"Emerging from this transaction with Alamos, we maintain ownership of our current silver projects but will now also have an advanced-stage, high-grade, low-cost gold project with a clear path to permits and production," Zacatecas CEO Bryan Slusarchuk said. 

"We are also exceptionally pleased that Alamos has expressed confidence in the project and the technical team via their share ownership in Zacatecas Silver," he added. 

Alamos said the sale was consistent with the company's strategy of monetising and maximising the value of its non-core assets, while focusing on advancing its portfolio of higher-return growth projects. 

"With the monetisation of Esperanza, Alamos has surfaced nearly US$100 million in total consideration over the past two years through the sale of non-core assets and gains on the sale of equity securities in other companies," Alamos said. 

Zacatecas noted that Esperanza had a historical measured and indicated resource of 34.352 million tonnes at 0.98 grammes per tonne of gold and 8.09g/t of silver for 1.084Moz of gold and 8.936Moz of silver. The historical inferred resource was 718,000t at 0.80g/t of gold and 15.04g/t of silver for 18,000oz of gold and 347,000oz of silver. 

The company's priority is to prepare an updated resource estimate this year and complete a current economic study, Zacatecas said. 

The transaction included 12.14 million common shares in Zacatecas at a price of C$1.05, US$5 million in cash, and a silver metal stream valued at about US$6 million. 

Zacatecas is to pay Alamos US$5 million within 60 days of the approval of the environmental impact assessment; US$14 million within 60 days of either completion of a feasibility study or a construction decision, whichever is earlier; and US$20 million within 180 days of commercial production. 

Zacatecas traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange on March 1 at C$1.30/share.

Alamos was valued at C$9.87/share on the TSX on March 1.