Mercado Minerals: Boots on the ground at Copalito, drilling in Q1- Richard Mills
(www.investorideas.com Newswire) Mercado Minera’s’ (CSE:MERC) properties, Copalito and Zamora, are located within the Western Mexico Silver Belt in Sinaloa state, Mexico. The properties are near power, roads, infrastructure and local workforces in a mining-friendly jurisdiction. This emerging belt of the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, which hosts existing mines and recent discoveries, includes:
- Vizsla Silver’s (TSX:VZLA) Panuco District
- First Majestic Silver’s (TSX:AG) San Dimas
- Pan American Silver’s (TSX:PAAS) Alamo Dorado
Copalito Project
According to Mercado, their flagship Copalito Project presents a
district-scale opportunity with known and drilled silver —
gold-low-sulfidation vein mineralization that is open for
expansion. Historical third-party high-grade silver and
significant gold and base metal drill intercepts include 347 g/t
silver, 0.22 g/t gold, 0.18% lead and 0.38% zinc over 13.10 meters at
the 5 Senores Vein; and 125 g/t silver, 2 g/t gold, 0.34% lead
and 0.58% zinc over 23m at the El Agua Vein.
Mercado has acquired an option to purchase seven concessions covering 2,820 hectares. The option is to earn 100% over five years, with staged cash payments totaling $3.5 million. Six known veins on the project have a cumulative strike length of 8 km.
The Copalito Project is located approximately 123 km northeast of Culiacan, Sinaloa. The property has good access, moderate topography and infrastructure nearby. The neighboring property to Copalito is McEwen Inc’s (NYSE:MUX) El Gallo mine complex, located 35 km to the west. Kootenay Silver (TSXV:KTN) was the most recent operator of the project.
Kootenay drilled 81 holes over six veins. This historical drilling has only tested approximately 60% of the veins’ strike and only to an average depth of 100m. Several productive veins and vein segments delineated in the drilling are ready for follow-up deeper drilling.
Mercado has also acquired the existing drill data, which provides an excellent base for future exploration drill targeting of higher and thicker-grade portions of veins along strike and to depth.
In talking with CEO Daniel Rodriguez, he said the technical team, including Senior Technical Advisor Robert Duncan, believes they are at, or near, the top of the mineralizing system as evidenced by vein textures including chalcedonic quartz, geochemical signatures and precious-to-base-metal ratios.
Rodriguez noted the veins pictured in the above image present ample opportunities for expansion. After Kootenay Silver had finished drilling, they uncovered new veins to the northwest of Cinco Senores, north of La Chiva, and also found 300 meters strike length of vein to the southeast.
These areas remain untouched by exploration.
Copalito has four high-priority targets at 5 Señores, El Agua, Pilar and La Chivas.
“Not only do we have targets to fill in the gaps on 5 Señores, but we actually also have veins to go prospect and then extensions to go drill,” he said, adding, “We have multiple angles on this property to grow the discovery and make new ones.”
Inaugural field program
This week Mercado Minerals announced the start of its inaugural field program at Copalito. As I write this, four trucks laden with personnel and their equipment are rumbling towards Copalito, where they will execute the first phase of exploration activities to advance the flagship asset.
Program highlights include commencement of a detailed mapping and
prospecting program focused across 40% of the project area, which
remains unexplored.
The field crew will re-sample silver,
gold, lead and zinc vein mineralization in select historical drill
core from the six known veins.
The company also plans to
re-log targeted historical core to refine geological understanding;
advance logistics for the upcoming first-phase drill program,
including securing drill pad access, water, power, drill and equipment
contractors, and other necessary operational infrastructure for the
planned drill campaign; and further refine drill targets.
“Today
marks the start of the exploration work that will lead us to drilling
at Copalito,” said Rodriguez in the Jan. 13 news release. “We remain on track to begin our first-phase, 3,000-meter
drill program in Q1, focused on our highest-priority targets. I look
forward to providing regular updates to the market and our
shareholders as we advance. Our goal is to demonstrate the potential
of the known veins at depth and along strike, while also testing new
areas that have yet to be explored at Copalito. I will be joining the
technical team for the initial stage in the field to be part of the
process firsthand.”
Vizsla Silver
Mercado announced on Dec. 1 that it had closed a non-brokered private placement, issuing
27,990,000 units at CAD$0.20 per unit, for gross proceeds of
$5,598,000.
The offering included participation and a strategic
investment from Vizsla Silver in Mercado.
Having Vizsla
Silver participate in the financing and come on as a strategic
shareholder is a major coup for Mercado Minerals. Being a strategic
shareholder means they are not just there for financial help but also
technical assistance; they want to see Mercado succeed and are there
to support the company.
Viszla’s story
is one of consolidating Panuco, a large, historically productive
district and aggressively exploring it to unlock a world-class
resource through a dual strategy of advancing the Copala mine and
continuing to discover new high-grade deposits elsewhere in the
district. Vizsla is positioned as a leading silver company with
strong project economics, aiming for production through a combination
of aggressive drilling, a test mine for de-risking, and a completed
preliminary economic assessment.
“This is one of the
most exciting silver districts globally. With high-grade resources,
existing infrastructure, and strong exploration potential, Panuco has
the scale and quality to become a billion-ounce district,” said
Vizsla Silver’s CEO Michael Konnert.
Rodriguez has a
very good working relationship with Konnert.
He grew up
speaking Spanish, and he is fully bilingual. Knowing what the locals
are saying not only allows the transfer of valuable information
regarding the projects but helps to build relationships with
in-country team members, nearby communities and local indigenous.
