GRSL GR Silver Mining Ltd

VANCOUVER, BC, May 8, 2023 /CNW/ - GR Silver Mining Ltd. ("GR Silver Mining" or the "Company") (TSXV: GRSL) (OTCQB: GRSLF) (FRANKFURT: GPE) – today outlined its vision to continue resource growth on its wholly owned Plomosas Silver Project in Sinaloa, Mexico, through the remainder of 2023, including an update on exploration plans and corporate initiatives.

Highlights

• A sound geological model with proven efficacy based on modern exploration has provided a foundation of growth for GR Silver Mining.
• One of the Company's drill rigs has been mobilized to cost-effectively test the highly prospective target contact to the southeast of the SE Area discovery, aiming for further resource expansion while generating continued news flow.
• Based on the recently filed National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report, a 12,500-metre drill program has been recommended pending board approval, largely in the San Marcial Area, stepping out along strike from the mineral resource eastern limit in the SE Area discovery, targeting incremental resource growth.
• GR Silver owns 100% of the Plomosas Project with title and operating permits for core concessions granted under the previous mining law regime. We currently see no immediate impact from changes in Mexican mining legislation.
• Cash management initiatives have commenced to reduce overhead and prioritize funds dedicated to exploration and drilling in Mexico.

Plomosas Silver Project update
On May 4, GR Silver Mining announced (News Release) the filing of the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report (NI 43-101) for the wholly owned, 432 km² Plomosas Silver Project in Sinaloa, Mexico. The full NI 43-101 dated May 3rd, 2023, with an effective date of March 15th, 2023, is entitled "Technical Report and Mineral Resource Update for the Plomosas Project". The report was prepared for GR Silver Mining by Dr. Gilles Arseneau, P.Geo. of ARSENEAU Consulting Services Inc. The resource update resulted from the talent, experience, and hard work of our geological team as they made an important new discovery successfully applying modern exploration on this prospective district-scale project. A total of 75 GR Silver Mining drill holes (10,500 metres) were added to the 52 holes used in the previous resource estimate, totalling 122 holes (19,000 metres) for the San Marcial Area including the SE Area discovery. At the Plomosas Mine Area, a total of 223 drill holes (16,380 metres) were drilled in specific areas of the existing underground historical mine as part of the infill drilling program.

A total of 424 drill holes (60,020 metres) comprises the database supporting the new 3D geological modelling including the SE Area discovery and Resource Estimate. The total Indicated resource grew to 15 million tonnes averaging 117 g/t silver (Ag) for 55 million ounces Ag, or 179 g/t silver equivalent (Ag Eq) for 85 million ounces Ag Eq. The total Inferred resource grew to 9 million tonnes averaging 78 g/t Ag for 22 million ounces Ag, or 171 g/t Ag Eq for 49 million ounces Ag Eq. Relative to the previous resource estimates, Indicated Ag ounces grew 72% while Ag Eq ounces grew 83%. On an Inferred basis, Ag ounces grew 20% while Ag Eq ounces grew 48%. The Plomosas Project is distinct from many other projects in Mexico due to the existence of attractive mineralization at shallow depths with exceptional widths: true widths of the modelled domains average 20 metres at the Plomosas Mine Area and 22 metres at the San Marcial Area. In general, wide mineralized widths allied with shallow depth could indicate amenability to more mechanized mining methods and, consequently, potentially lower mining costs.

The district contains intermediate to low sulphidation epithermal silver and gold mineralization hosted in hydrothermal breccias and veins. The identification of high-grade precious metal bearing veins associated with younger, cross-cutting structures is an important evolution in the understanding of the controls on mineralization in the district. Recent success in exploration and drilling, with an associated increase in drill hit rate, has delineated wide, high-grade, shallow hydrothermal breccias in the San Marcial Area including the SE Area discovery. The Mineral Resource Estimate completed in the SE Area discovery zone covers only 300 m of a total 900 m known strike length (Figure 1), as defined by GR Silver Mining's 2022 exploratory program. There is surface evidence in the additional 600 m strike to the southeast, of potential silver mineralization at shallow depth hosted in wide hydrothermal breccias like those encountered in the SE Area discovery. The Company is also completing extensive detailed mapping and surface sampling in the vicinity of the SE Area discovery, including historical old workings, aiming to define new drilling targets (Figure 2).

