Mining
Aurcana: gearing up to produce silver at $8/ounce from Revenue-Virginius mine in Colorado
By Galit Solomon and Annemarie Brissenden for The Richmond Report
April 2, 2020
3.5 min. read
Here's what you need to know
- The Revenue-Virginius Mine is production ready – Aurcana owns 100% of the mine. It is a past-producing silver-gold-lead-zinc mine with a strong social license and it is fully permitted and ready to produce.
- A 2018 study shows the mine is expected to be profitable – The NI 43-101 Feasibility Study shows reserves of 21.2 million ounces of silver equivalent at 36.9 oz/short ton, and all-in sustaining cost of U.S. $8/oz silver after by-product credits over the life of mine.
- The Revenue-Virginius current mine life stands at 6.5 years – This number is based on only one third of one vein out of five.
- Aurcana also owns the Shafter Mine in Texas – This mine is on care and maintenance, with a PEA that also has significant blue sky potential.
The raw ore receiving zone at the Revenue-Virginus mine. It was first mined in 1876, when it produced 25 million ounces of silver over 36 years. Courtesy of Arcana Corporation
Vancouver-based Aurcana Corporation (Aurcana) hit the ground running in 2020. The mining company owns two fully-permitted primary assets – the production-ready Revenue-Virginius Mine outside Ouray, Colorado, and the Shafter Mine in Texas. “Revenue-Virginius is our flagship mine,” says Kevin Drover, Aurcana’s President and CEO. “It is a production-ready silver, gold, led, zinc operation.” It is for these reasons we are recommending Aurcana Corp. as a one of our penny stocks to buy.
“With silver prices trending above $17 ounce, companies that can produce high grade silver at a low, all-in-sustaining cost have an opportunity to create significant value for shareholders.”
Greg Beckett, Senior Analyst and Chartered Investment Manager for the Richmond Club
The mine has a bankable feasibility study that was completed in July 2018. “The study shows 37 grams per ton hit grade fee to the mill all in sustaining cost of $8 per ton on a by-product credit to cost basis.” At this time, Revenue-Virginius has six and a half years of mine life with reserves on approximately three of the five primary veins. “The cleanest, highest-grade, primary vein is the Virginius vein. This is where we intend to begin production.”
Mine development underway
This is also the reason why, says Drover, there is no better time than the present for investors to get in on Aurcana’s stock. “We’ve recently hired a number of people and we’re starting development on the mine. We’ve raised the equity portion of the pre-production capital. We are now finalizing the debt component.”
The mine ran continuously from 1876 to 1912 and during that time it was always profitable. “We believe there is significant potential to add to our resource and to replace the metals that we mine, as we mine.”
Drover has been working on the operations side of mining for nearly 50 years. “I’ve worked with companies such as BP and Kinross Gold. The Revenue-Virginius mine is a truly intriguing asset. I had looked at a large number of different assets around the world over a period of time to bring into Aurcana and this is by far the best I had seen.”
A second opportunity for growth
In addition to the Revenue-Virginius Mine, Aurcana also own the Shafter mine in Texas. “It’s currently on care and maintenance. It’s PEA level. Plus, it has a 1500 ton a day processing facility,” adds Drover.
“With silver prices trending above $17 ounce, companies that can produce high grade silver at a low, all-in-sustaining cost have an opportunity to create significant value for shareholders,” says Greg Beckett, Senior Analyst and Chartered Investment Manager for the Richmond Club, who picks stocks for the Richmond Club Index. The index has averaged a return of 20.4% per year over the last 15 years.
Beckett highlights these reasons for investors to consider Aurcana as one of the penny stocks to buy now:
- The Revenue-Virginius Mine is production ready – Aurcana owns 100% of the mine. It is a past-producing silver-gold-lead-zinc mine with a strong social license and it is fully permitted and ready to produce.
- A 2018 study shows the mine is expected to be profitable – The NI 43-101 Feasibility Study shows reserves of 21.2 million ounces of silver equivalent at 36.9 oz/short ton, and all-in sustaining cost of U.S. $8/oz silver after by-product credits over the life of mine.
- The Revenue-Virginius current mine life stands at 6.5 years – This number is based on only one third of one vein out of five.
- Aurcana also owns the Shafter Mine in Texas – This mine is on care and maintenance, with a PEA that also has significant blue sky potential.