 1km area, reaching 300m in depth and 3.5m in average width. 

Vizsla Silver is planned to model its resource after San Dimas, located 8km from the Panuco district. It anticipates that San Dimas features similar epithermal deposits, geology, and rock genesis. 

The Napoleon Vein Corridor

The Napoleon vein features a singular long panel of mineralization along with a continuous panel in a dip-slip formation, facilitating easier mining. The vein width at this deposit ranges between 1.5m-12m and averages at 3.5m. This enables the company to achieve limited dilution within the widths. 

The Panuco District features a semi-massive to massive-sulphide phase within the mineralization. It features high grades of silver, gold, and base metals. At discovery hole 7, Vizsla Silver found 6m of 8kg silver, 3oz gold, and base metals presence ranging in double digits.

The massive sulphide phase is unlike the epithermal fields traditionally found in Mexico. It has allowed the company to locate deposits by utilizing fixed-loop electromagnetics. It has enabled the company to target the highest-grade areas of the vein. 

Initially, Vizsla Silver stepped out in 100m interval drill spacing. Currently, it is carrying out step-outs within 50m intervals with fence drilling as it works towards developing a resource. The 100m interval area offers inferred resource, while the 50m intervals are ideal for an indicated resource. The former is under planned infill drilling. 

The plunging zones within the veins account for a favorable area in the 30% range, making Napoleon a unique vein in its own right. It features one massive ore shoot instead of multiple smaller-sized shoots. 

Vizsla silver has disclosed in-depth information on drill data for each hole. The company published a major press release for the Napoleon vein 1.5 months back, highlighting the averages and drill hole data. This release also encompasses the resource area data and additional parameters such as specific gravity which stands at 2.72. 

The company has also explored the underground region at the Napoleon vein and found competent areas with big void spaces that have remained unexplored for several decades. This region features softer rock conditions which the company expects to be country rock. Drilling on the surface has allowed easy access and discovery success for the company. Underground drilling is not a priority for the time being. 

The Animus Vein Corridor

The Panuco district entered production 450 years ago with the Conquistadors and has a significant mining history. The Animus Vein Corridor was the center for both historic and modern mining for the past 100 years. Based on the historical records and analysis of the void spaces, the company anticipates that the Animus Vein has produced 100Moz silver equivalent through 8 large ore shoots. 

Resource Estimate

Vizsla Silver anticipates that the Napoleon vein will account for three-quarters of the resource. The Tajitos vein corridor is gaining momentum as the company continues to step out towards the north and south of the strike length. 

The company also made a second DM (Data Mining) discovery at Josephine, a vein that runs parallel to the northern part of Napoleon. This region is being actively drilled and the company is expecting it to add significant supply to the overall resource. 

Sulphide Deposits

The Panuco District features massive sulphide elements within the resource. As per last year's technical report, Vizsla Silver found that the sulphide grades are the highest within the lower fault zone. This zone features very fine-grain material in the Great Cords that is grey in color. The color indicated the presence of silver and minerals such as fine-grain pyrite, sphalerite, and galena. 

Based on the electromagnetic (EM) survey carried out by Vizsla Silver, the presence of the highest grade sulphide deposits was identified at Napoleon hole 7. The company drilled a hole at the Josephine vein that featured 21kg sulphide material within the subinterval. This EM survey was originally planned as a proof of concept and since then the company has demonstrated its applicability within the Panuco district. 

Electromagnetic Surveys

The EM survey has enabled the company to identify the reserves at the Napoleon, Tajitos, and Josephine veins. This led to the discovery of a number of targets within the area. Vizsla Silver also installed EM plates in the area to carry out airborne EM and geophysics surveys across the district. The company is anticipating that the massive sulphide mineralization is present in multiple areas within the district, including underground reserves. 

These surveys will enable the company to discover new targets, flatline structures, and assist in locating the presence of massive sulphide phases occurring in the Panuco district. The EM surveys have demonstrated excellent results when it comes to locating anomalies. The company recognizes that false positives are a possibility, however as the district is epithermal in nature, there are significant chances of a high success rate. 

Vizsla Silver has allocated $750,000-$1M to carry out EM surveys across the entire property. The company has appointed an independent resource geologist to carry out the resource work at the Panuco district. The company plans to bring this district into production. 

A Strong Core Team

The Vizsla Silver team consists of highly talented individuals with decades of experience in the mining industry across multiple regions. The company's core team includes Craig Perry (Chairman), Simon Cmrlec (Director), Martin Dupuis (Vice President, Tech Services), and Hernando Rueda (Country Manager). The company's team has also managed to sign long-term exploration agreements for the Tajitos vein corridor. 

Targets 2021 and Beyond 

Vizsla Silver is looking to publish the initial resource by Q1 2022. Following this, the company will focus on multiple expansions of this resource through continued drilling. The company is also open to the possibility of adding additional rigs to the district in the near future. 

It is looking to optimize the existing infrastructure at the Panuco district. The company is carrying out Geotech baseline environmental work along with engineering studies for its El Coco Mill. This will facilitate de-risking the next steps of the project. The company continues to carry out exploration and drilling as it moves towards establishing a resource, growing the resource as it aims at entering production.

To find out more, go to the Vizsla Silver Website