Gavilanes drilling reveals Advance Metals’ strongest silver hit yet
Advance Metals has recorded its strongest silver assay yet at the Gavilanes Project in Mexico, with drilling also returning the project’s highest-grade zinc-lead interval. The mineralised system remains open at depth and to the southwest, while metallurgical work and further drilling target a maiden JORC resource in the December quarter of 2026.
- 4,120g/t silver assay within a 1.0-metre interval
- 5.3 metres at 14% combined zinc and lead
- Gold-dominant intersections returned south of the main silver zone
- Drilling continues with GV-26-009 assays pending
- Maiden JORC resource targeted for Q4 2026
Record Silver Assay Extends Gavilanes System
Advance Metals Limited (ASX:AVM) has produced the sharpest result yet from its Gavilanes drilling campaign, with hole GV-26-008 returning a one-metre interval at 4,120g/t silver, 5.7% zinc and 4.1% lead from 66.7 metres. The interval sits within 4.6 metres grading 945g/t silver, 1.4% zinc and 1.0% lead.
The same hole added a second, more base-metal-heavy zone at depth: 12 metres at 21g/t silver, 3.8% zinc and 3.7% lead from 98.5 metres, including 5.3 metres at 36g/t silver, 7.7% zinc and 6.3% lead. That included 14% combined zinc and lead, which Advance describes as the strongest zinc-lead intersection encountered at Gavilanes to date.
These are downhole widths rather than confirmed true widths. Advance says the mineralisation has been extended below an earlier hole, GV-26-004, and remains open at depth and to the southwest. Assays from GV-26-009 are still pending, with that hole testing a further westerly extension of the system.
Gold Adds Another Mineralised Zone
Drilling south of the main high-grade silver area has also broadened the project’s metal profile. Hole GV-26-007 returned 2.4 metres at 2.0g/t gold, 21g/t silver, 1.2% zinc and 2.2% lead from 14.4 metres, followed by six metres at 1.4g/t gold and 4g/t silver from 127.2 metres.
Two neighbouring holes delivered further gold-dominant results: GV-26-006 returned 3.6 metres at 0.8g/t gold and 30g/t silver, while GV-26-005 returned 1.9 metres at 1.5g/t gold and 16g/t silver. The results suggest the Descubridora area contains changing metal associations across the drilled footprint, although continuity and geometry remain to be established.
Metallurgy and JORC Resource Remain the Tests
Advance has started metallurgical testwork on silver-dominant and polymetallic samples to assess potential recoveries of silver, gold, copper, zinc and lead. That work matters because the latest drilling is not simply extending a silver vein; it is adding a more complex mix of sulphide-hosted base metals whose recoverability has not yet been demonstrated in the announcement.
Gavilanes covers 136 square kilometres across 11 concessions in western Durango, near First Majestic Silver’s San Dimas operation. The project currently carries a 22.4-million-ounce silver-equivalent Foreign Estimate at 246g/t AgEq, but Advance explicitly warns that the estimate is not compliant with the 2012 JORC Code and may not ultimately be converted into a JORC Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve.
The immediate milestones are therefore practical rather than promotional: pending assays, westward and deeper drilling, metallurgical recoveries and an updated geological model. Advance is targeting a maiden JORC Mineral Resource in Q4 2026, but the grade headline will need to be matched by demonstrated continuity, known true widths and testwork results before its economic significance can be judged.
Bottom Line?
The 4,120g/t silver hit is a compelling exploration result, but the next value test is whether drilling and metallurgy can turn isolated high grades into a coherent, recoverable resource.
Questions in the middle?
- Will GV-26-009 confirm that the high-grade system continues to the west?
- What true widths and continuity will emerge as the Descubridora structure is drilled across strike and at depth?
- Can metallurgical testwork demonstrate recoveries that support the project’s silver-equivalent assumptions?
