Unico Silver, an Australian mining company, has finalised the acquisition of the Joaquin Silver District in Argentina from Pan American Silver.

Pan American shifted its focus to a selective underground mining operation at La Morocha, releasing a feasibility study in January 2018 and beginning mining operations, which lasted until 2022.

The transaction, which secured all necessary approvals and fulfilled execution of definitive legal agreements, includes camp infrastructure and a mining and access agreement valid until 2034.

The acquisition was finalised with a $2m cash payment to Pan American Silver.

Unico Silver has committed to an additional $2m payment following the release of an economic study confirming a mineral resource at Joaquin.

Furthermore, an $8m payment is agreed upon the commencement of commercial production.

The Joaquin Project spans 35,946 hectares (ha) and is located within Unico Silver's significant Cerro Leon silver-equivalent resource, which contains an estimated 91 million ounces (moz).

The historical foreign estimate at Joaquin reports 16.7 million tonnes at 136 grams per tonne of silver equivalent for a total of 73moz of silver equivalent, encompassing the La Negra and La Morocha deposits.

Additionally, the Cerro Puntudo area hosts several high-value silver and gold vein targets that remain untested by drilling.

The agreement was initially revealed in August 2024, with Unico Silver entering a binding letter of intent to obtain complete ownership of the Joaquin and Cerro Puntudo projects in Argentina from Pan American Silver.

The company anticipated that the deal would consolidate USL’s position in the Santa Cruz precious metal province.

It added that USL will become the first junior company to solely own this underexplored silver district.