BEDFORD, June 3, 2021 - Silver Spruce Resources Inc. ("Silver Spruce" or the "Company") (TSXV:SSE) (FRA:S6Q1) is very pleased to announce the commencement of Phase 1 exploration drilling by Layne de Mexico at the El Mezquite Au-Ag property ("El Mezquite" or the "Property").
The first-ever drilling program at El Mezquite should be completed by July with samples submitted to ALS Global in Hermosillo on a weekly basis. Laboratory assay results are anticipated from two to six weeks after submittal and will guide Phase 2 drilling after the summer rainy season. New targets also are developing from our ongoing geological, hyperspectral and LiDAR compilation.
"Drill pad construction will be completed on June 3rd and the drill also will be turning today. With new land access agreements in place and our LiDAR digital topographic base received from Eagle Mapping, we look forward to a successful maiden drilling campaign for El Mezquite," stated Greg Davison, Silver Spruce Vice-President Exploration and Director. "The Phase 1 2,000 metre RC program will utilize eight drill pad locations focused around a 400m x 600m area with elevated precious metal values to 3.41 g/t Au and 387 g/t Ag. Collars were defined by several northeast-trending veins, structural lineaments and oxide/sulphide transitions interpreted from geological mapping, precious metal assays, multi-element geochemistry, epithermal alteration assemblages and coincident 3D IP chargeability anomalies."
Figure 1. Looking south across El Mezquite - TRAX D7 CAT preparing to clear northern drill pad B2 for south and southeasterly directed RC holes targeting northeast-trending gold-bearing structures. Large gossan area, in background, with additional, recently identified, anomalous gold in rock samples.
The geological and construction teams arrived on site May 20th to May 23rd and returned to the Property on June 2nd to carry out the remainder of the pad preparation accompanied by a D7 Caterpillar dozer (see Figure 1) contracted from Constructora Trax, S.A. de C.V. ("TRAX"), a Hermosillo-based construction firm. Layne de Mexico also mobilized the reverse circulation ("RC") rig to the Property on June 2nd.
El Mezquite, a drill-ready precious metal project located 10 km northwest of the town of Tepoca, and 170 km southeast of the capital city of Hermosillo, eastern Sonora, Mexico, is very well situated in terms of logistics for exploration and is located only twelve kilometres northwest of the Nicho deposit currently under mine development by Minera Alamos (see Figure 2).
The environmental permit, required to drill the Property, was received from SEMARNAT (see Press Release April 20, 2021) and granted to the concession holder, Yaque Minerals S.A. de C.V. ("Yaque") by the Mexican Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT).
Figure 2. Location Map for El Mezquite, Jackie and Diamante Concessions. Nicho mine development by Minera Alamos located 10 km SE of El Mezquite.
Exploration Overview
The Company undertook an exploration program including environmental permitting for drilling, geological mapping of geologic structures and lineaments, ortho-mosaic photography, rock geochemical and hyperspectral analysis, data compilation and GIS modeling, and a LiDAR survey. Ground truthing of the Au-Ag system with geological mapping and rock sampling was completed in three campaigns between July 2020 and March 2021. All aspects of the exploration program are conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols for personal safety.
All current samples from the 2020-2021 programs were submitted to ALS Global for gold, multi-element and hyperspectral analysis. Historical samples (>400) from the 2010-2019 programs also were submitted to provide complementary multi-element and hyperspectral data over the Property database. The final batch of assay results remain pending and will be provided shortly upon receipt and interpretation.
LiDAR survey results were received recently and are being updated into the project GIS database.
RC Drill Program
The permit allows for fourteen (14) drill pads over the targets in the northern area of the concession (see Figure 3). Individual holes are expected to reach depths of 100-200 metres to intersect the target intervals.
Land surface agreements were signed recently with three ranchers to facilitate full access to the Phase 1 collar locations.
