(Kitco News) Aftermath Silver is advancing technical work at its Berenguela silver-copper-manganese project in southern Peru as the company moves toward a pre-feasibility study that could define one of the larger undeveloped silver resources in the sector.
Speaking with Kitco Mining at PDAC 2026, Founder and Executive Chairman Mike Williams said the project’s updated mineral resource totals “122 million ounces of silver measured and indicated” with “a further 20 million in inferred.”
The NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for Berenguela was published Dec. 4, 2025, with a technical report filed Jan. 16, 2026. In addition to silver, the deposit hosts approximately 870 million lb. of copper in measured and indicated categories and about 3 million tons of manganese.
Williams said the development strategy being evaluated in the pre-feasibility study focuses on early silver production from an open-pit operation, noting that deposits where silver mineralization “comes right to surface,” adding that, “There are very few open-pit silver operations.”
The company is evaluating a production scenario designed to maximize silver output during the early years of operation. “Our goal is to end up between producing four to 5 million ounces of silver annually,” Williams said of the production profile currently being modeled.
Copper and manganese associated with the deposit could provide byproduct credits that strengthen project economics, while metallurgical work continues to evaluate recovery options for the manganese component.
Historically, manganese associated with ore bodies complicated recoveries of other metals, but Williams said advances in hydrometallurgical processing over the past two decades have changed that dynamic. “That would allow us to get the silver out, get the copper out, and then to produce an economic manganese product,” he said.
Metallurgical testing has already demonstrated the ability to produce manganese at “99.9% purity level,” Williams said, a specification that could potentially support certain electric vehicle battery chemistries if further work confirms commercial processing routes.
Exploration continues alongside development studies. Williams highlighted drilling in the eastern portion of the property that intersected 150 meters grading 1.2% copper with 289 grams per tonne silver and 7% manganese, which he said may indicate proximity to the source of mineralization.
“Maybe we’re getting closer to the source,” Williams said, noting that follow-up drilling is planned alongside additional testing of skarn-style mineralization targets about four kilometers away.
Infrastructure could also influence development planning. Williams said the project lies close to rail and road access and near existing power infrastructure and mining communities, factors that could help shape processing and transportation decisions.
The pre-feasibility study is expected later this year, alongside continued drilling and metallurgical programs aimed at refining the development plan for Berenguela.
Additionally, Aftermath Silver announced Feb. 24, 2026, that it had entered into investor relations agreements with several firms and granted incentive stock options under its stock option plan, subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
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