RE: hello, hello, hello - NEWSI picked some up today...
Southern Silver plans 10-hole Pinabete drill program
2005-05-02 11:15 MT - News Release
Mr. Lawrence Page reports
SOUTHERN SILVER EXPLORATION CORP.: DRILL TARGETS DEFINED FOR UPCOMING MEXICAN EXPLORATION
Southern Silver Exploration Corp. has finalized plans for a 10-hole, 2,200-metre drill program to test silver-lead-zinc-rich massive and disseminated sulphide targets on its Pinabete carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) property which is located approximately 120 kilometres south of Chihuahua, Mexico. The 4,649-hectare project sits within a belt of world-class CRDs which include the nearby Santa Eulalia (45 million tonnes at 310 grams per tonne Ag, 7.1 per cent Zn and 8.2 per cent Pb) and Naica (26 million tonnes at 213 g/t Ag, 5.6 per cent Zn, 5.9 per cent Pb and 0.34 per cent copper) deposits.
Scheduled to begin in May, drill testing will focus on a 600-metre-long section of the Pinabete mineralized zone, a 2,500-metre-by-500-metre structural zone of mineralized felsic dikes, marbleized limestone, skarn and skarnoid alteration, which forms the primary exploration target on the property. Specific structural and lithological targets within this zone are deemed most favourable for hosting high-grade mantos and chimneys, characteristic of the Santa Eulalia and Naica deposits.
Previous work on the property was limited to reconnaissance surface sampling and a single discovery drill hole at the San Jose del Sitio showing which intercepted 7.7 metres of 52 g/t Ag, 7.8 per cent Zn and 1.3 per cent Pb at less than 35 metres depth. Surface sampling conducted by Southern Silver in December, 2004, and January, 2005, returned high-grade values of up to 3.5 metres of 47.2 g/t Ag, 11.3 per cent Zn and 5.22 per cent Pb, and six metres of 13.6 g/t Ag, 5.14 per cent and 2.86 per cent Pb.
San Jose del Sitio area
Up to eight drill holes, for 1,650 metres, will test the strike extension of the San Jose del Sitio mineralization as well as test down dip and along strike of three other high-grade targets distributed along the 600-metre strike length of this multitarget project. These high-grade targets lie along a series of northwest-trending and north-northwest-trending structures, which can form en echelon sets that vary in width up to 350 metres, and are extensions of the high-grade and disseminated mineralization identified both on surface and in the single discovery drill hole.
El Papalote zone
A further two drill holes will test disseminated skarn mineralization in the El Papalote area located approximately 1.5 kilometres to the southeast of the San Jose del Sitio showing. Mapping in this area has identified a 20-to-25-metre-thick shallowly south-dipping manto within a favourable lithological horizon. Sampling across the horizon has returned up to 14 metres of 14.9 g/t Ag, 3.11 per cent Zn and 2.25 per cent Pb, and 12 metres of 16.6 g/t Ag, 2.98 per cent Zn and 2.07 per cent Pb. Drilling will test both the down dip continuity of the mineralized horizon as well as test the feeder structure to a depth of 325 metres at a projected intersection with main limestone horizon.
Commenting on the program, Southern Silver president, Lawrence Page, stressed that it is a first phase drilling look at a large property with multiple targets. "Our in-house and consulting geologists are enthusiastic following their extensive analyses of the limited prior exploration and their own fieldwork," he said.
Southern Silver can acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the property from Anglo American Ltd. by staged spending of $2-million (U.S.) over a four-year period, with minimum expenditures of $200,000 (U.S.) in the first year, and by issuing 400,000 shares. After earn in, for a period of 90 days, Anglo may elect to retain a 1.5-per-cent net smelter return or convert it into a 60-per-cent working interest by paying Southern Silver 200 per cent of its incurred exploration costs. If Anglo elects to participate the parties will contribute proportionately to exploration and development expenditures. A further 5-per-cent interest may be earned by Anglo by preparation of a prefeasibility study.
Southern Silver also reported today that its previously announced private placement of units at a price of 50 cents per unit has now closed with the receipt of $2,102,500 for a total of 4,205,000 units.
Rob Macdonald, PGeo, is the qualified person responsible for reviewing the technical results reported in this release.
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