The company is required to spend at least US$1.25 million on the property over five years, and it can buy the property before the end of the fifth year for US$3 million.
The vendor would retain a 5% gross royalty on any production, though Coeur can buy the royalty for US$4 million.
“The option agreement provides us with an excellent opportunity to develop a new source of low-cost production and represents a further step in expanding our position as North America’s leading primary silver producer,” says Coeur Chairman Dennis Wheeler.
The Wonder district has a long history of mineral exploration dating to 1906, when prospectors discovered a high-grade epithermal vein system hosted in Tertiary volcanic rocks. The district produced 6.7 million oz. silver and 72,000 oz. gold before operations stopped prior to the Second World War.
Under the recent agreement, Coeur would acquire 70 patented claims and a 123-acre townsite. In addition, the company has staked 87 claims in an adjoining area, giving it control of nearly the entire district.
Previous work outlined the Wonder vein over a strike length of 7,000 ft.; oxide mineralization is known to exist to a depth of 1,300 ft. To date, the company has only conducted sampling to verify previous work, which has recognized mineralized zones over substantial thicknesses surrounding the Wonder vein. This work has outlined an open-pit resource of 11.5 million oz. silver-equivalent (9.96 million oz. silver and 77,900 oz. gold) within 4.1 million tons grading 2.83 oz. silver-equivalent per ton (or 2.43 oz. silver and 0.019 oz. gold per ton). The resource remains open in all directions, and the property contains at least three other bulk-tonnage targets.
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