VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec. 2, 2013) - South American Silver Corp. (TSX:SAC) (OTCQX:SOHAF) (the "Company" or "SASC") announces that Ralph Fitch has been re-appointed to the position of President and CEO. Mr. Fitch, who is currently Executive Chairman, is the founder of the Company. He takes over the role from Phillip Brodie-Hall who has served as Interim President and CEO since August 2012. Mr. Brodie-Hall had previously served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company, having been appointed to that position in November 2011, following his appointment as Vice President, Project Development in August of 2010. Mr. Brodie-Hall will return to Australia to pursue other business interests. He will continue to provide services to the Company on an as needed basis as a consultant going forward.
On taking up his new appointment, Mr. Fitch said, "Mr. Brodie-Hall came into the role of President and CEO in the immediate aftermath of the Malku Khota expropriation in Bolivia. He has done an excellent job in the role and has led the company very capably through a difficult transitional phase. The Company is well-positioned to extract full value from Malku Khota through its strong, third-party funded arbitration claim against Bolivia and is now very lean and refocused on creating additional shareholder value through exploration and development of its key projects. We are very fortunate to have had the services of Mr. Brodie-Hall and are sorry to see him go. The board and management appreciate his efforts and wish him every success in his future endeavours."
Mr. Fitch went on to say, "The Company looks forward to the meeting of its Shareholders to be held on December 9, to approve the Plan of Arrangement which includes the acquisition of High Desert Gold Corporation ("HDGC"). It is noteworthy that the share prices of both SASC and HDGC have doubled since the announcement of the transaction. I believe this shows that shareholders understand the significant additional value that has been added to the Company by putting the near- term, near surface, likely heap leachable Gold Springs gold-silver deposit, located in the safe and mining friendly jurisdictions within Nevada and Utah, together with the right team and funding. From discussions with shareholders, it is clearly also important that the Plan of Arrangement splits the outstanding shares of SASC into two classes of shares. This allows shareholders who wish to invest in the outcome of the Malku Khota arbitration to purchase the SAC.B shares (Class B) and those who want to focus on the outcome of continuing exploration and development of both the Gold Springs project and the longer term Escalones porphyry copper-gold project in Chile can hold the SAC common shares (Class A)".
The TSX has conditionally approved the Arrangement including the listing of the Class B Shares to be issued thereunder.
If you are a Registered Shareholder of SASC Common Shares please exercise your right to vote by signing and returning form of proxy, that you will have received by mail, not later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on Thursday December 5th, 2013. If you are a Beneficial Owner of SASC Common Shares registered in the name of a broker, custodian, nominee or other intermediary, you should have received materials from your broker, custodian, nominee or other intermediary with instructions on how to vote your shares. If you have not yet received materials related to the meeting from your intermediary, please follow up with them in order to vote your SASC Common Shares before the deadline of 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on Thursday December 5th, 2013.
For further information, including voting procedures, Registered Shareholders and Beneficial Owners of SASC Common Shares are invited to refer to the Management Information Circular with respect to the Plan of Arrangement dated November 7, 2013 available at www.soamsilver.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Outlook
The immediate priorities of the Company for 2013 remain to (i) diligently manage and preserve the Company's cash resources; (ii) complete the acquisition of HDG; (iii) recover fair market value for the Malku Khota project by pursuing international arbitration proceedings against Bolivia at the same time remaining open to a negotiated settlement; and (iv) evaluate the potential of joint venturing future stages of Escalones.
About South American Silver Corp.
South American Silver Corp. is a growth focused mineral exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the large scale Escalones copper-gold project in Chile, the pursuit of new opportunities and the realization of value from the Malku Khota project in Bolivia. The Company's approach to business combines the team's track record of discovery and advancement of large projects, key operational and process expertise, and a focus on community relations and sustainable development. Management has extensive experience in the global exploration and mining industry. Additional information related to South American Silver Corp. is available at www.soamsilver.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Forward-looking statements
Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "will", "new", "potential", "future", "expected", "creating", "realization" and "pursuing" and similar expressions. This News Release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements as the Company's actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors affect the Company's business, or if the Company's estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Therefore, the Company cannot provide any assurance that forward-looking statements will materialize. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, failure to obtain the requisite shareholder, court and stock exchange approvals for the Arrangement or other conditions of the Arrangement not being met or waived, including the continuance of the Company and High Desert Gold under British Columbia corporate law; the receipt by High Desert Gold of a competing or superior proposal for an alternative transaction; uncertainties associated with the arbitration proceeding against Bolivia, including the quantum of damages to be obtained and the realization or collection of the value of any award or settlement; and risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Company's projects, including possible variations in mineral resources or grade, metal prices, availability of sufficient financing to fund further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms, timely receipt of required permits, availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, road access to the property, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and other risks more fully described in the Company's management information circular dated November 7, 2013 and Annual Information Form filed and publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: receipt of all necessary approvals (including shareholder, court and stock exchange approvals) for the Arrangement and satisfaction or waiver of all conditions required by the Arrangement, including the continuance of the Company and High Desert Gold under British Columbia corporate law; the ability of the Company to realize value from its investments in Bolivia, the arbitration proceeding along a timeline consistent with other international arbitrations, the Funder of the arbitration honouring its contractual commitments, the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the timely receipt of required permits and the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Company's projects; and execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for the Company's projects, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.
Subject to applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements in this News Release describe the Company's expectations as of December 2, 2013.