Southern Silver Exploration Corp (SSV.V) reported today that optionee Freeport McMoRan Exploration Corp. (FMEC) has commenced drilling at the Dragoon Project, located 90 kilometres southeast of Tucson, Az. The current program follows geophysical work and an earlier one-hole (1065 metre) drill program and will test an up-thrown block of prospective stratigraphy located approximately 400 metres to the southeast of the previous drill hole. Previous drilling on the property in 2010 by FMEC returned a 402 metre interval averaging 0.05 per cent copper and included several three-to-six-meter intervals averaging from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent copper. Southern Silver believes that these results, together with other historical data, suggest the presence of a large, deep-seated copper porphyry system disrupted by post-mineral faulting.
Oro Update
Southern Silver also reported it has added 40 additional claims at the Oro Project. This staking was done as interpretation of the recently conducted airborne magnetic geophysical survey suggests a much larger mineralizing system than originally believed with field checks confirming the presence of extensive alteration associated with the magnetic anomalies. The field examination included collection of additional geochemical samples and magnetic susceptibility readings at various surface locations and in the Company’s 2010 core. These readings will allow a more detailed interpretation of the airborne magnetic data that when combined with the additional geochemical data, will allow drill sites to be chosen for two primary exploration targets: a deeply buried but large porphyry copper target and shallower, disseminated gold target. Drill permitting will begin as soon as this recently collected data has been assimilated, with drilling planned for late spring/early summer
About the Dragoon property
The Dragoon property is a contiguous block of 12.8 sq. km that consists of 68 unpatented mining claims and four State leases located in southeast Arizona. The property contains areas of exposed Copper-Molybdenum mineralization, Laramide-age porphyry and “leached capping” in the eastern part of the property, and a larger down-dropped block of porphyry-related rocks in the gravel-covered western portion of the property. The presence of the “leached cap” rocks is significant as it may overlie supergene-enriched copper mineralization at depth.
Southern Silver has the right to earn a 100% interest in the property by the payment of $500,000 by August 2012 and FMEC has the right to earn a 70% interest in the property by spending $3 million in exploration and development expenses on the property by December 31, 2012.
About the Oro property
The Oro Project comprises a contiguous block of Federal, State and Private land totaling 15.1 sq km in the historic Eureka mining district in southwest New Mexico.
The New Mexico Bureau of Mines estimates production from small mines and workings within the Oro district between 1880 and 1961 at 2.9 million pounds of lead, 1.7 million pounds of zinc, 0.5 million pounds of copper, 450,000 ounces of silver, and 5,000 ounces of gold mined from shallow workings above the water table(1). Southern Silver’s most recent work on the project suggests a high-potential to host further gold- and silver-enriched CRD deposits, and also bulk-tonnage intrusion-related gold mineralization or possibly a deeply buried copper porphyry system.
Southern Silver has the right to earn a 100% interest in the property by payments totaling $425,000 to private vendors by December 2011.
About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is an emerging precious/base metal exploration company and a member of the Manex Resource Group; a private company comprised of an exceptional multi-disciplinary team of professionals, with specific expertise in all the areas of exploration, development and public company administration.
The company’s growth strategy is to acquire, explore and develop high-quality properties in progressive jurisdictions within North America. Its current projects include the silver-lead-zinc Cerro Las Mintas, copper-gold-silver Minas de Ameca, the porphyry copper-molybdenum project Dragoon in Arizona and the gold-silver project Oro in New Mexico.
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Robert Macdonald (P.Geo) is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release.
(1) Data is from historical State of New Mexico files. Southern Silver has not attempted to verify this data. but has no reason to believe that these results are not representative historical production from this area.
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.
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.