The company currently owns 5 drill rigs, which can be cost-effectively deployed to continue drilling in the SE Area discovery and vicinity. The Company has already mobilized one drill rig to conduct initial step-out drilling on the prospective 600 m strike to the southeast of the SE Area discovery, based on attractive preliminary silver and base metal values from the 2023 surface exploration program in 2023 target area. Assays are pending from multiple holes.

In addition to the exploratory drilling along strike to the southeast of the SE Area discovery, the NI 43-101 recommends that GR Silver Mining continue to drill test the extensions of known mineralization at the San Marcial, Plomosas Mine, and San Juan-La Colorada areas, which remain open. A 12,500-metre program has been recommended pending board approval. It is primarily comprised of shallow drilling for resource expansion and exploration with key objectives as follows:

• San Marcial Area, SE Extension
• • 5,000 m of step-out drilling along strike to the southeast, outside of the Mineral Resource in the SE Area discovery zone.
  • GR Silver Mining has identified anomalous silver mineralization in a setting along the target contact consistent with the demonstrably successful geological model.
• San Marcial Area, Resource Extension and Infill Drilling
• • 5,000 m of infill drilling aiming to upgrade resources from the Inferred category to the Indicated category.
• Plomosas Mine Area, Incremental Infill Drilling
• • 2,500 m of short underground drilling at the Plomosas Mine Area aiming to continue to increase the silver grades at the lower levels of the historic mine.
• Early-Stage Exploration and Drill Target Generation
• • The area to the south of San Marcial has received little exploration despite evidence of historical and artisanal mining activities.
  • Advance the surface exploration program with geological mapping, lithogeochemical sampling in the target contact zone and around intrusive bodies known to be associated with positive geophysical anomalies. Lithogeochemical and geological mapping programs are time- and cost-effective means to efficiently test large unexplored areas of the Plomosas Project that aim to generate new targets for future exploratory drilling.

Over the next few months, it is management's goal to conduct several small, cost-effective technical studies to ascertain economic parameters in advance of a potential Preliminary Economic Assessment that may be initiated in the future. The Plomosas Project features several competitive advantages including road access, power direct to site, land ownership, 7.4 km of underground development in excellent condition, and existing mining permits and long-term ejido agreements. These features suggest the potential for lower costs, shorter timelines, and mitigated risks relative to comparable greenfields projects. 

Legislative Changes in Mexico
The Mexican Senate has approved modifications to its mining law, which will likely receive final approval from authorities in the near term. The mining reforms will then be enacted in new policies and regulations, the exact impacts of which are not clear at this time. GR Silver Mining remains in an attractive position under the modified legislation in that it wholly owns concessions in the Rosario Mining District for which titles and operating permits are held. GR Silver Mining, since its foundation, has nurtured excellent relationships with in-country stakeholders, enjoying recent success in the granting of permits from Mexican authorities and securing long term agreements with neighbouring ejidos. GR Silver Mining's track record of local employment and the achievement of high health, safety, and environmental standards has placed it as a respected and well-established company in Sinaloa, Mexico. The Plomosas Project is at an advanced stage with historical mine operations, including permits and infrastructure for potential development of a modern mining operation. Nonetheless, these modifications to mining legislation require attention and the Company will continue to monitor the situation closely. 

