Premier said it remains focused on creating a low-cost, midtier gold producer through its two producing gold mines — South Arturo and Mercedes — as well as mine development opportunities at McCoy-Cove in Nevada and Hardrock in Ontario. In related news, the company said it has entered into an option acquisition agreement with Americas Silver Corp. to acquire an option to purchase a 100% interest in the San Felipe Property, located 55 kilometers from the company’s Mercedes Mine in Sonora State, Mexico. Hochschild plc is the underlying owner of the San Felipe Property.

The San Felipe Property consists of several claim groups that comprise 16,265 ha with several poly-metallic zones that hosts a high-grade historic mineral resource. San Felipe is partially developed with an existing ramp and several mining related facilities already constructed on-site. There has also been 69,000 meters drilled on the property and several existing deposits are open for expansion, according to Premier. The company plans to assess potential development options, which may include adding a parallel floatation circuit at Mercedes to increase annual output in the near-term; building a stand-alone mill at San Felipe; and bringing San Felipe into development at the end of the Mercedes mine-life and processing mineralized material at the existing complex.