Investors looking for interesting opportunities in silver, copper, and gold would be well advised to take a look at Prismo Metals (CSE: PRIZ, FRA: 7KU, WKN: A2QEGD). The Canadian explorer is very well positioned in these areas with three projects. Currently, Prismo Metals is also something of an insider tip, as insiders close to the company and management hold a total of 31.6% of all outstanding shares. The stock is also attractive from a technical chart perspective, as the price has recovered from its low in recent weeks and is now breaking the medium-term downtrend and initiating a new upward movement.
Not only Goldinvest has taken notice of this exciting company in silver, gold, and copper mining. Vizslar Silver is also very closely linked to the company. In Mexico, Vizslar Silver is not only the direct neighbor of the Palos Verdes Silver Project. The company also holds 8.7% of all outstanding shares of Prismo Metals.
Because the Palos Verdes Project is virtually surrounded by Vizslar Silver, both companies not only regularly monitor the activities of their respective neighbors but have also established a joint Technical Committee that coordinates and directs exploration work on both sides of the shared border.
The committee is comprised of high-caliber individuals including Dr. Peter Megaw, a technical advisor and major shareholder of Prismo Metals, Dr. Jesus Velador from the board of Vizslar Silver, and Prismo’s Chief Exploration Officer, Dr. Craig Gibson. Highlights of the drilling completed so far at Palos Verdes include a core drill hole that returned 102 g/t gold and 3,100 g/t silver over a length of 0.5 meters, which together yields a very high 11,520 g/t silver equivalent.
Prismo Metals’ Focus is Currently Clearly in Arizona
Prismo Metals’ Mexican activities are undoubtedly interesting. Even more exciting at present, however, are the Hot Breccia (Copper), Silver King, and Ripsey (Silver and Antimony) projects. All three projects are located north of the border in Arizona, which is why Prismo’s focus is currently very strongly directed towards this US state.
The Hot Breccia Copper Project was already explored in the 1970s and 1980s by subsidiaries of Rio Tinto and Phelps Dodge. The drilling conducted at that time intersected copper mineralizations that contained concentrations of 0.54% to 1.73% copper. Zinc was also discovered in significant quantities, with grades fluctuating between 0.11% and 4.56%.
Back then, these grades were not sufficient for the managers of Rio Tinto and Phelps Dodge to vigorously advance the project’s further development. Today, such copper and zinc grades are viewed differently. Furthermore, the Hot Breccia Project benefits from the fact that it is fully permitted and still has numerous areas unexplored by previous owners. Initial ground reconnaissance was already successful, as Prismo’s geologists took numerous surface samples that indicate the presence of copper mineralization in the ground.
Geochemical surveys conducted in 2023 indicate a large, hitherto undiscovered copper anomaly. The thought of it makes geologists’ hearts beat faster, as both its size and geological footprint are very reminiscent of the Resolution property, located only 40 kilometers away, which is being developed by BHP.
Silver King is the Flagship of Prismo Metals
The first silver at Silver King was discovered as early as 1875. The mine quickly became the most important silver mine in Arizona, as the ore body was close to the surface and contained up to 10,000 ounces of silver per ton at its peak. Between 1875 and 1889, six million ounces of silver were recovered in a first production phase with average metal grades of 21 to 61 ounces of silver per ton. The second significant production period spanned the years 1918 to 1928. During this time, an additional 230,999 ounces of silver were produced from ores averaging 18.7 ounces of silver per ton.
However, the mine was abandoned in 1928, and since then, the project site has not been subjected to modern exploration. What sounds incredible from today’s perspective is an ideal starting position for Prismo Metals, as it has often been the case that additional gold and silver have been found and subsequently mined in abandoned mines, either at depth or near former shafts and adits. On the 125-hectare site, there are still two historic shafts that only extend 300 meters deep. The main shaft was briefly dewatered in the 1990s and provides ideal access to the last historic mining locations.
The samples taken by Prismo Metals on the site so far indicate that historic silver production focused solely on near-surface and thus easily accessible ore bodies with very high silver grades. Mineralized zones with lower silver grades and zones that are harder to access were overlooked or deliberately bypassed because their extraction was not economical at the time.
Antimony is also Now Coming into Focus as a Critical Metal at Silver King
Not only the silver overlooked by historic mining makes Silver King an interesting location today. Tetrahedrites were also identified on the site during soil surveys. They contain sulfides that are interspersed with silver, copper, and antimony.
Until just a few months ago, very little attention was paid to antimony compounds due to the very low antimony prices. That changed abruptly in September 2024 when China prohibited the export of this metal, which is extremely important, especially for military technology.
The First Steps towards Revitalizing the Mine are Underway
There is still plenty of potential at Silver King. Prismo Metals aims to find out in the coming months whether it is sufficient to enable future economic production. A first phase of exploration is therefore intended to clarify the question of whether unmined ore bodies are still present near the shaft.
To clarify this question, Prismo Metals will drill core and reverse circulation holes with a total length of 1,000 meters in the coming weeks. Simultaneously, the historic main shaft will be dewatered again to a depth of 256 meters. This corresponds to the level that had also been reached in the 1990s. On the ground, an exact documentation of the property’s geological structure is aimed for. The focus of mapping and soil sampling will be on those zones that exhibit a high geological similarity to the historic mining areas.
An Interesting Risk-Reward Profile
As with any explorer and mine developer, Prismo Metals also faces significant risks alongside great opportunities. The chance that historic mining overlooked large parts of the mineralization is undoubtedly present. However, Prismo Metals cannot guarantee the success of its efforts. Investors considering an investment in the company should therefore always be aware of the risk associated with the investment decision.
However, this risk is relatively small compared to companies that start their exploration on greenfield sites, possibly still far from the last civilization, because the infrastructure around the historic mines is comparatively good, and the historic ore bodies were very heavily interspersed with silver and copper. Goldinvest therefore considers the stock to have high potential and has decided to closely follow Prismo Metals’ further progress.
