Silver Spruce Resources has taken full ownership of the Pino de Plata silver claims in Chihuahua, Mexico, converting a 2025 option into a 100% interest. The move scraps a three-year sale deadline and clears the way toward a first-ever drilling program on the never-drilled property.
Canadian junior explorer Silver Spruce Resources now holds a 100% interest in the Pino de Plata silver claims in western Chihuahua, turning a prior option into outright ownership and removing the time limit that had held back development. The company executed an assignment agreement on July 2 with the holder of the four concessions, making it the sole owner.
From option to outright ownership
The deal upgrades a May 2025 option that had kept the claims in the former holder's name pending further payments and carried a three-year deadline to sell. Under the new terms, there is no time limit on development, exploration or sale.
Silver Spruce paid US$10,000 to the former holder and will owe 10% of gross proceeds if the claims are later sold. Further payments of US$15,000 fall due in 2027 and 2028, then US$25,000 annually until a sale. The concessions carry no royalties and no exploration spending requirements, and the agreement is being registered with Mexico's Ministry of Mining.
The company said it has met landowner representatives and legal counsel in Chihuahua and Hermosillo in recent months, its first in-person talks with landowners since 2019. Negotiations continue as it advances a proposed Phase 1 drilling program.
A never-drilled target beside a major producer
The 397ha silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold property sits in the Sierra Madre Occidental, within the Sonora Gold Belt, and lies 15km west of Coeur Mining's Palmarejo operations. It hosts surface silver values averaging above 50g/t, with local targets above 500g/t, yet has never been drilled.
The acquisition lands as elevated precious-metals prices revive exploration across Chihuahua, Mexico's second-largest silver-producing state. Between January and October 2025, the state produced MX$43.588 billion in metals, up from MX$34.620 billion a year earlier.
Source: Mexico Business News
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