New Drilling Returns 4.5 Metres of 192g/t Ag, 0.3% Cu, 5.3% Pb and 8.4% Zn at Southern Silver's Cerro Las Minitas Project
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 19, 2011) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SSV)(FRANKFURT:SEG) reported today that assay results from core drilling continue to expand both the lateral and down-dip dimensions of the Blind zone, a silver-rich, polymetallic mineralized zone which forms part of Southern's Cerro Las Minitas project, located in Durango State, Mexico.
The company reported multiple high-grade intercepts of significant thickness in three drill holes which offset previously reported bonanza grade mineralization in drill hole 11CLM-008 which included a 3.3 metre interval averaging 818g/t silver, 12.9% lead and 10.9% zinc.
Highlights from the current drilling include:
- a 4.5 metre interval averaging 192g/t silver, 0.3% copper, 5.3% lead and 8.4% zinc within an 11.7 metre interval averaging 113g/t silver, 0.2% copper, 3.3% lead and 4.9% zinc from drill hole 11CLM-016, and
- a 5.3 metre interval averaging 54g/t silver, 0.2% copper, 1.5% lead and 2.8% zinc from drill hole 11CLM-014
The drilling is part of a systematic program of lateral and down-dip offsets of the Blind zone designed to delineate the full dimension of this previously undiscovered gravel covered target which is outboard of both the main intrusive stock and the area of historic mining and exploration. The Blind zone is the first of several buried targets identified on the property through IP geophysics to be drill tested. The current results demonstrate the increasing possibility for developing mineral resources of potentially economic significance on the property.
Drilling on the Blind zone has now tested a 325 metre strike-length and up to a 280 metre depth, with multiple mineralized intercepts in most drill holes and is open in all directions. Initial drilling has identified a series of monzonitic to felsic intrusions in the host limestone stratigraphy with mineralization occurring on the margins of the intrusions. A preliminary interpretation of the drill data suggests good continuity within two main mineralized horizons (Footwall and Hangingwall) and several secondary mineralized structures which may develop, with further drilling into definable mineralized lenses. Assays from four additional holes completed in the Blind zone are pending.
El Sol Zone
Southern Silver also reported that drill hole 11CLM-015 tested the upper portion of the El Sol target located about 150 metres to the northeast of the Blind zone. The drill intercept is a 115 metre vertical offset from a previously reported deep intercept from drill hole CLM-011 (13.6 metres of 38g/t Ag, 0.1% Cu, 1.6% Pb, and 1.9% Zn). The El Sol zone crops out on surface and has been previously worked by artisan miners. The El Sol zone represents another potentially significant mineralized zone which has received only very limited drill testing.
Exploration Program
Twenty-one drill holes totalling 5466 metres of an anticipated and fully funded 13,000 metre drill program have been completed on the project to date. Ten holes have now been completed on the Blind zone and assays for four of these drill holes are still pending.
Future drilling will target specific occurrences located within the area of historic mining and several targets derived from the recently completed surface IP geophysical program.
An updated drill hole plan is available at www.southernsilverexploration.com.
About the Cerro Las Minitas property
The Cerro Las Minitas property comprises 17 concessions which total 10,980 hectares and an approximate 25 kilometre lineal strike length. The property is located about 70 kilometres to the northeast of the city of Durango, Durango State, Mexico and is accessed easily by road.
Mining has been conducted on the property since colonial times and has identified several types of silver-, lead- and zinc-enriched massive-sulphide pipes, veins and carbonate-replacement deposits (CRDs), as well as mineralized skarns at the margins of a large intrusive body. The Santa Eulalia replacement deposit (45Mt of 310g/t Ag, 7.1% Zn and 8.2% Pb) and the skarn deposit of San Martin (60Mt of 118g/t silver, 0.9% copper and 3.9% zinc) are examples of two major Mexican mines occurring in similar geological environments(1).
The mineralized zones at Cerro Las Minitas have been exploited to depths of 300 metres and over widths of 60 metres.
To view "Figure 1: Drill Hole Distribution and Significant Targets – Cerro Las Minitas" and "Figure 2: Blind Zone Interpretive Drill Plan, 2046 metre level" accompanying this press release, please click on the following link: https://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ssv1019.pdf
Table 1: Summary of Select Composited Assays from the Cerro Las Minitas Project