Mineral Resource Update Includes Newly Identified Shallow High-Grade Deposit At Cerro Las Minitas Project

VANCOUVER - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. announced that Kirkham Geosystems Ltd. has completed an update of its independent Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) on the Cerro Las Minitas project in Durango State, Mexico. The updated MRE significantly expands sulphide resources in the La Bocona deposit through the incorporation of the North Felsite zone into the resource model. The revised estimate utilizes the same metal pricing and metallurgical recoveries as the previous 2021 MRE, utilizes a Net Smelter Return (NSR) cut-off, and reports average grades on a AgEq, ZnEq and $US/t NSR basis. The Mineral Resource estimates for the South Skarn, Blind-El Sol Skarn Front and Las Victorias deposits and the small oxide resource initially estimated in 2021, remains unchanged.

The newly modeled mineral resources represent an approximate 63% increase in the size of the La Bocona deposit (on a AgEq basis) and an overall 4.5% increase in the mineral resources of the entire project. The now extended La Bocona deposit projects laterally along the eastern margin of the central intrusion and together with the previously identified South Skarn deposit forms a 1,200 meter long, semi-continuous zone of mineralization featuring three separate higher-grade "shoots" which project to 500m below surface and remain open at depth for further resource expansion.

Vice President of Exploration, Rob Macdonald, said, "This latest resource update represents one more step in the continued evolution of the Cerro La Minitas project through the identification of further shallow, high-grade mineralization which is accretive to the existing mineral resources on the property and adjacent to the planned project infrastructure. Future work will maintain a focus on adding value to the project early in the production time-line for maximum economic benefit. This includes: further engineering upgrades to the project design; a detailed review of the capital expenditures; the addition of gold payables to the cash-flow model; and pre-concentration to improve the project economics. Mineralization remains open at depth, particularly on the eastern side of the Cerro which with further exploration can continue to add high margin mineralization early in the production scenario."

Resource Model Highlights: 1) Compared to the 2021 Mineral Resource estimate, the 2023 update, at a US$60/t NSR cut-off, features: Indicated Mineral Resources: A 0.18Mt increase to 12.5Mt averaging 106g/t Silver, 0.07g/t Gold, 0.2% Copper, 1.3% Lead and 3.3% Zinc (349g/t AgEq; 8.5% ZnEq) equalling a US$130/t NSR value, containing: 42.7 million ounces of silver; 29 thousand ounces of gold; 46 million pounds of copper, 364 million pounds of lead; and 903 million pounds of zinc. This equates to 140 million ounces silver equivalent or 2.3 billion pounds zinc equivalent. 2) Inferred Mineral Resources: A 1.4Mt increase to 21.0Mt averaging 118g/t Silver, 0.1g/t Gold, 0.2% Copper, 1.2% Lead and 2.2% Zinc (311g/t AgEq; 7.6% ZnEq) equalling a US$123/t NSR value containing: 80.0 million ounces of silver; 85 thousand ounces of gold; 101 million pounds of copper, 571 million pounds of lead; and 1,029 million pounds of zinc (1.03 billion pounds Zn). This equates to 210 million ounces silver equivalent or 3.5 billion pounds zinc equivalent.

The new Mineral Resource Estimate incorporates results from 26 additional drill holes totaling 11,801.5 meters which tested the north-western extension the La Bocona deposit. Mineralization was also identified in several holes specifically along the northern margin of the central intrusion that were not incorporated into the new resource update and with further drilling, represent additional expansion opportunities.