Southern Silver drills 675 g/t silver over 1.6 metres at Cerro Las Minitas, Mexico

Southern Silver Exploration Corp. [SSV-TSXV; SSVFF-OTCQB; SEG1-FSE; SSVCL-Santiago] reported drill results continue to extend silver-polymetallic mineralization laterally to the east and west in the North Felsite Target on the 100%-owned Cerro Las Minitas project, 70 km northeast of Durango, Mexico.

The North Felsite target is located on the eastern side of the Cerro and wraps around the northern edge of the Central intrusion where it transitions into the North Skarn target area. The new drilling now confirms the continuity of mineralization with previously modelled mineral resources in the Mina La Bocona and the Skarn Front deposits, continues to identify gold enrichment in several hanging wall intercepts outboard of the main skarn target at the North Felsite zone and has identified high-grade copper mineralization in the North Skarn target area.

Drilling highlights from the North Felsite target area include a 1.5-metre interval (1.0 metre est. TT.) averaging 165 g/t silver, 0.1 g/t gold, 11.5% copper, 0.1% lead and 0.4% zinc (1,463 g/t AgEq) within a 4.0-metre interval (2.6 metre est. TT.) averaging 77 g/t Ag, 4.4% Cu, 0.2% Pb and 0.9% Zn (617 g/t AgEq) from drill hole 21CLM-191.

Drill hole 22CLM-188 returned a 1.6-metre interval (1.3 metre est. TT) averaging 675 g/t Ag, 0.3% Cu, 5.5% Pb and 3.4% Zn (1,008 g/t AgEq) within a 4.8-metre interval (3.8 metres est. TT) averaging 352 g/t Ag, 0.1% Cu, 2.4% Pb and 1.6% Zn (500 g/t AgEq).

Drill hole 22CLM-187 returned a 0.7-metre interval (0.6 metre est. TT) averaging 499 g/t Ag, 0.1 g/t Au, 0.4% Cu, 4.6% Pb and 1.% Zn (759g/t AgEq) within a 2.2-metre interval (1.9 metres est. TT) averaging 162 g/t Ag, 0.6 g/t Au, 0.3% Cu, 1.5% Pb and 0.6% Zn (314 g/t AgEq).

Strong gold-enrichment, up to 7.0 g/t gold over 0.6 metres (est. TT.), is identified in several hangingwall intercepts correlating to zones of mineralization outboard of the more typical, silver-enriched polymetallic mineralization of the main skarn horizon located adjacent to the central monzonite intrusion.

Two of the drill holes, 22CLM-186 and -187, tested the eastern margin of the North Felsite zone returning anomalous and high-grade intercepts along strike from modelled mineral resources in the Mina La Bocona deposit and clearly establish continuity with mineralization identified over the last 8 months of exploration throughout the North Felsite target.

High-grade copper, up to 2.6 m (est. TT.) of 4.4% copper was returned from drill hole 22CLM-191. The mineralized intercept is located just 85 metres down-dip from copper-enriched intercepts in historic drill hole 11CLM-003 (14m of 60 g/t Ag, 0.9% Cu, 0.3% Pb and 1.6% Zn which were included in the modelled mineral resources of the Skarn Front deposit.

Vice President of Exploration Rob Macdonald states: “These latest drill results have now confirmed the continuity of new mineralization over an approximate 400 metre strike-length extending laterally from the Mina La Bocona to the Skarn Front deposits. Mineralization remains open at depth in both the North Felsite and the North Skarn targets with assays from two holes, 22CLM-192 and -193, pending. Continuous to semi-continuous mineralization has now been identified around the circumference of the Central intrusion with the exception of the southwest quadrant which remains to be explored by diamond drilling.”

Southern Silver continues to advance the Cerro Las Minitas project as one of the world’s largest undeveloped silver/lead/zinc resources, through advanced exploration, pre-production metallurgical and engineering work, and economic assessment.

A total of 196 drill holes for 84,872 metres has been completed on the CLM Project with exploration expenditures of over US$30.0 million equating to exploration discovery costs of approximately C$0.09 per AgEq ounce.

The company’s property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project and the Hermanas gold-silver vein project in southern New Mexico, USA. Drilling continues on a six-hole, 4,000-metre drill program on the Oro project, designed to test several copper-molybdenum porphyry and copper-gold skarn targets.

 Initial mapping and sampling of the Hermanas property was completed during the winter. Assays are pending.