Mercado Commences Maiden Drill Program at Copalito

Mercado Minerals (CSE:MERC) has begun its first drill program at Copalito, the company’s flagship project in Sinaloa state, Mexico.

The 3,000-meter program encompassing about 25 holes will target five segments of known veins at 5 Señores, El Agua, La Chiva and El Pilar.

5 Señores and El Agua will be the initial veins tested.

“We are excited to be launching the next phase of exploration at Copalito with this 3,000-metre drill program targeting several segments of known mineralized veins across the project. The program is designed to build on the 81 historical drill holes completed by the previous operator while also testing new areas that remain largely unexplored,” CEO Daniel Rodriguez stated in the March 10 news release.

“This work will help improve our understanding of the structural controls on silver-gold mineralization and guide future drill targeting across both known and newly identified veins, unlocking the broader potential of the project. Our team has been working non-stop on the ground at Copalito since mid-January, and I look forward to returning to site as drilling advances and sharing results from the program over the coming months.”

Rodriguez 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.

According to Mercado, only 60% of the 5 Señores, El Agua, La Chiva and El Pilar veins have been drilled to an average depth of 100 meters. The maiden drill program aims to determine possible structural controls on the strength of silver-gold bearing vein mineralization. Holes will target areas of potential thickening of vein mineralization, higher grades as well as step out along strike and to depth in several areas. Recent LiDAR and high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys with mapping and planning have assisted in pinpointing drill hole locations.

Copalito Project

The Copalito Project is 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.

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.

Copalito and Zamora, Mercado’s other project, are both located within the Western Mexico Silver Belt in Sinaloa state. 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

Historical third-party high-grade silver and significant gold and base metal drill intercepts include 347 g/t silver, 0.22 g/t gold, 0.178% 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. 

Kootenay Silver (TSXV:KTN) was the most recent operator.

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 and along strike.

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.

Recent exploration

Mercado Minerals has been in the field at Copalito since January.
Program highlights include commencement of a detailed mapping and prospecting program focused across 40% of the project area, which remains unexplored.

The field crew planned to resample, gold, lead and zinc vein mineralization in select historical drill core from the six known veins.

The company also planned to re-log historical core to refine geological understanding; advance logistics for the first-phase drill program, including securing drill pad access, water, power, drill and equipment contractors, and further refine drill targets and other necessary operational infrastructure for the now ongoing drill campaign.

Mercado Minerals announced an update to the program on Feb. 19.

The company identified three new veins just by walking the property and taking surface samples. 

The news release states that newly discovered veins have been identified in outcrop across three previously unexplored regions, with considerable areas yet to be assessed.

Three areas of vein mineralization occur as quartz to quartz-carbonate veins, vein breccias and stockworks that range in width from 0.5 to 1.5 meters.

One of the new vein discoveries, currently interpreted to be the extension of the 5 Señores Vein, occurs approximately 1 kilometer to the northwest of the last known location of the vein. This vein segment can be traced intermittently in two large outcrops over approximately 100 meters of strike length.

The second vein discovery, located near a historical surface float sample that returned 460 g/t silver, 0.31 g/t gold, 0.17% lead and 0.16% zinc, appears to be an extension of either the Cobriza or El Pilar veins. This new vein can be traced intermittently in four outcrops over 200 meters of strike length. 

The third discovery is located about 500 meters southwest of the 5 Señores Vein, in an area with no previously documented mineralization. This area is intriguing as it is potentially located outside of the Copalito Graben, within which all previous known mineralization has been discovered.

All newly identified veins and mineralization have been sampled and are ready for shipment and analysis, including assaying. 

In my opinion, the discovery of three new veins is significant, especially since Mercado did it without the benefit of geochemical and geophysical survey results. It was “boots on the ground” prospecting — walking the property with pickaxes and hand lenses, hunting for new sources of mineralization. 

The news release states that mapping and prospecting, designed to comprehensively cover all areas of the Copalito Project yet to be mapped and explored, is now 40% complete. 

The high-resolution drone based magnetic survey has been completed, with data now being compiled for detailed interpretation. Early integration of magnetic results with existing geological and geochemical datasets is yielding encouraging correlations. 

Processing of the completed drone LiDAR survey is underway. Initial interpretation is expected to enhance understanding of surface expressions, identify subtle topographic features associated with veining, reveal areas with historical mine workings, and highlight new areas of interest for sampling and mapping.

A systematic soil grid covering the know vein system and un-explored portions of Copalito is now 25% complete. The program is designed to fingerprint the soil geochemical signature over the known veins and expand the grid towards the northwest to help further define the extension of existing veins or identify new target areas.

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. On December 4^th the company announced it had raised an additional $1,005,000.00 for a total of $6,603,000.00

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. 

The silver shortage is real

Conclusion

Mercado Minerals’ flagship Copalito Project presents a district-scale opportunity with known and drilled silver-gold, low-sulfidation vein mineralization that is open for expansion. 

The company has targeted five segments of four known veins for drilling and discovered three new veins just by walking the property and taking surface samples.

Highly successful Vizsla Silver ($1.7B market cap trading at nearly $5/sh) participated in the December financing and has come on as a strategic shareholder — showing its confidence in MERC.

Comparable exploration-stage juniors operating in Mexico are Pacifica Silver (CSE:PSIL) developing the Claudia Project ($47.9m market cap); and Capitan Silver (TSXV:CAPT) with its Cruz de Plata Project in Durango state ($171.1m market cap).

At a market capitalization of ~$17 million and a low 75 million shares o/s, Mercado Minerals imo might offer more immediate upside potential. 

Mercado Minerals Ltd.
CSE:MERC
2026.03.16 Share Price: Cdn$0.275
Shares Outstanding: 75m
Market Cap: Cdn$16.9m
MERC website

Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com