Unico Silver Secures $25M to Fast-Track Argentina Drilling and Resource Growth
Unico Silver Limited has raised $25 million through a share placement to accelerate drilling and resource upgrades at its key silver projects in Argentina, aiming to define a major silver equivalent resource.
- Raised $25 million via placement at $0.35 per share
- Funds to support 30,000m drilling program at Cerro Leon and Joaquin projects
- JORC resource update scheduled for late September 2025
- Maiden Scoping Study to follow resource upgrades
- Strong institutional support including North American cornerstone investors
Capital Raise to Accelerate Development
Unico Silver Limited (ASX, USL) has successfully completed a $25 million placement of new shares priced at $0.35 each, marking a significant step forward in its development strategy for silver projects in Argentina. The capital injection comes from a broad base of domestic and offshore institutional investors, including key North American cornerstone participants, underscoring confidence in Unico Silver's growth prospects.
The funds will be deployed to accelerate an extensive drilling campaign totaling 30,000 metres across the Cerro Leon and Joaquin projects. This aggressive exploration push aims to expand and upgrade mineral resources, with a focus on both new discoveries and near-resource growth.
Advancing Resource Estimates and Scoping Study
The company plans to update its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in late September 2025, incorporating results from the ongoing drilling program. This update will be pivotal in refining the scale and quality of the silver equivalent resources, particularly at Cerro Leon, which currently holds a JORC-compliant resource of 91 million ounces silver equivalent, and Joaquin, which hosts a foreign estimate of 73 million ounces silver equivalent.
Following the resource update, Unico Silver intends to publish its maiden Scoping Study, a key milestone that will provide a preliminary economic assessment of the projects and lay the groundwork for future development decisions.
Strategic Positioning in Santa Cruz, Argentina
Both projects are located in the prolific Santa Cruz province, a region renowned for multi-million-ounce epithermal gold and silver deposits. Cerro Leon lies near AngloGold Ashanti's Cerro Vanguardia mine, while the Joaquin project was recently acquired from Pan American Silver Corp, expanding Unico Silver’s footprint in this mineral-rich district.
Managing Director Todd Williams highlighted that the placement not only strengthens the company’s balance sheet but also de-risks the development pathway by enabling immediate recommencement of drilling in early September. The company’s PLUS 150 strategy aims to define 150 million ounces of pit-constrained, free-milling silver equivalent as a foundation for advancing towards production.
Market and Investor Implications
The placement price represented a 10.3% discount to the last closing price, reflecting a balanced approach to raising capital while maintaining shareholder value. Canaccord Genuity acted as sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner, with SCP Resource Finance as Co-Manager, indicating strong market support for the transaction.
While the Cerro Leon resource is JORC-compliant, the Joaquin resource remains a foreign estimate pending further evaluation and classification under the JORC Code, introducing some uncertainty. Investors will be watching closely for the upcoming resource updates and drilling results that could validate and potentially expand these estimates.
Bottom Line?
With $25 million secured, Unico Silver is poised to accelerate its transition from exploration to development, setting the stage for critical resource milestones ahead.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the upcoming drilling results confirm and expand the Joaquin Project’s foreign resource estimate to JORC standards?
- How will the maiden Scoping Study impact Unico Silver’s valuation and development timeline?
- What is the potential for further institutional investment following the resource upgrades?
