Silver Standard hits high grade in Bolivia

A 40-hole drill program at El Asiento, a silver-gold property in southwestern Bolivia, has returned positive results for Silver Standard (SSO-V).

The 4,219-Metre program was drilled to test targets in the Cerillos and Asiento zones. The best results were from Cerillos, where drilling outlined one steeply dipping and one flat-lying structure of high-grade silver-gold mineralization.

At the Cerillos zone, the near-Vertical No. 3 structure was defined by holes 3, 20, 35 and 36 over a strike length of 120 metres and to a depth of 150 metres. The vein, which intersected intervals of between 0.5 and 4 metres, is open to the south and at depth.

The flat-lying No. 9 structure averages 3.5 metres in thickness and is open to the west and southwest. Silver Standard hopes to extend both structures.

Hole 35, drilled at Cerillos, returned 0.5 metre of 1,044 grams silver and 4.8 grams gold per tonne; hole 36 intersected 2.8 metres grading 92.8 grams silver and 0.4 gram gold, as well as 13 metres of 46.7 grams silver and 0.4 gram gold (including 0.8 metre of 300.6 grams silver and 4.6 grams gold); hole 37 intersected 2.5 metres grading 150.2 grams silver and 0.1 gram gold; and hole 40 returned 14.5 grams gold and 73.6 grams silver over 0.3 metre.

Drilling of the Barrero structure, within the Asiento zone, intersected mineralization over a strike length of 100 metres.

Hole 30 at Asiento intersected 1.5 metres grading 307.7 grams silver and 0.7 gram gold (deeper down, the same hole found 2 metres of 304.2 grams silver and 0.2 gram gold, plus 2 metres of 131.8 grams silver and 0.8 gram gold); hole 32 returned 4 metres of 114.4 grams silver and 0.1 gram gold; hole 33 intersected 1.5 metres of 184.2 grams silver; and hole 34 returned 1.95 metres grading 520.7 grams silver and 2.8 grams gold.

The drilling was part of a third phase of exploration. Since acquiring the property in May 1996, the company has spent $2.3 million on sampling, trenching and drilling.

Following the recent closing of a $3.4-Million private placement, Silver Standard has more than $15 million in working capital and 16 million shares outstanding, fully diluted.

Teck (TEK-T) is the company’s largest shareholder, with 20% of all shares.