Silver Mines well-funded to advance drilling program across Bowdens Silver portfolio in NSW with cash balance of $31.4 million

Silver Mines Ltd (ASX:SVL) (OTCMKTS:SLVMF) (FRA:SWQ) is well placed to fund its aggressive drill program across the substantial Bowdens Silver tenement portfolio in New South Wales, with a cash balance at the end of June recording $31.4 million.  The company is continuing an extensive program of consultation with relevant Government departments, local communities, and other interested stakeholders to examine the potential impacts and benefits of exploration and development across the Bowdens project portfolio.  The consultation processes focus on the current potential mine development area and the wider area where the company is starting or undertaking exploration programs.  June quarter highlights During the June 2021 quarter, ongoing success in its exploration activities at the Bowdens Silver Project was achieved with ‘exceptional’ high-grade silver results returned from drilling during May. Since then, diamond drilling has continued to test the potential for underground mining scenarios at the Bowdens Silver Deposit with a focus on the Northwest High-Grade Zone and more recently on the Aegean Zone. The Aegean Zone is a high-grade vein system located beneath the bulk tonnage ore reserve in the Main Zone area of the Bowdens Deposit. With highly successful drilling results returned during the March and June 2021 quarters, the company decided to substantially expand drilling activity at Bowdens Silver. A 30,000-metre program kicked off during the June 2021 quarter, with four rigs operational on site, and is likely to continue to at least the end of 2021. This campaign is the largest investment in exploration undertaken by Silver Mines at Bowdens Silver in four years. Aegean Zone results Results were received for the second of two drill holes (BD21003) during the June quarter, designed to test for extensions to high-grade mineralisation below the Main Zone – which is now identified as the Aegean Zone. The Aegean Zone is similar in nature to the Northwest High-Grade Zone with predominantly silver mineralisation (relatively low in zinc and lead) hosted in the base of the welded tuff unit in the Rylstone Volcanics. The body is now defined over 150 metres in strike towards the north-northwest, 50 metres wide and has a thickness of 2 to 8 metres. Recent results defining the Aegean Zone include a significant intercept of 8.0 metres at 543 g/t silver from BD21003.   Also received recently is BD21002 from the Aegean Zone, which intersected 8.0 metres at 198 g/t silver from 260 metres and 2.0 metres at 245g/t silver from 295 metres. Looking ahead Silver Mines has four drilling rigs on site undertaking an expanded program of 30,000 metres of diamond drilling, testing targets with plans to define high-grade silver veins and feeder zones outside of the current ore reserve in the north, central and southern parts of the Bowdens Silver deposit. In the south of the deposit for example, limited previous diamond drilling is available to inform an interpretation of vein orientations and textures and, as such, this area will be tested to target higher-grade veins in the near surface. With renewed insight from textural analysis, detailed gravity surveying and VTEM reprocessing, the ongoing drilling at the Northwest High-Grade and Aegean Zones will continue in tandem with targeted diamond drilling of steep feeder veins. This work includes testing eastern extensions to the Northwest Zone that would link to the Aegean Zone. Results of this program are expected to provide the basis for a resource estimation of potential underground mineable resources. Barabolar Project Desktop activities continued throughout the quarter on the Barabolar project, which is around 26 kilometres east of Mudgee in central New South Wales. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned drilling at Barabolar had been put on hold. However, the Barabolar Project remains a compelling target area with a considerable hydrothermal footprint, and Silver Mines is continuing with desktop studies and application of its internal research and development (R&D) technologies in this area as it plans for the recommencement of activities. Tuena Gold Project The Tuena project is 80 kilometres south of the city of Orange in New South Wales, consisting of four exploration licences covering 747 square kilometres. Silver Mines is planning further work in follow up to the Tuena Gold Project drilling program and is also planning an expanded regional exploration program extending from immediately south of the McPhillamy’s Project and across EL 8973, EL 8974, EL 8526 and EL 8975. Research and development At the end of June 2021, the silver exploration company completed its first stage of the R&D program to better map and understand the Permian volcanics and basement Palaeozoic (ordovician and silurian) rocks of its exploration licences. Project work involved developing innovative new technology and processes, which have been applied to geological studies on the Bowdens Silver Deposit and particularly the basement rocks and the search for a porphyry source or feeder structure. Several industry consultants and data collection contractors have also assisted in analysing and providing base datasets for the program and Silver Mines is now in the process of developing the frames of reference and design for its stage 2 R&D programs to migrate technologies developed in the past years to the 3D environment.