AbraSilver Commences 20,000 Metre Drilling Campaign at Diablillos Project

(TheNewswire)

Toronto - May 06, 2024 -TheNewswire:AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSX.V:ABRA; OTCQX: ABBRF)("AbraSilver" or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has commenced a20,000-metre (“m”) diamond drilling program on its wholly-ownedDiablillos property in Salta Province, Argentina (“Diablillos” orthe “Project”).  This milestone marks the beginning of afully-funded, extensive exploration campaign aimed at furtherdelineating and expanding the Project’s high-grade silver-goldmineralization.

The Phase IV drill program will prioritize target areaswith known mineralization as well as exploring newly identifiedprospective exploration targets within the broader Diablillos landpackage.  Drilling activities have now commenced with one drill rigand two additional drill rigs are expected to arrive at the Projectwithin the next few weeks.  

Key Highlights

• The fully-funded Phase IV exploration campaign willconsist of three diamond drill rigs, drilling a total of 20,000 m, andis expected to be completed by January 2025  

• The drill program will be split approximately 75%/25%between the following respective areas: 

  • The existing epithermal district, including the Oculto,JAC, Fantasma, Alpaca and Cerro Bayo deposits;  

  • The prospective porphyry complex located approximately4 km northeast of Oculto and the newly identified Jasperoid target,both of which remain largely untested to date. 

John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, “We arethrilled to re-commence drilling activities targeting the significantuntested exploration potential across our Diablillos project. Following the recently announced positive Pre-Feasibility Study andthe exceptional results from our prior exploration campaigns, thisnext phase of drilling will aim to identify multiple new mineralizedzones beyond the existing Oculto and JAC deposits.  We look forwardto providing regular updates on our exploration progress, and weexpect 2024 to be a very catalyst-rich and value adding year forAbraSilver.”  

Dave O’Connor, Chief Geologist, commented, “We arevery excited to be ramping up our exploration activities at site. Our Phase IV drill campaign will focus on high-priority targetswhich include the Alpaca trend, the Oculto-Fantasma trend, and theOculto-JAC connection, each of which has the potential to addadditional high-grade silver mineralization. Additionally, we will betesting new regional step-out targets that have had very limitedhistorical drilling to date, and represent blue-sky upsidepotential.”  

Fully-Funded Phase IV DrillCampaign – High-Priority Exploration Targets

The 20,000 m Phase IV drill program will focus on thefollowing exploration targets:

Epithermal District:   Approximately 75% of the drill program will focus onexpanding the existing Mineral Resourceestimates near the main Oculto deposit, and on identifying additionalnear-surface high-grade silver-gold oxide mineralization.

• Oculto Northeast Zone: Broadspaced drilling within the conceptual Oculto open pit and itsnortheast extensions in 2023 intersected silver and goldmineralization which was not included in the latest Mineral Resourceestimate. This new mineralized zone represents a high-prioritytarget. 

• Fantasma:Historical drilling atFantasma outlined a Mineral Resource estimate which is locatedapproximately 1 km west-northwest of the Oculto deposit.  Recentintercepts suggest that silver mineralization continues from Ocultotowards the Fantasma zone and that these zones may connect.      

• Alpaca: Recent drilling in thisarea has uncovered a trend of silver mineralization perpendicular tothe JAC zone which is believed to connect the Alpaca target to thehigh-grade JAC zone. 

• Laderas: Drilling is planned toexplore for extensions of the existing gold dominant Mineral Resourcehistorically outlined in this area which is immediately north of theconceptual Oculto open pit boundary. 

• Cerro Bayo: A recentreinterpretation of geology has emphasised the possibility of shallowmineralisation in the Cerro Bayo area, which is located approximately500 m east of the Oculto open pit boundary.  A previous geochemicalsurvey obtained highly anomalous gold results and a historical drillhole intersected shallow gold mineralization. 

New Regional Step-out Targets:   Approximately 25% of the drill program will be focused on newregional step-out exploration targets that remain largely untested todate. These targets include the substantial alteration zone andassociated anomalous gold in historical shallow holes drilled at CerroViejo and the newly defined Jasperoid magnetic target (Figure1).

• Porphyry Complex (Cerro Blanco / Cerro Viejo):The Cerro Blanco / Cerro Viejo area is locatedapproximately 3.5 km northeast of Oculto. Following an electromagneticsurvey the Company plans to drill select deeper holes to explore foran underlying porphyry system. Gold mineralization in this area istypically associated with pyrite in quartz-sericite alteration, whichis interpreted as potentially representing the upper part of amineralised porphyry system. 

• Jasperoid Target: This is anelongated zone of low magnetic response which was identified in thegeophysical survey conducted in late 2023. The zone follows the trendof a major north-south regional fault and a nearby historical drillhole intersected anomalous gold in vuggy silica.  The geology of thiszone makes it is a high priority target for epithermal gold-silvermineralisation. 

Figure 1 – Phase IV Exploration Key Target Areas

Click Image To View Full Size

About Diablillos

The Diablillos property is located within the Punaregion of Argentina, in the southern part of Salta Province along theborder with Catamarca Province, approximately 160 km southwest of thecity of Salta and 375 km northwest of the city of Catamarca. Theproperty comprises 15 contiguous and overlapping mineral concessionsacquired by AbraSilver in 2016.  The project site has good year-roundaccessibility through a 150 km paved road, followed by awell-maintained gravel road, shared with other adjacentprojects.

