Silver Standard cuts wide mineralized zone at Pitarrilla (October 16, 2006)

Vancouver — Drilling by Silver Standard Resources (SSO-T, SSRI-Q) on its Pitarrilla project, in Durango state, Mexico, intersected a wide mineralized section in a stepout hole on the Breccia Ridge zone.

Hole PD-157 returned 601 metres (from 225 metres depth) grading 86.7 grams silver per tonne, 1.6% zinc and 0.72% lead, including three separate higher-grade portions. The higher-grade intervals included 26.1 metres (from 391.7 metres depth) of 329.8 grams silver, 4.9% zinc and 1.8% lead, 30.2 metres (from 499 metres) averaging 291.5 grams silver, 5.9% zinc and 2.2% lead, and 30.4 metres (from 771 metres) of 214.2 grams silver, 5.9% zinc and 3.5% lead.

The stepout hole was collared about 70 metres northeast of high-grade hole PD-152, which returned 163 metres of 230 grams silver in mid-August, including a 15.7-metre section averaging 1,706 grams silver per tonne, 6.9% zinc, 6% lead and 5.6% copper.

Recent drilling, including PD-157, has defined a 350 by 250-metre rectangular section of high-grade silver mineralization, extending to significant depths in the Breccia Ridge zone. Silver Standard is adding a fourth rig to its drill program to test the extension potential of the zone.

Silver mineralization at Pitarrilla is associated with a rhyolite flow-dome complex capping a 600-metre-thick sequence of Tertiary volcanics that unconformably overlies a Cretaceous-aged assemblage of folded marine sediments. The principal host for the silver is a series of rhyolite intrusive bodies, some more than 100 metres thick, containing mostly disseminated metals.

Five main mineralized zones have been identified at Pitarrilla that host a measured and indicated resource of 62.8 million tonnes grading 115 grams silver, using a 40-gram silver cutoff, for about 234.3 million oz. silver. Further inferred resources of 64.4 million tonnes at 92.7 grams silver (192.1 million contained ounces silver) have also been tabled in the deposit.

Pitarrilla is one of the larger deposits within Silver Standard’s portfolio of projects, located in Argentina, Australia, Mexico, the United States, Chile, Peru and Canada. In total, the projects contain over 107 million oz. silver in the proven and probable reserve category plus more than 603 million oz. silver in measured and indicated resources with a further 584 million oz. in inferred resources.

The company posts a $1.5-billion market capitalization based on its 61.4 million shares outstanding and recent $24.66-per-share price level. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $14.23-$29.80.