Daniel Rodriguez of Mercado Minerals Ltd. presents at Metals Investor Forum in Vancouver | Sep 2026
Metals Investor Forum Sep 25, 2026 10:39
Summary
Mercado's 25-hole, 3,000-metre summer program at Copolito extended cumulative vein strike from 8 km to 11 km with multiple open high-grade targets.
A new 1,100-metre Renata vein discovery at Copolito and an undrilled 750-metre La Franca-Campanillas corridor at Zamora expand the pipeline.
Zamora surface grab samples returned 14.5 kg/t silver and 15.5 g/t gold from a project that has never been drilled.
Restoring ~3,000 Zamora hectares to good standing in early 2027 is the gating step before first-hole drilling there.
Visla is named as a strategic investor from last year's financing, helping anchor Mercado's roughly 76 million shares outstanding.
Daniel Rodriguez's takeaways
- Top takeaway Rodriguez frames Mercado Minerals' value proposition as 'discovery, exploration, and acquisition,' pointing to a clear pipeline of near-term catalysts: closing the Zamora LOI, restoring ~3,000 hectares to good standing in the new year, and putting the new Renata vein on the 2027 drill list
- He pitches Copolito Phase 2 as the next leg of value creation: expanding higher-grade shoots at El Agua, El Pilar, and Cinco Señores, and drill-testing the Renata discovery that he says connected previously unsampled historic workings
- He previews an inaugural drill program on Zamora's undrilled, road-accessible ground, citing the recent Campanillas and La Franca assays and 15+ historic high-grade mines across 8+ km of strike as the project's selling points
- He leans on team credibility, highlighting lead geologist Jose Viscara (credited with the Napoleon vein discovery) and the prospectors who assembled the Pinuelos district optioned to Visla, and points to local relationships as a competitive advantage
- He notes Visla and other institutions as strategic partners and discloses he is a personal shareholder, framing alignment and regional support as key edges