Vancouver, British Columbia / December 5, 2017 / JMN Wire / Arizona Silver Exploration Inc. (the "Company") (TSX-V: AZS) announces the results of a test hole drilled into the western IP anomaly at the Ramsey Silver Project located in La Paz County, Arizona.
Drill Results
Hole R1713 was drilled vertically to test the western IP anomaly on IP line 1. The hole was located approximately 800 metres west of the Ramsey mine workings and was targeted to test a geophysical model that suggested the source of the IP anomaly was 100 metres below the surface and had modelled dimensions of roughly 500 metres cubed.
“The presence of the silver signature in this hole this far from the Ramsey Mine and adjacent drill holes is an indication of the strength of the mineral system we are chasing at Ramsey. The vector of increasing potential to the east is clear, and that is the direction we are heading with our Q1 2018 drilling program,” stated Greg Hahn, President and CEO.
The hole penetrated 15 metres of alluvial cover and then went through 110 metres of iron-rich Cretaceous meta-sediments before encountering a significant fault (detachment fault?) which separates the overlying meta-sediments from an underlying granitic intrusion. The granitic intrusion is strongly altered with chlorite-calcite-oxidized pyrite (propylitic assemblage) and contains zones of strong silica alteration and quartz veining. The hole was bottomed in propylitic granite at 213 metres depth. This granite is not exposed anywhere around the Ramsey Mine property, and where it is exposed 5-7 kilometres to the west it is not as strongly altered as in drill hole R1713.
Assay results show a zone of anomalous silver ranging up to 10 gpt Ag in the interval 375-440 feet (114-134 metres) averaging 5.2 gpt Ag. This mineralized interval straddles the detachment fault. The presence of a strong silver anomaly across the detachment fault 800 metres west of the mineralization exposed in the Ramsey mine workings and peripheral drill holes is an indication of how strong the mineral system is, and further supports a vector of increasing potential to the east where we have a strong surface geochemical anomaly associated with a multi-lithic breccia (diatreme?), hydrodynamic fracturing, and argillic alteration of the host rhyolite, and where we intend to drill in the first quarter of 2018. There is no appreciable gold associated with the banded silica intervals in hole R1713.
The results of R1713 do not adequately explain the IP anomaly, as very little fresh pyrite or other sulphide minerals were identified in the drill cuttings. Successful drilling in 2017 has demonstrated the Ramsey silver system is wide open in three directions, South, East, and North of the original Ramsey Mine. The silver mineralization is close to the surface, rendering it possibly amenable to open pit development. The 2018 drill program will start with stepping out further than ever before (as much as 300 metres. Our drilling program continues to head in the direction of the silver-rich Creosote vein, which returned a grade of 877 gpt Ag from a sample in March 2017. We are funded for the initial 2018 drill program and look forward to continuing to expand the dimensions of the silver mineralized zone. So far every drill hole into the Ramsey Mine target has hit silver mineralization, giving us a record of 11 hits for 11 holes on Ramsey target. We encourage you to visit our website at www.arizonasilverexploration.com for updated information, images, and videos.
QA/QC and Analytical Procedures
All drill cuttings were transported under strict chain of custody by ALS Minerals personnel to the ALS Minerals laboratory in Tucson Arizona, where samples were dried and crushed to 70% passing 2 mm, a 250 gram split is taken and pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns, subject to a four-acid digestion, and then analyzed by ICP/MS for a 48-element package including silver, lead, and zinc. Samples over 100 ppm silver and over 10,000 ppm lead or zinc are re-analyzed using ICP for higher concentration levels. Selected intervals with high silver values will be re-submitted for 1-assay ton fire assays for gold.
Greg Hahn, President and CEO and a Certified Professional Geologist (#7122) is the Qualified Person under NI43-101 responsible for preparing and reviewing the data contained in this press release.
