Southern Silver Exploration (TSXV: SSV; US-OTC: SSVFF) is a Canadian exploration firm targeted on creating high-grade valuable and base steel properties in North America.
The Vancouver-headquartered junior is advancing its 100%-owned Cerro Las Minitas silver-lead-zinc venture in Mexico, about 70 km northeast of the town of Durango.
The 34,450-hectare property lies inside the prolific Faja de Plata area of northern Mexico, one of many world’s most vital silver-producing areas. The realm hosts a number of mining operations, together with Hecla Mining’s (NYSE: HL) San Sebastian silver-gold mine, about 30 km east of Cerro Las Minitas, and the La Preciosa silver-gold venture, roughly 30 km to the west, operated by Coeur Mining (NYSE: CDE).
Robert Macdonald, Southern Silver’s vice chairman of exploration, says Cerro Las Minitas is likely one of the largest and highest grade undeveloped silver-based initiatives on the earth and is “prone to develop considerably bigger.”
“Drilling continues so as to add appreciable worth to the venture, which we imagine may improve the venture’s present useful resource estimate by as a lot as 30%. The venture is a big sulphide deposit, versus a combined sulphide/oxide deposit, and the silver and base metals grades are excessive sufficient for it to be developed as an underground mining operation.”
The venture at present incorporates 11.1 million indicated tonnes grading 105 grams silver per tonne, 0.1 gram gold per tonne, 0.16% copper, 1.2% lead, and three.7% zinc (375 grams silver-equivalent per tonne) for 37.4 million oz. contained silver, 35,000 oz. gold, 40 million lb copper, 303 million lb lead, and 897 million lb zinc (133.8 million oz. silver-equivalent). Inferred sources stand at 12.8 million tonnes of 111 grams silver, 0.07 gram gold, 0.27% copper, 0.9% lead, and a pair of.8% zinc (334 grams silver-equivalent) for 45.7 million oz. silver, 31,000 oz. gold, 76 million lb copper, 253 million lb lead, and 796 million lb zinc (138.1 million silver-equivalent ounces). The mineral estimate was based mostly on drilling on the west a part of the venture, within the Blind, El Sol, Las Victorias, and Skarn Entrance zones.
In 2021, Southern Silver expanded its drill program to check the Southern Skarn and Mina La Bocona Extension zones on the east facet of the property. At Mina La Bocona, it has been testing three targets: a brand new near-surface sulphide/oxide zone; the high-grade Muralla chimney; and the La Bocona chimney, which was traditionally labored by artisanal miners.
Drill web site at Southern Silver Exploration’s Cerros Las Minitas venture in Mexico. Credit score: Southern Silver Exploration
“We elevated the drilling from an preliminary 10,000-metre program to greater than 20,000 metres,” defined Macdonald. “The drilling targeted on the event of those targets, which returned bonanza-grade silver intercepts, in addition to the event of mineralisation situated to the northwest alongside the east facet of the property.”
Highlights included drillhole 20CLM-131. Drilled within the Mina La Bocona zone to check its down-dip projection, that gap intercepted 15.1 metres of 1,072 grams silver per tonne, 0.61 gram gold per tonne, 0.39% copper, 18.8% lead, and seven.5% zinc (2,040 grams silver-equivalent per tonne) ranging from 299.9 metres downhole, together with a higher-grade interval of 1.1 metes of three,180 grams silver, 0.29 gram gold, 0.33% copper, 58.8% lead, and a pair of.3% zinc (5,148 grams silver-equivalent).
In accordance with Macdonald, Southern Silver at present has one drill turning on Cerro Las Minitas to check a brand new goal on the east facet of the property. He stated the drilling will then transition again to greenfields testing of the El Sol goal, about two km northwest of Mina La Bocona, which covers the northerly projection of beforehand recognized mineralisation within the Blind zone and a second space of artisanal workings.
The corporate plans to launch an up to date mineral useful resource estimate for Cerro Las Minitas within the subsequent few weeks, with a preliminary financial evaluation slated for launch in the direction of the tip of the primary quarter of subsequent yr.
It at present has about $15 million within the treasury, which “can be greater than sufficient to fund our present work program,” Macdonald stated.
Southern Silver’s different asset is its wholly-owned Oro property, an early exploration-stage copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry venture within the U.S. state of New Mexico.
The previous Joint-Enterprise Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by SOUTHERN SILVER EXPLORATION and produced in cooperation with The Northern Miner. Go to www.southernsilverexploration.com for extra data.