North Bay Resources Inc. (OTC:NBRI) announced on Thursday it has struck a deal to acquire privately held Bendito Resources Inc for $25 million, as it looks to expand its footprint with a portfolio of advanced and exploration-stage projects in Mexico.
The deal, structured as a one-time cash payment for a 100% interest in Bendito on a debt-free basis, will give North Bay control of multiple assets primarily located in Sonora, a key mining region in northern Mexico.
Among the assets included in the agreement is the Oposura zinc-silver-lead project, a fully permitted and construction-ready operation with a planned 1,000-tonne-per-day capacity. The project has seen extensive drilling and already includes previously acquired mining and milling equipment.
A 2024 preliminary economic assessment outlined measured and indicated resources of about 1.68 million tonnes, with zinc, lead and silver grades suggesting a potentially robust polymetallic deposit. Additional inferred resources further expand the project's scale.
North Bay will also gain the Alacran silver-gold-copper project, an advanced exploration asset spanning more than 5,400 hectares. The project hosts multiple deposits and lies near a major producing copper mine operated by Grupo Mexico, underscoring the region’s established infrastructure and mineral potential.
Resource estimates at Alacran point to significant silver and gold mineralization across its Mesa de Plata and Loma Bonita deposits, based on prior technical reports.
Another key asset is the Promontorio copper-gold project in Chihuahua state, which includes both the Promontorio and Cascada deposits. Historical estimates indicate combined resources with copper, gold and silver content, positioning it as a sizeable exploration-stage project.
The portfolio also includes five additional properties prospective for copper, zinc, gold, silver and graphite, though one gold project, Sara Alicia, is currently excluded from the agreement pending ongoing discussions tied to a prior exploration arrangement.
Separately, North Bay said operations at its Bishop Gold Mill in Nevada resumed in March, with the processing of a test shipment from its Fran Gold Project. The company added that a concentrate delivery was completed in Reno this week, with settlement pending.