Southern Silver Announces 13,000 metres of drilling in 2018 Exploration for the Cerro Las Minitas Project
Southern Silver Announces 13,000 metres of drilling in
2018 Exploration for the Cerro Las Minitas Project
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2018) -
Souther
n Silver Exploration Corp.
(TSXV:
SSV) ("Southern
Silver
")
reported today that a 2018 budget totaling US$3 million has been approved by the joint venture partners for exploration
work at the Cerro Las Minitas project, Durango Mexico. The program comprises 13,000 metres of drilling in two phases which
will target both the systematic resource expansion in the Area of the Cerro containing the existing Mineral Resource Estimate
and continued surface sampling and reverse circulation drilling on new discoveries in the recently staked CLM West claim
group.
Community consultations and agreements are completed and receipt of the second of two Environmental permits is anticipated
within the next two weeks. Drilling is anticipated to begin in late April on the CLM West claim group and transition to the Area of
the Cerro in June.
The Cerro Las Minitas project operates on a joint venture basis by Southern Silver at a 40% interest and Electrum Global
Holdings LP (Electrum) at a 60% interest. Southern Silver remains operator of the project. Since formation of the Joint Venture,
the partners have approved over US$3.5 Million in exploration on the project since September, 2017.
2018 Updated Mineral Resource Estimate
The updated Mineral Resource Estimate, from January 8, 2018, at a 175g/t AgEq cut-off, returned
(1)
:
10.1Mt averaging 102
g
/t Ag, 0.1g/t Au, 0.15% Cu, 1.4% Pb and 3.6% Zn (
116Mozs AgEq
);
8.7Mt averaging 74g/t Ag, 0.04g/t Au, 0.15% Cu, 0.7% Pb and 4.5% Zn (
92.7 Mozs AgEq
);
The updated Resource Estimate incorporates additional data from drilling conducted in 2016 and 2017 that has successfully
delineated a major new deposit on the project, the Skarn Front deposit, and markedly increased the resource base in both the
Indicated (+218%) and Inferred (+20%) resource categories as well as improving the overall grade of the resource, most
significantly in the Indicated category.
Analysis of the block model has identified several new target areas for drill testing in 2018 as well as the extensions of the Skarn
Front deposit in the Las Victorias and North Skarn Target areas. Southern Silver's near term goal is to continue to increase the
mineral resource in similar fashion to increases achieved in the 2017 round of drilling.
Systematic Resource Expansion - Las Victorias and North Skarn Targets
Figure 1: 2018 offset drill targets, Cerro Las Minitas project
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5344/33857_figure1.jpg
Up to 10,000 metres of core drilling is budgeted in 2018 to develop and extend high grade trends within gaps and at depth in the
Skarn Front deposit, and will also include several fences of holes stepping out to the southeast in the Las Victorias target area
and along strike to the northeast in the North Skarn zone.
Mineralization in the Las Victorias zone is open for approximately 500 metres along strike to the southeast of drill holes 17CLM-
101 and -105. Two separate mineralized zones are identified in these holes and believed to be the lateral extensions of the
Blind and Skarn Front zones respectively. As presently modelled, mineralization in Las Victorias zone is open laterally to the
southeast and to depth.
Figure 2: Proposed drill targeting on the Las Victorias target located to the southeast of the
currently defined
mineral resource
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5344/33857_figure2.jpg
Drilling in the North Skarn zone will test a 600 metre projection of Skarn Front mineralization along strike to the northeast, where
the zone wraps around the northern margin of the Central Intrusion. Multiple higher grade mineralized intercepts occur on the
margin of the defined mineral resource in this area where two potential mineralized shoots are identified that require testing.
Figure 3: Proposed drill targeting on the North Skarn Target located to the northeast of the currently defined
resource
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5344/33857_figure3.jpg
Targeting New Discovery - CLM West Exploration
Up to 3000m of RC drilling will test targets on the CLM West claim group identified by surface sampling conducted over the last
9 months which has identified multiple clusters and linear trends of anomalous precious-metal and pathfinder elements in
surface rock chip and float samples.
Over 4500 samples have been collected in this largely gravel covered area which covers the eastern margin of a broad Tertiary
volcanic basin which elsewhere hosts productive gold-silver-enriched epithermal quartz vein systems at the Avino Gold-Silver
mine, located 10 kilometres to the northwest of the property boundary and at the La Preciosa deposit located 25 kilometres to
the west of the claim block.