Figure 3. Location Map of the proposed El Mezquite Phase 1 Drill Collars
Project Background
The 180-hectare Property is easily accessible from Mexican Highway #16 via a southerly-trending unpaved road which traverses through the centre of the known gold mineralization (see Figures 2 and 3). High voltage power lines are positioned along Highway #16.
The El Mezquite Project is located within the west-central portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental Volcanic Complex within the prominent northwest-trending "Sonora Gold Belt" of northern Mexico and parallel to the well-known, precious metals-rich Mojave-Sonora Megashear (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. Location Map of El Mezquite Property and Mines of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Geochemical Analysis, Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Drill chip sample splits will be delivered to the ALS sample preparation facility in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. ALS Global in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a facility certified as ISO 9001:2008 and accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 from the Standards Council of Canada.
The samples will be crushed to 70% passing 2mm (PREP-31) and a split of up to 250 grams pulverized to 85% passing 75 micrometres (-200 mesh). The sample pulps and crushed splits will be transferred internally to ALS Global's North Vancouver analytical facility for gold and multi-element analysis. Pulps (50gram split) will be submitted for Au analysis by Fire Assay with Atomic Absorption finish (Au-AA24). The retained pulps also will be analysed by Four Acid Digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) multi-element analyses (ME-ICP61m) with Hg by Aqua Regia and ICP-MS (Hg-MS42).
Over-limit Au and Ag samples will be analyzed by Fire Assay with Gravimetric Finish Ore Grade (Au-GRA21 or Au-GRA22, Ag-GRA21). Overlimit base metals will be analyzed by Four Acid Digestion followed by Ore Grade Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) for Cu, Pb and Zn (Cu-OG62, Pb-OG62, Zn-OG62).
In-house quality control samples (blanks, standards, duplicates, preparation duplicates) will be inserted into the sample set. ALS Global conducts its own internal QA/QC program of blanks, standards and duplicates, and the results will be provided with the Company sample certificates. The results of the ALS control samples will be reviewed by the Company's QP and evaluated for acceptable tolerances.
All sample and pulp rejects will be stored at ALS Global pending full review of the analytical data, and future selection of pulps for independent third-party check analyses, as requisite.
Qualified Person
Greg Davison, PGeo, Silver Spruce VP Exploration and Director, is the Company's internal Qualified Person for the El Mezquite Project and is responsible for approval of the technical content of this press release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), under TSX guidelines.
About Layne de Mexico
Layne Mineral Services, a Granite Company, is one of the largest providers of drilling services in the Americas, and its Mexican subsidiary, Layne de Mexico, has its equipment and technical team based in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
About Constructora Trax
Constructora Trax offers a comprehensive, high-level response for civil engineering, construction and development in the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Guerrero among others. TRAX has extensive project experience since 1990 specializing in earthworks, demolition, explosives, drilling and blasting, mineral exploitation in both underground and open pit mines, feasibility analysis of mining projects and a wide range of infrastructure projects.
About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company which has signed Definitive Agreements to acquire 100% of the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag project in northern Ontario, and with Colibri Resource Corp. in Sonora, Mexico, to acquire 50% interest in Yaque Minerales S.A de C.V. holding the El Mezquite Au project, a drill-ready precious metal project, and up to 50% interest in each of Colibri's early stage Jackie Au and Diamante Au-Ag projects, with the three properties located from 5 kilometres to 15 kilometres northwest from Minera Alamos's Nicho deposit, respectively. The Company also is pursuing exploration of the drill-ready and fully permitted Pino de Plata Ag project, located 15 kilometres west of Coeur Mining's Palmarejo Mine, in western Chihuahua, Mexico. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. continues to investigate opportunities that Management has identified or that have been presented to the Company for consideration.
Contact:
Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Greg Davison, PGeo, Vice-President Exploration and Director
(250) 521-0444
gdavison@silverspruceresources.com
Michael Kinley, CEO and Director
(902) 402-0388
mkinley@silverspruceresources.com
info@silverspruceresources.com www.silverspruceresources.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements," Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, statements regarding the private placement.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate.
SOURCE: Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
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