Everybody
on Mercado’s side of the project speaks Spanish and has Mexican
ancestry.
Silver market
Silver rocketed 137% higher last year compared to gold’s also impressive 57% run.
Gold and silver in ’26 — Richard Mills
The silver market continues its longest streak of supply deficits in
recent years, with the 2025 World Silver survey noting 2025 was the
fifth straight year of supply not meeting demand. Mine production has
fallen to 813 million ounces, unable to keep pace with surging demand
mostly from industrial (but also monetary) applications.
Reliable
sources report there are roughly twice the investable grade ounces of
gold available than investable silver. The total amount of
above-ground fine silver bullion for investment is estimated to be
around 3 to 3.5 billion ounces, much lower than gold’s supply of
approximately 7.6 billion ounces.
It’s
estimated that 60% of silver is utilized in industrial applications,
leaving only 40% for investing. Of the 60% used for industrial
applications almost 80% ends up in landfills.
In November
2025 silver was among 10 minerals the US Department of Defense added to
the US Geological Survey’s 2025 List of Critical Minerals.
For the first time, silver was recognized as
having growing importance to US economic and national security. This
inclusion signals enhanced government focus on securing domestic
supply chains through enhanced permitting, subsidies and strategic
stockpiling initiatives.
In India, the largest consumer of
silver, the price rocketed 180% year on year during Diwali, India’s harvest festival, as consumers pivoted from
too-expensive gold to cheaper silver.
Due to its high
conductivity, silver has a multitude of industrial applications. This
includes solar power, the automotive industry, brazing and soldering,
5G, and printed and flexible electronics.
Three new uses
are solid-state batteries, robotics and artificial intelligence
(AI).
One thing we haven’t talked about much is where
the supply of silver is coming from. Most silver is produced as
a byproduct from the mining of other metals,
primarily lead/ zinc, copper and gold ores.
Only 30% of the world’s silver supply comes from mines where
silver is the primary product.
Lead-zinc mines are the
dominant source of silver globally. Significant amounts of silver are
also found in copper ores, particularly chalcopyrite.
Silver is commonly alloyed with gold in nature, an alloy known as electrum.
This production structure creates a unique situation where silver
supply cannot quickly respond to price signals. Naturally, this is a
long-term bullish factor for silver.
When you consider
the state of the world’s copper supply, and the fact that 20-25% of silver comes from copper mining
operations, there is a very real risk of losing a large percentage of
that 25% of silver supply due to a shortage of copper because of the
inability of copper mines to meet demand. Global demand for
copper is only being met by recycling, mined supply has been falling
short for a while.
(The copper market is expected to face its most severe deficit in 22 years in 2026 —590,000 tons — according to Morgan Stanley. The deficit could widen by 2029 to a whopping 1.1 million tons.)
Mine disruptions like the recent Grasberg mine mud intrusion in
Indonesia, and the flooding at Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX:IVN) Kakula
mine in the Congo not only strip copper supply from the global market
but massive amounts of silver as well.
Silver supply is
already in a deficit and has been for a 5th straight
year.
Demand, driven heavily by record industrial needs (especially solar/PV & electronics with significant demand also coming from jewelry, silverware, and investment), exceeds supply.
And silver’s supply is “structurally inelastic,” meaning that silver’s production structure cannot easily increase in response to higher silver prices alone.
Conclusion
Silver production from major copper mines, along with overall silver
supply, has faced reductions or stagnation due to mine issues, lower
grades, and market factors like tariffs, even as prices rise, creating
supply deficits.
Mercado Minerals has close to $6 million
in its treasury due to a recent private placement that included Vizsla
silver, a strategic shareholder that is not only providing financial
backing but technical expertise.
Mercado has raised their money, they have their storytelling team in
place, and they are ready to go to work at Copalito. A field team is
currently on site to re-log core, set up drill targets and more
precisely define already identified drill targets.
Prospecting
the rest of the property is also part of the 2026 program. They are on
the hunt for acquisitions. The news is about to start flowing as
promised.
All in all, I feel confident in saying that Mercado is living up to
what it has set out to do at Copalito. Junior resource companies often
represent the distance between promise and fact. Many juniors are all
promise but when it comes to cutting the mustard, facts, say starting
a drill program, they find they don’t have the mustard.
Mercado
Minerals imo doesn’t fit this description. There is no distance
between the promises they were making and the fact that there are now
boots on the ground in Mexico.
CEO Daniel Rodriguez has
delivered a great deal in a very short period of time. He has put
together Mercado Minerals, assembled a great team including two
experienced technical advisors, raised funds, and secured a strategic
investor for financial and technical backing.
MERC has acquired properties and is on the lookout for more. 2026 should be a seminal year for the company as they execute the first field program at Copalito including a 3,000-meter drill program.
Silver juniors are crucial to the silver market, for their upstream role in finding and developing new deposits. They find and own the world’s silver resources the miners need to replace their mined reserves.
Mercado has turned the lights on, and I for one, am looking forward to seeing what Rodriguez and his team can deliver.
Mercado Minerals Ltd.
CSE:MERC
2026.01.14
Share Price: Cdn$0.36
Shares Outstanding: 41.9m
Market Cap:
Cdn$15.1m
MERC website
Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com
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Richard does not own shares of Mercado Minerals Ltd. (CSE:MERC) MERC is a paid advertiser on his site aheadoftheherd.com This article is issued on behalf of MERC.
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