Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (the “company”) reported today that the company’s previously announced private placement (NR-06-09, Nov.24/09) has been oversubscribed and the company will now issue up to 18 million units for total gross proceeds of C$1.8 million. The company has closed the first tranche of the private placement respecting 14,570,000 units aggregating C$1,457,000. Each unit is priced at C$0.10 and consists of one common share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant exercisable to purchase one additional common share at an exercise price of C$0.20 per share for a period of two years.
The proceeds from the private placement will be used to fund planned drill programs on the company’s mineral exploration projects in New Mexico and Mexico as well as for working capital. Finder’s fees are payable. The private placement and finder’s fees are subject to regulatory approval. All securities issued pursuant to the first tranche closing of this private placement, including common shares, share purchase warrants and finders’ warrants issued as finders’ fees, carry a legend restricting trading of the securities until April 11, 2010.
Drilling to Begin January at Southern Silver’s Oro Project
The Company reported that it has selected Boart Longyear as contractor and will begin construction the week of December 14th on sites for diamond drilling expected to begin in January at its 1,000-hectare Oro Project in the Eureka Mining District of Grant County, New Mexico, USA. The district is part of a belt of major, precious-metal-rich Skarn and Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRD’s) that extend southward from western New Mexico through east-central Mexico.
The New Mexico Bureau of Mines estimates production from the Eureka district between 1880 and 1961 at 2.9 million pounds of lead, 1.7 million pounds of zinc, 0.5 million pounds of copper, 0.45 million ounces of silver, and 5,000 ounces of gold in of oxide ore, mined from shallow workings above the water table. Reported grades are attractive, in the range of 20 oz/ton Ag, 4% combined Zn and Pb, and up to 0.04 oz/ton Au. Smaller amounts of high-grade mineralization are reported to assay up to 5.5% Cu and 840 oz/ton Ag.
The drilling program is fully permitted and bonded and will test four separate gold-rich, vein/replacement targets in this historic Laramide-age polymetallic district with geological similarities to highly productive CRD camps at Santa Eulalia (50MM tons of 15%Pb+Zn, 310g/t Ag) in Mexico and Bisbee (7800 Mlbs Cu, 2.8 Mozs Au, 102 Mozs Ag, 324 Mlbs Zn) in Arizona. The first phase program is estimated to cost $420,000. Permits have been approved by the BLM and the State of New Mexico for ten drill sites, allowing for additional phases of drilling.
President Larry Page commented, “As is often the case with historic districts, there have been challenges acquiring adequate land, archaeological clearance, and drill permits at Oro, but historic miners, like us, were drawn to the area by its rich mineralization, and we are pleased to finally be able to test our ideas.”
Drilling at Minas de Ameca in January
Final targets for an 10-hole 1500 metre diamond drilling program have been selected and permitting is in process on the Company’s Minas de Ameca Project located in Jalisco State, Mexico. Drilling, which is anticipated to begin in January 2010 will test the internal continuity and the on-strike and down-dip potential of the San Luis vein system.
Previous drilling by Southern Silver tested the San Luis vein system to depths of over 400 metres and up to 600 metres in strike length and defined mineralized intervals with greater than 1g/t Au and 1% Cu which range in thickness from 1 metre to +10 metres and comprise single and sheeted quartz veins within envelopes of strong argillic alteration with iron and copper sulphides. This next phase of work will test on-strike and down-dip extensions of previously reported higher grade drill intercepts which included 3.5m averaging 5.07g/t Au and 4.32% Cu and 2.5m averaging 3.44g/t Au and 2.29% Cu.
Drilling at the Dragoon Property
The company anticipates drilling by Freeport McMoran Exploration Corporation of an initial 300+ metre hole in the 2010 exploration season as part of a US$3.0 million program. The Dragoon property is a contiguous block of 1,280 ha comprising 68 unpatented mining claims and four State leases that contain areas of exposed Cu-Mo mineralization, Laramide-age monzogranite porphyry and geothitic “leached capping” which occur in the eastern part of the property. A larger down-dropped block of porphyry related rocks underlie the gravel-covered western and northwestern portion of the property. The presence of the “leached capping” is significant as it may overlie supergene-enriched copper mineralization at depth in the relatively under-explored gravel covered portions of the property.
About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of quality assets, in significant mineralized trends, close to infrastructure. Its current projects include the copper/gold/silver Minas de Ameca project and the silver/zinc/lead Pinabete project in Mexico, the Dragoon Porphyry project in Arizona and the Oro project in New Mexico. See smartstocks.com for a recent review of the company’s exploration programs.
Rob Macdonald (P.Geo.) is the Qualified Person responsible for reviewing the technical results reported in this release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Lawrence Page”
Lawrence Page, President, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
For further information visit southernsilverexploration.com or please contact Jeff Stuart or Ran Davidson at 1-888-456-1112 / 604-684-9384 or by email at corpdev@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 including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. 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. Southern Silver Exploration Corp. relies upon litigation protection for forward looking statements.