The Mexican Silver Belt (La Faja de Plata) is an 800 kilometer long geographical corridor cutting across Northern and Central México. It stretches from Chihuahua and Sonora at the border with the US to the Central México state of Guanajuato, following the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, passing through Durango and Zacatecas.
This is the most productive silver region on the globe. Indigenous groups in Central México mined silver and gold here for ages. But it wasn’t until the 1540s that Spanish conquistadors started large-scale mining operations.
Today, the Mexican Silver Belt is responsible for making México the largest source of silver in the world. In 2025, México produced 6,300 metric tons of silver, most of which came from this region.
Centuries later, historic mining districts like Durango, Zacatecas and Fresnillo are still producing millions of ounces of silver every year. Miners are tapping into the different types of rich silver mineralization in the belt, including epithermal veins, carbonate replacement deposits, skarns, intrusion-related systems and diatreme/breccia-hosted deposits.
What’s more, recent and ongoing exploration work shows previously unrealized resources beneath and around active mines.
Major players in the Mexican Silver Belt
Over the years, the Mexican Silver Belt has attracted hundreds of mining companies and silver prospectors from all over the world. Today, the belt hosts well over 100 established silver-mining companies, some of which still operate the oldest mines in the region.
Here’s a brief overview of the dominant players.
Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NYSE:PAAS)
Pan American Silver is a Canada-based mining company whose operations are mainly focused in Central and South America. In México, the company runs an advanced exploration project on the La Colorada mine in Zacatecas State, about 150 kilometers northwest of Zacatecas city and 100 kilometers southeast of Durango city.
In 2018, through brownfield exploration, Pan American Silver identified the La Colorada skarn, a large skarn-related silver, lead and zinc system beneath and beside its existing La Colorada operation. It is a strong example of how modern exploration around an established mine can reveal mineralization that earlier operators missed.
Grupo México (BMV:GMEXICOB,OTCPL:GMBXF)
Grupo México is a México-based conglomerate running some of the largest mining operations in Peru and México. Through its subsidiary, Industrial Minera México, the company owns and operates the San Martin mine in Zacatecas, México.
San Martín is one of the oldest and most famous mining districts in the region. It has a polymetallic deposit of mainly sulfide skarn-type mineralization of copper, zinc and silver, along with peripheral epithermal veins and intrusion-related deposits.
First Majestic Silver (TSX:AG,NYSE:AG)
First Majestic Silver is a Canada-based silver producer with operations focused in México. Its Del Toro mine, located in Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, is a past-producing underground silver, gold and lead operation that reflects the vein and replacement-style mineralization common across the Durango-Zacatecas belt. The mine is currently being acquired by Sierra Madre Gold and Silver (TSXV:SM,OTCQX:SMDRF), a Vancouver-based company focused on silver and gold in México.
Silver Storm Mining (TSXV:SVRS,OTCQB:SVRSF)
Silver Storm Mining is a Canadian mining company, rebranded in 2023 from Golden Tag Resources. It runs two mining projects in México, one in San Diego and another in La Parrilla.
The La Parrilla site is a 69,478 hectare mining complex with five underground mines and an open-pit mine. Silver Storm acquired the property from First Majestic Silver in 2023. The previous owner operated it from 2005 to 2019 and mined 34.3 million silver equivalent ounces in that time. Silver Storm is currently targeting the restart of the mine’s operations in Q2 2026.
Industrias Penoles (BMV:PE&OLES,OTCPL:IPOAF)
Industrias Peñoles is a premier Mexican mining company and a global leader in silver production. The mining giant fully owns and runs the Sabinas mining complex, located in Sombrerete, Zacatecas.
Peñoles has operated Sabinas since 1995, producing silver, zinc, lead and copper from polymetallic systems with vein-type and replacement mineralization. Milling capacity has been expanded over time to 1.3 million metric tons of ore per year.
Silver Dollar Resources (CSE:SLV,OTCQX:SLVDF)
Silver Dollar Resources is advancing the La Joya silver-copper-gold project, located about 75 kilometers southeast of Durango, México, in the southeastern portion of the Mexican Silver Belt. The company acquired the property in 2020. Its notable neighbours in the Durango silver district include Peñoles’ Sabinas mine, Grupo México’s San Martín mine, Pan American Silver’s La Colorada mine and Silver Storm’s La Parrilla operations; the surrounding mining activity means infrastructure and access around La Joya are well developed
The property comprises 15 mineral concessions spanning 4,646 hectares, including the Main Mineralized Trend (MMT), Coloradito and Santo Niño deposits. Previous drilling and exploration efforts were mostly focused on these resources.
The previous operator, SilverCrest Mines, released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) NI 43-101 technical report on the La Joya property in December 2013. The PEA includes a mineral resource estimate (MRE) for only the MMT and Santo Niño deposits (see historical MRE table) that was based on 173 holes totaling 56,849.33 meters of drilling (see historical MRE model). The MRE was reported to conform to CIM definitions for resource estimation; however, a qualified person of Silver Dollar has not done sufficient work to classify the historical resource, and the company is not treating it as a current mineral resource. Independent data verification and an assessment of the mineral resource estimation methods are required to verify the historical mineral resource.
What this history shows is that La Joya is not a grassroots concept. It carries a meaningful technical foundation, and Silver Dollar is now testing whether additional value exists beyond the areas SilverCrest historically explored.
Investor takeaway
Why do all these neighbors matter when evaluating a single exploration project? In a mature mining district, the surrounding mines are a geological reference library. They show what the host rocks look like, how the controlling structures behave and which deposit models have produced economic mineralization in the past. Geologists use that information to build and test ideas about what might lie beneath an underexplored property nearby. Proximity to a producing mine does not prove a project’s value, but it helps explain why a given target is worth drilling. That is the lens through which to view Silver Dollar Resources and its La Joya project
Silver Dollar Resources is advancing La Joya in México’s Silver Belt. The project has a historic technical foundation, including extensive drilling and the subsequent 2013 PEA that was based on US$24 per ounce silver, US$1,200 per ounce gold and US$3 per pound copper, and the current drill program is testing whether La Joya may host high-grade, San Martin-style mineralization outside and below the areas historically explored.
Silver discovery potential in México remains high, particularly where modern exploration is applied to districts with a long production history and established deposit models. For investors evaluating exploration in México, the key is understanding the district, the host geology and the deposit model being tested. In Silver Dollar’s case, that model is the San Martin-style mineralization the company is now drilling to test at La Joya
This INNspired article is sponsored by Silver Dollar Resources (CSE:SLV,OTCQX:SLVDF,FWB:4YW). This INNspired article provides information which was sourced by the Investing News Network (INN) and approved by Silver Dollar Resources in order to help investors learn more about the company Silver Dollar Resources is a client of INN. The company’s campaign fees pay for INN to create and update this INNspired article.
This INNspired article was written according to INN editorial standards to educate investors.
INN does not provide investment advice and the information on this profile should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. INN does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company profiled.
The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Readers should conduct their own research for all information publicly available concerning the company. Prior to making any investment decision, it is recommended that readers consult directly with Silver Dollar Resources and seek advice from a qualified investment advisor.
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