Cash Management
Over the past year, GR Silver Mining committed to the delivery of a resource update for the Plomosas Project by the end of March. The Company successfully delivered the resource update (see New Release, dated March 20, 2023) on time and exceeding the expectations published by covering analysts. Further, the resource estimate increment was delivered efficiently and cost-effectively at an attractive exploration cost of US$0.23/oz Ag Eq. Despite difficult markets, GR Silver Mining's management adhered to its commitment to delivering an important resource estimate update on time, requiring significant funding and commensurate dilution.

Despite its commitment to deliver the resource update, GR Silver Mining's management also embarked on a cost reduction program last year. The staff head count in Mexico has been reduced by 38% since the beginning of last year. The number of vehicles used in support of field activities has been reduced by 50% over the same period. Head office and overhead costs are being reduced with executives taking reduced cash salaries and directors waiving cash fees. There is a growing commitment to address the burden of mining concession fee arears over the year ahead while maximizing exploration expenditures as outlined above. The Company's non-core concessions of over 300 km² (Figure 2) remain available for partnership or outright purchase and outreach has been made to encourage potential monetization. The recent $3.03 million non-brokered private placement that closed February 16 (see News Release) bought the Company the ability to deliver the promised resource and provided some flexibility in timing for further financing to meet our objectives for the remainder of 2023.

The Company has had several inquiries from independent parties interested in facilitating small-scale mining at the former Plomosas Mine at no cost to the Company, with the processing of mined material at third-party mills in the region. Given the state of the capital markets at present, the Company's board of directors has instructed management to explore this option based on minimizing risk regarding financial, technical, environmental, health and safety exposure. There are no guarantees that discussions with these parties, subject to negotiating acceptable terms and conditions, as well as the entering into of definitive documentation, will come to fruition.

About the Plomosas Project
The Plomosas Project, including the recent high-grade silver SE Area discovery in the San Marcial Area, is an emerging high-grade silver district located in southern Sinaloa, Mexico. The 43,187 ha Plomosas Project includes past-producing historical mining sites benefiting from previous mine infrastructure, road access and existing permits. The district contains intermediate to low sulphidation epithermal silver and gold mineralization hosted in hydrothermal breccias and veins. Recent success in exploration and drilling has delineated wide, high-grade, shallow hydrothermal breccias in the San Marcial Area, including the SE Area discovery, where initial drilling incorporated in the updated resource estimation for the Plomosas Project unveils an exploration opportunity for continuous resource growth.

QA/QC Procedures
The Company has implemented QA/QC procedures which include insertion of blank, duplicate and standard samples in all sample lots sent to SGS de México, S.A. de C.V. laboratory facilities in Durango, Mexico, for sample preparation and assaying. For every sample with results above Ag >100 ppm (over limits), these samples are submitted directly by SGS de Mexico to SGS Canada Inc. at Burnaby, BC. The analytical methods are four acid Digest and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry with Lead Fusion Fire Assay with gravimetric finish for silver above over limits. For gold assays the analytical methods are Lead Fusion and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Lead Fusion Fire Assay and gravimetric finish for gold above over limits (>10 ppm).

Qualified Person
The Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is Marcio Fonseca, P. Geo., President & COO for GR Silver Mining, who has reviewed and approved its contents.

About GR Silver Mining Ltd.
GR Silver Mining is a Canadian-based, Mexico-focused junior mineral exploration company engaged in cost-effective silver-gold resource expansion on its 100%-owned assets, located on the eastern edge of the Rosario Mining District, in the southeast of Sinaloa State, Mexico. GR Silver Mining controls 100% of two past producer precious metal underground and open pit mines, within the expanded Plomosas Project, which includes the integrated San Marcial Area and La Trinidad acquisition. In conjunction with a portfolio of early to advanced stage exploration targets, the Company holds 734 km² of concessions containing several structural corridors totaling over 75 km in strike length.

GR Silver Mining Ltd.
Eric Zaunscherb
Chair & CEO               

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Neither the 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 press release.      

SOURCE GR Silver Mining Ltd.