Samples comprise mostly quartz and rhyolite float. Mapping has identified multiple quartz veins and silicified zones up to 15
metres thick in areas of exposure in the northern Creston del Oro claim. A large-scale mineralized trend with a strike-length of
over 12.5 kilometres is evident from the sampling which reveals a district-scale zonation whereby elevated Hg and base metal
values occur on the flanks of the system and higher Ag-Au-Sb-As values occur in the interior of the belt. Sampling continues on
the project in order to further refine drill targeting on the CLM West claim group.
Figure
4
: Surface Sampling on the CLM West Claim Group
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5344/33857_figure4.jpg
Cerro Las Minitas Project
Recent exploration on the company's flagship Cerro Las Minitas property, Durango Mexico has been funded by Electrum Global
Holdings L.P. ("Electrum"), which has now earned a 60% indirect interest in the property through a US$5.0M earn-in on the
property, with Southern Silver acting as operator of joint venture operations.
The Cerro Las Minitas project as of January 8
th
, 2018 contains an estimated Inferred Resource, at a 175g/t AgEq cut-off, of
33.6
Mozs silver and
319
Mlbs of lead and
813
Mlbs zinc
(
116.1
Mozs AgEq)
and an estimated Indicated Resource of
20.7
Mozs silver,
131
Mlbs lead and
870
Mlbs zinc (
92.7
Mozs AgEq)
.
(1)
A total of 108 drill holes for 49,600 metres have now been completed on the Cerro Las Minitas project with exploration
expenditures of approximately US$15.5 million with an exploration cost of $0.07 per AgEq ounce. A further $3.0 million is
budgeted for 2018 exploration.
About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is a precious metal exploration and development company with a focus on the discovery of
world-class mineral deposits in north-central Mexico and the southern USA. Our specific emphasis is the Cerro Las Minitas
silver-lead-zinc project located in the heart of Mexico's Faja de Plata, which hosts multiple world-class mineral deposits such as
Penasquito, San Martin, Naica, Los Gatos and Pitarrilla. We have assembled a team of highly experienced technical,
operational and transactional professionals to support our exploration efforts in developing, along with our partner, Electrum
Global Holdings LP, the Cerro Las Minitas project into a premier, high-grade, silver-lead-zinc mine.
The Company engages in the acquisition, exploration and development either directly or through joint-venture relationships in
mineral properties in major jurisdictions. Our property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project located in
southern New Mexico, USA. The Oro property consists of patented land, State leases and BLM located mineral claims which
cover a highly prospective quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone, interpreted to overlie an unexposed porphyry centre and distal
sediment-hosted, oxide-gold target.
____________________
1
The 2018 Cerro Las Minitas Resource Estimate was prepared following CIM definitions for classification of Mineral
Resources. Resources are constrained using mainly geological constraints and approximate 10g/t AgEq grade shells. The
block models are comprised of an array of blocks measuring 10m x 2m x 10m, with grades for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn and AgEq
values interpolated using ID
2
weighting. The models identified at a 175g/t AgEq cut-off, an indicated resource of 10,135,000
tonnes averaging 102g/t Ag, 0.1g/t Au, 1.4% Pb, 3.6% Zn and 0.15% Cu and a cumulative inferred resource of 8,685,000
tonnes averaging 74g/t Ag, 0.04g/t Au, 0.7% Pb, 4.5% Zn and 0.15% Cu. Mineral Resource cut-offs are estimated using an
average long-term price of $16/oz silver, $1,200/oz gold, $2.75/lb Cu, $1.00/lb lead and $1.10/lb zinc and metal recoveries of
82% silver, 86% lead 80% copper and 80% zinc. AgEq calculations did not account for relative metallurgical recoveries of the
metals. All prices are stated in $USD. Mineral Resources are conceptual in nature and as such do not have demonstrated
economic viability.
The current Resource Estimate was prepared by Garth Kirkham, P.Geo. of Kirkham Geosciences Ltd. who is the Independent
Qualified Person responsible for presentation and review of the Mineral Resource Estimate.
Robert Macdonald, MSc. P.Geo, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and responsible for the
supervision of the exploration on the Cerro Las Minitas Project and for the preparation of the technical information in this
disclosure.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Lawrence Page"
Lawrence Page, Q.C.
President & Director, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
For further information, please visit Southern Silver's website at
southernsilverexploration.com
or contact us at 604.641.2759 or
by email at
ir
@mnxltd.com
.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions
and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in
such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include
the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and
general economic, market or business conditions.
Southern Silver Exploration Corp. does not assume any obligation to
update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to
the extent required by applicable law.