There are several known mineral zones on the Diablillosproperty. Approximately 150,000 m have been drilled to date, which hasoutlined multiple occurrences of epithermal silver-gold mineralizationat Oculto, JAC, Laderas and Fantasma.  Additionally, severalsatellites zones of silver/gold-rich epithermal mineralization have been located within a 500 m to 1.5 kmdistance surrounding the Oculto/JAC epicentre.

Comparatively nearby examples of high sulphidationepithermal deposits include: La Coipa (Chile); Yanacocha (Peru); ElIndio (Chile); Lagunas Nortes/Alto Chicama (Peru) Veladero(Argentina); and Filo del Sol (Argentina).

Table 1 shows the Measured and Indicated MineralResources at Diablillos.

 Table 1 – Diablillos Mineral ResourceEstimate

• Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have notdemonstrated economic viability. 

• The formula for calculating AgEq is as follows: SilverEq oz = Silver oz + Gold oz x (Gold Price/Silver Price) x (GoldRecovery/Silver Recovery). 

• The Mineral Resource model was populated using OrdinaryKriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model andmineralized zones defined by wireframed solids, which are acombination of lithology and alteration domains.  The 1m compositegrades were capped where appropriate. 

• The Mineral Resource is reported inside a conceptualWhittle open pit shell derived using US$ 24.00/oz Ag price, US$1,850/oz Au price, 82.6% process recovery for Ag, and 86.5% processrecovery for Au. The constraining open pit optimization parametersused were US $1.94/t mining cost, US $22.97/t processing cost, US$3.32/t GA cost, and average 51-degree open pit slopes. 

• The MRE has been categorized in accordance with the CIMDefinition Standards (CIM, 2014). 

• A Net Value per block ("NVB") cut-off wasused to constrain the Mineral Resource with the conceptual open pit.The NVB was based on "Benefits = Revenue-Cost" beingpositive, where, Revenue = [(Au Selling Price (US$/oz) - Au SellingCost (US$/oz)) x (Au grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Au Recovery (%)] + [(AgSelling Price (US$/oz) - Ag Selling Cost (US$/oz)) x (Ag grade(g/t)/31.1035)) x Ag Recovery (%)] and Cost = Mining Cost (US$/t) + Process Cost (US$/t) + Transport Cost (US$/t)+ GA Cost (US$/t) + [Royalty Cost (%) x Revenue]. The NVB methodresulted in an average equivalent cut-off grade of approximately 45g/tAgEq.  

• The Mineral Resource is sub-horizontal withsub-vertical feeders and a reasonable prospect for eventual economicextraction by open pit methods. 

• In-situ bulk density was assigned to each model domain,according to samples averages of each lithology domain, separated byalteration zones and subset by oxidation. 

• All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes and ouncesof contained gold are troy ounces. 

• Mining recovery and dilution factors have not beenapplied to the Mineral Resource estimates. 

• The Mineral Resource was estimated by Mr. Luis RodrigoPeralta, B.Sc., FAusIMM CP (Geo), Independent Qualified Person underNational Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for MineralProjects ("NI 43-101"). 

• Mr. Peralta is not aware of any environmental,permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, orother relevant issues that could materially affect the potentialdevelopment of the Mineral Resource. 

• All figures are rounded to reflect the relativeaccuracy of the estimates. Minor discrepancies may occur due torounding to appropriate significant figures. 

Technical information in this news release has beenapproved by David O’Connor P.Geo., ChiefGeologist for AbraSilver, and a Qualified Person as defined byNational Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for MineralProjects.

About AbraSilver

AbraSilver is an advanced-stage exploration companyfocused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-goldproject in the mining-friendly Salta province of Argentina.  Thecurrent Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillosconsists of 42.3 Mt grading 91 g/t Ag and 0.81 g/t Au, containingapproximately 124 Moz silver and 1.1 Moz gold, with significantfurther exploration upside potential. In addition, the Company hasentered into an earn-in option and joint venture agreement with Teckon the La Coipita project, whereby Teck can fund up to US$20 millionin exploration expenditures and make certain other payments to earn upto an 80% interest. AbraSilver is listed on the TSX-V under the symbol“ABRA” and in the U.S. on the OTCQX under the symbol“ABBRF.”

For further information please visit the AbraSilverResource website at www.abrasilver.com, ourLinkedIn page at AbraSilver ResourceCorp., and follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/abrasilver

Alternatively please contact:

John Miniotis, President and CEO

info@abrasilver.com

Tel: +1 416-306-8334

Cautionary Statements

This news release includes certain"forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadiansecurities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarilybased upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, whileconsidered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks,uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual resultsand future events to differ materially from those expressed or impliedby such forward-looking statements. All statements that address futureplans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes,expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-lookinginformation.  There can be no assurance that such statements willprove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differmaterially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keepin mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in theCompany’s disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadiansecurities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.  Therisk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents couldcause actual events or results to differ materially from thosedescribed in any forward-looking information. The Company disclaimsany intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-lookingstatements, whether as a result of new information, future events orotherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its RegulationServices Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXVenture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracyof this news release.

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