Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL): How 55 Surface Targets Shape Its Santa Cruz Work

Aditi Sarkar

11 November 2026 08:26 PM AEDT

Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL): How 55 Surface Targets Shape Its Santa Cruz Work

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Highlights

Unico has identified 55 surface targets across Joaquin and Cerro Leon in Argentina.
Nine prospects were selected for follow-up, including possible extensions to existing resources.
Target ranking combines geochemical samples and ground magnetic survey information.
Surface anomalies require drilling before any additional mineral resources can be established.

Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL) explores and develops silver-gold Assets in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, principally through its Joaquin and Cerro Leon projects. Its November 2026 regional exploration update identified numerous surface targets and a smaller group for priority assessment during the southern summer field season. The program sits alongside pre-feasibility work on the existing project inventory. New targets are prospects for testing, not newly declared mineral resources.

Joaquin and Cerro Leon Portfolio

Unico's Joaquin and Cerro Leon assets occupy a precious-metals district characterised by epithermal vein systems. The company holds existing mineral resource estimates and is undertaking additional exploration aimed at identifying potential new deposits and extensions around known mineralisation. The broad exploration territory should not be equated with the area already drilled sufficiently to support a resource classification.

Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL) has described a development strategy supported by technical studies at established deposits. The regional target review is a separate activity that may identify future drilling opportunities. It does not by itself revise the assumptions or production schedules under investigation in the existing pre-feasibility program.

Target Ranking and Field Evidence

The November update identifies 55 surface targets, including 33 at Joaquin and 22 at Cerro Leon. Nine were ranked for priority follow-up: seven are outside the existing resource outlines and two relate to potential resource extensions. This distinction is important because an extension to a known deposit may have a different geological risk profile from a completely untested prospect.

Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL) used a substantial compilation of surface geochemistry and magnetic survey information to rank the locations. The reported data set comprises 19,406 surface samples and about 643 line-kilometres of ground magnetic surveying. Multiple datasets can support a geological interpretation, but a surface anomaly may reflect weathering, transport or narrow mineralised outcrops rather than a continuous body at depth.

Selected Results and Study Timetable

At La Morena, selected rock chip samples reached 32.6 grams per tonne gold. Initial drilling was reported as 36 metres at 1.34 g/t gold and 8 g/t silver from 17 metres. The interval is a downhole measurement unless a supported true-width calculation is given. At the SB-01 target in Cerro Leon, selective surface rock chips reportedly returned silver grades as high as 2,104 g/t. Such peak samples must not be represented as a deposit average or a resource estimate.

Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL) has indicated that its Joaquin pre-feasibility work remains scheduled for January 2027. The existing study process and any new regional drilling results may progress on different timetables. New discoveries would require resource estimation and appropriate study integration before they could underpin development assumptions.

Field Priorities and Exploration Risks

The company's field program envisages additional soil sampling, mapping and testing of the higher-ranked prospects. Some anomalies may Warrant first-pass drilling only after the company refines its geological model. The planned sequence should not be mistaken for an assurance that all nine priority targets will become mineral resources or be drilled during a fixed period.

Unico Silver Limited (ASX:USL) faces uncertainties around mineralisation continuity, selective sampling, field access, exploration expenditure and the transfer of findings into project studies. Its existing resources provide context for the work but do not validate undrilled areas. The next material disclosures will clarify how many targets are tested, what the drilling finds and whether study assumptions change.

Key Insights

Unico's regional program has produced a ranked pipeline of targets, not an expansion of declared resources. Drill results, subsequent modelling and the January 2027 study timetable remain separate evidence points for the company's development planning.

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