Riverside options Los Cuarentas gold-silver project to Hochschild

Riverside Resources (TSXV: RRI; US-OTC: RVSDF) has optioned its Los Cuarentas project, in Sonora, Mexico, to Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) in a deal that will see the major spend US$8 million over five years to earn an initial 51% interest.

The prospect generator has defined several targets at the gold-silver project, which is located 17 km northwest of SilverCrest Metals’ (TSX: SIL; NYSE-AM: SILV) Las Chispas project and 15 km northeast of Premier Gold Mines’ (TSX: PG; US-OTC: PIRGF) Mercedes mine.

Riverside believes the past-producing project, which supported near-surface underground mining in the 1950s, has potential to host a near-surface, high-grade gold vein system. The company received drill permits for the project in April.

Once Hochschild earns a 51% interest in Los Cuarentas, it can earn another 24% (for 75%) by spending US$3 million and completing a feasibility study. It can then buy the remainder of the project for US$20 million. Riverside would retain a 1% net smelter royalty.

Under the earn-in agreement, Riverside will remain operator for at least the first two years. Hochschild can extend that for another year.

Through a sampling and target mapping program completed earlier this year, Riverside has identified three well-defined targets for drilling at Los Cuarentas: Santa Rosalia, Santa Rosalia Sur and El Sombrero. It has also identified three new prospective targets: El Sombrerito, El Sombrero Norte and Santa Rosalia Norte.

Rock-chip samples from the 8-sq.-km project returned assay highlights including 18 grams gold per tonne, 12.3 grams gold per tonne, 7.3 grams gold per tonne and 3 grams gold per tonne.

The low-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver project hosts multiple gold-bearing quartz veins located within a larger structural corridor. Riverside says the sampling results indicate continuity along the principal mineralized zones.

According to the junior, Los Cuarentas has similar characteristics to other nearby gold-silver deposits, including strong argillic and phyllic alteration surrounding low-sulphidation epithermal vein systems that host the gold and silver mineralization.

— This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal. The Canadian Mining Journal and The Northern Miner are part of Glacier Resource Innovation Group.