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They Found 54 Million Ounces of Silver, Now They Want More | Dale Brittliffe - Kootenay Silver

The Deep Dive Sep 25, 2026 5:41

Summary

Kootenay's $1.3 billion NPV La Cigarra PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — first look at project economics) shows what stronger silver prices unlock for advanced projects.

Kootenay is past halfway through a 60,000-metre drill program designed to grow its maiden 54-million-ounce Columba inferred resource.

Production has become the dominant theme at the Beaver Creek summit, pulling investor attention back to advanced silver developers.

Mexico's open-pit permitting queue is starting to clear, with the first new approvals signaling progress for stalled projects.

Columba's epithermal system (veins formed from low-temperature fluids near the surface) hosts wide silver veins with high-grade cores and broad stockwork halos.

Key points on Kootenay Silver Inc

  • The guest says the flagship Colombo Silver project yielded a maiden inferred resource of 54 million ounces of pure silver (not silver equivalent) in mid-2025, and describes the team as now focused on growing that number through the current 60,000-meter program.
  • The recently published La Cigarra PEA returned an NPV of $1.3 billion and a 64% IRR at $67/oz silver and $4,200/oz gold, as quoted in the interview, after the company had been waiting for higher silver prices to advance the asset.
  • Colombo is described as a large epithermal system with main vein widths averaging 4.5 meters, high-grade cores, and stockwork veining extending up to 10 meters into the wall rock, which the guest cites as the reason for the long drill intercepts reported to date.
  • Drilling started on Colombo in 2019 and the current 60,000-meter program is more than halfway complete; the next phase is shifting from extending known veins to testing new epithermal veins that have not yet been drilled.
  • Mexico permitting remains the main hurdle to production, but the guest notes recent open-pit permit approvals (citing Teck's San Nicolas as an example) and says engineering work — metal rock leaching, acid-base analysis, and tailings — is underway to advance La Cigarra toward pre-feasibility.

Steve Hyland's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Frames the 2026 Beaver Creek Precious Metal Summit around 'production' as the dominant investor theme, with Mexico permitting — particularly for open pits — the recurring question from attendees.
  • Presses the guest on the catalysts most likely to move Kootenay Silver toward production, including the La Cigarra PEA numbers and the active exploration program at Colombo.

Mr. Dale A. Brittliffe B.Sc. P.Geo, P.Geo.'s takeaways

  • Top takeaway Frames Kootenay Silver as a 20-year, Mexico-focused silver exploration company with four resources on the books across three projects and two at advanced stages.
  • Argues the 54-million-ounce inferred silver resource at Colombo (maiden, mid-2025) is a 'discovery story' whose known veins were extended through the recent drill program, and that the next phase targets epithermal veins that have never been drilled.
  • Highlights La Cigarra's PEA economics — NPV of $1.3 billion and 64% IRR at $67/oz silver and $4,200/oz gold — as the catalyst that triggered the company to advance a project it had been holding until silver prices improved.
  • Says Mexico permitting has been challenging but points to recently granted open-pit permits as evidence the process is moving, and describes the metal rock leaching, acid-base, and tailings engineering work underway to reach a pre-feasibility decision on La Cigarra.