Brian E. Robertson, President and CEO, Source Exploration Corp.
For a junior company seeking silver to enrich its portfolio, Mexico is not only an extremely practical choice given its bounteous history, but also, logistically speaking, a very advisable decision. Brian E. Robertson couldn’t agree more.
More than 30 years of experience spanning everything from corporate and project management, mine permitting, development and construction, to direction of exploration programs and acquisitions evaluation uniquely qualify him to head up impressive junior Source Exploration Corporation. In previous undertakings, Robertson functioned as president of Victory Nickel Inc. and Nuinsco Resources Ltd. In conjunction with his current position, he serves as a director at Romios Gold Resources Ltd., Appia Energy Corp., and Ursa Major International.
Spearheading operations at San Acacio, his company’s primary project situated in Mexico’s historically prolific Zacatecas mining region, the President and CEO has long since fully realized the potential for Source Exploration to capitalize on its historical mining and mounting resources.
The San Acacio property was one of the earliest discoveries in the highly prolific Zacatecas area. By the middle of the 16th century, Spain had already begun unearthing silver from Zacatecas state. This foresight did not go unnoticed, and it was only a couple years later before explorers discovered the silver-saturated vein systems of San Benito, Veta Grande and San Bernabe. North America’s first notable mining rush followed and four-and-a-half centuries later more than 180 million ounces of silver have issued forth from that otherwise arid plateau. In 2006 alone, 75.6 million ounces, accounting for 14% of the world’s production, marked Mexico as the globe’s second-largest provider of silver.
Of the three main mineral complexes, Source Exploration has concentrated its efforts on the Veta Grande vein system. “One of the most prolific in the area,” disclosed Robertson recently in an exclusive interview with Metalsnews.com.
Further proof of the system’s fruitful nature came from Source Exploration’s camp last month when it was announced that drilling from the ongoing program at San Acacio had uncovered a previously unknown vein of high grade silver. Named “Veta Natividad,” the deposit of high-grade mineralization graded up 3,090.0 g/t silver, 0.57 g/t gold, 0.04 % copper, 0.92% lead and 3.27% zinc, encompassing a core length of 0.3 meters about a highly oxidized breccia zone. A weighted average grade returned 769.0 g/t silver, 0.15 g/t gold, 0.01% copper, 0.23% lead and 0.75% zinc over 1.3 metres. The information from additionally drilled depths of 217 and 257 metres below the upper intersection, although returning smaller assays, substantiated the downward extension of the vein system, which is located in the hanging wall of the historical workings.
“The average grade of the San Acacio mine was 1000g per tonne,” Robertson observed. “It was a very high grade operation. We’re at perhaps an earlier stage in terms of conducting exploration on that property, but we’re building on the previous information which has been developed there by other highly lucrative operations.”
Exactly 100 years prior, a tense political climate dominated the region, ceasing the production of the vein systems at around the 300 meter level. Fighting related to the Mexican Revolution dominated the hillsides in 1910, precipitating a halt in production that eventually was stopped altogether by flooding and cave –ins. The initiative for Source Exploration to expand the high grade vein system and go deeper is evidenced in the outstanding results of its most recent intersection discovery at San Acacio’s drill program. “Historically speaking, even mining the upper part of that ore system shows plenty of additional potential,” added Robertson.
A 1995 exploration conducted by Silver Standard tallied San Acacio at 2.47 million tonnes grading 182.4g/t silver, or about 14.5 million ounces, at a depth only to 100 meters vertical. To Robertson, these numbers, although not NI 43-101 compliant, portend a very reliable resource, even as another company’s assessment displayed practically the same numbers. Excitement surrounding the region has only intensified thanks to the development and operation of Capstone Mining Corporation’s San Roberto, a mine not five kilometers from the bustling activity at Source Exploration’s property.
Aside from establishing a 43-101-compliant resource, the next big challenge facing Robertson and his team will be to work on the potential of an open pit program at San Acacio. Where profits are concerned, however, the cost effectiveness of open pit mining versus an underground system differs almost as much as night and day. Requiring higher grades due to the increased costs, an underground mining system identical to that employed on the property in the past can run a company in excess of $100/ton in terms of Canadian underground operating prices. Open pit, on the other hand, comes in around the $20/ton range.
Robertson, who formerly operated the 10,000-tons-per-day open pit Equity Silver Mine in British Columbia, is definitely no slouch when it comes to re-appropriating proven terrain. “When we looked at the backfill material left behind by the previous miners in the early history of the operation, the totals came in at more than 200g/t silver. That information, not to mention the 1000g/t they previously mined out of that place, puts quite a bit into perspective regarding the potential. These figures are confidence builders to say the least.”
In terms of infrastructure, Source Exploration’s San Acacio venture is in a very sound place. Power is accounted for, the requisite mills wait nearby, and only six kilometers from Zacatecas, which has a population of 118,862 (2005) and a long history of mining talent.
“For more information:
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Address: 1760-750 West Pender Street
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V6C 2T8
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