Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (SSV.V) reported today that a formal agreement has been executed which grants Southern the right to acquire a 100% interest in the Cerro Las Minitas project located 70 kilometres northeast of Durango, Durango State, Mexico.
The agreement with a private vendor, which follows the previously announced Letter of Intent (NR-08-10), grants Southern the right to acquire a 100% interest in the project by making scheduled payments to a total of US$4,000,000 over a three year period. Initial consideration is a US$300,000 cash payment with escalating payments every six months for the term of the option. The property, comprising 17 concessions and totaling 10,980 hectares, lies within the Faja de Plata (Belt of Silver) of north-central Mexico, one of the most significant silver producing regions in the world with current reserves/resources and historic production in excess of 3 billion ounces of silver.
Small-scale mining has been active on the property since colonial times, identifying several types of silver-, lead- and zinc-enriched massive-sulphide pipes, veins and replacement deposits in the skarn-altered margins of a large intrusive body in a similar geological environment to that of major Mexican Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRDs) such as Santa Eulalia (45Mt of 310g/t Ag, 7.1% Zn and 8.2% Pb) and Skarn deposits such as San Martin (60Mt of 118g/t silver, 0.9% copper and 3.9% zinc).
Limited historical drilling on the project by Noranda (not independently verified by Southern Silver) returned numerous intervals of higher grade silver and base metals including a 11.45 metre interval (down hole) grading 123g/t silver, 1.55% lead and 7.79% zinc from drill hole HGV-00-02, and a 1.41 metre interval (down hole) grading 529g/t silver, 6.99% lead and 1.27% zinc from drill hole NGV-00-06.
Southern Silver has initiated a detailed mapping and sampling program of surface exposures and trenches in the area of the historic mining and exploration activity. Results to date have confirmed the general tenor of historically reported mineralization on the property with six of 44 initial grab and chip samples returning values in excess of 100g/t silver including 464g/t silver and 15.7% lead and 1.16% zinc from 10CM-13, and 360g/t silver and 6.95% lead from sample 10CM-40.
The company plans more systematic sampling of select surface exposures and historical trenches together with underground mapping of critical workings to enable a 3-dimensional rendering of the historic drill database and workings.
Acquisition and reprocessing of available regional geochemical and geophysical data is also underway and will be used to guide further airborne and surface geophysical studies over the property in early 2011 with an anticipated +3,000 metre Phase I drill program to follow this work.
Southern Silver’s objective is to discover and develop large precious and base-metal rich deposits similar to recent discoveries in central Mexico including Penasquito (Reserves - 17.8Moz gold, 1,070 million ounces silver), Pitarilla (Geological Resource - 600 million ounces silver) and San Nicolas (Geological Resource – 1,900 million pounds copper, 2,900 million pounds zinc, 1.1 million ounces gold, 67 million ounces silver).
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Lawrence Page”
Lawrence Page, President, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
For further information, please visit the company’s website at southernsilverexploration.com or contact Liana Shahinian at 1.888.456.1112 or by email at liana@mnxltd.com.
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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. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general economic conditions, interest rates, commodity markets, regulatory and governmental approvals for the company’s projects, and the availability of financing for the company’s development projects on reasonable terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, 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.