Same Hole Returns 13 m at 307 g/t Ag; Expanding High-Grade Gold & Silver Mineralization East of Oculto

Toronto – May 20, 2025 – TheNewswire – AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSX: ABRA; OTCQX: ABBRF) (“AbraSilver” or the “Company”) is pleased to report its best-ever gold intercept, on a grade-thickness basis, from ongoing drilling at its wholly-owned Diablillos project in Argentina (the “Project”).  

The standout intercepts come from step-out hole, DDH 25-024, which encountered exceptional gold and silver mineralization just beyond the previously defined eastern margin of the conceptual Oculto open pit. These results underscore the strong potential for continued growth of high-grade mineralization east of Oculto. This area is now a further high-priority exploration target as part of the ongoing Phase V drill program.    Highlights include:

• 31.0 metres (“m”) grading 10.0 g/t gold and 16 g/t silver, including:  

  • 6.0 m at 41.9 g/t gold and 22 g/t silver 

• Additionally, the same hole returned a separate interval of 13.0 m grading 307 g/t silver from 216 m depth and within the conceptual open pit, including: 

  • 8.0 m at 446 g/t silver in the upper silver-enriched zone 

John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, “The spectacular intercepts from hole DDH 25-024 clearly demonstrate the strong potential to expand high-grade mineralization well beyond the existing Oculto deposit.  With three drill rigs now active across the broader Diablillos land package, we are entering another exciting new phase of exploration growth, aimed at unlocking substantial value for our shareholders, while in parallel with our ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study.”

Table 1 – Summary of Key Drill Intercepts

Intercepts greater than 2,000 gram-metres AgEq shown in bold text:

Drill Hole	Area		From (m)	To (m)	Type	Interval (m)	Ag g/t	Au g/t	AgEq1 g/t
DDH-25-021		Sombra	26.0	31.0	Oxides	5.0	92.5	-	92.5
DDH-25-023		Sombra	32.0	34.0	Oxides	2.0	15.7	1.58	147.6
			49.0	50.0	Oxides	1.0	24.6	0.40	58.0
DDH-25-024		Oculto East	88.0	97.0	Oxides	9.0	-	0.27	22.5
			177.0	183.0	Oxides	6.0	50.5	-	50.5
			192.0	193.0	Oxides	1.0	5.7	0.69	63.3
			216.0	229.0	Oxides	13.0	306.5	-	306.5
		Including	217.0	225.0	Oxides	8.0	446.3	-	446.3
			233.0	234.0	Oxides	1.0	10.0	1.07	99.3
			244.0	245.0	Oxides	1.0	16.4	2.55	229.2
			258.0	259.0	Oxides	1.0	29.0	0.80	95.8
			324.0	355.0	Oxides	31.0	16.2	9.96	847.6
		Including	324.0	330.0	Oxides	6.0	21.6	41.89	3,518.1
			367.0	379.0	Oxides	12.0	6.8	1.30	115.3
			385.0	386.0	Oxides	1.0	6.9	0.78	72.0
			392.0	416.0	Oxides	24.0	11.6	0.81	79.2
			422.0	423.0	Oxides	1.0	7.8	0.88	81.3

       Note: All results in this news release are rounded. Assays are uncut and undiluted. Widths are drilled widths, not true widths.  True widths are unknown.

          1AgEq based on 83.5(Ag):1(Au) calculated using long-term prices of US$25.50/oz Ag and US$2,050/oz Au, and 83.6% process recovery for Ag, and 86.8% process recovery for Au as demonstrated in the Company’s Pre-Feasibility Study for Diablillos with an effective date of January 17, 2025, using formula:  AgEq g/t = Ag g/t + Au g/t x (Gold Price/Silver Price) x (Gold Recovery/Silver Recovery).  

Dave O’Connor, Chief Geologist, commented, “This extremely impressive hole confirms that the deeper gold zone extends beyond the known mineralized boundary at Oculto and that the upper silver zone may extend farther than previously defined.  Our team will immediately commence a systematic drilling program in the area to follow-up on this robust initial result and better define the extent of this newly identified high-grade extension.”  

Figure 1 –Plan View of Drill Results  

Click Image To View Full Size

Oculto East and Northeast Target

The Oculto East target, located immediately beyond the eastern edge of the conceptual open pit, has now emerged as a highly promising zone for high-grade mineralization.   Hole DDH 25-024 confirms the extension of both the silver-enriched horizon and the deeper high-grade gold zone into this area.  The intercept of 31 m at 10.0 g/t gold represents the highest gold grade-thickness drilled to date at Diablillos and there is potential for further extensions to the east and northeast of the Oculto open pit margin.  

Mineralization at Oculto East appears structurally controlled and hosted in the same breccia unit that dominates the main Oculto deposit.  The high-grade gold zone starts at a down-hole depth of 324 m, but topographically it is much shallower (approximately 200 m vertically from surface). Drilling is planned to test the extent of both the shallower, high-grade silver and gold zones.

Follow-up drilling at Oculto East will commence shortly to further define this high-grade extension and assess its potential contribution to future development scenarios.  

Figure 2 – Section Through Hole DDH 25-024 Looking Northeast

Click Image To View Full Size

Note: Widths are drilled widths, not true widths.  True widths are unknown.

Collar Data

Hole Number	UTM Coordinates		Elevation	Azimuth	Dip	Depth (m)	Area
DDH 25-021	720404	7198677	4,240	0	-60	101.0	Sombra
DDH 25-023	720492	7198707	4,251	0	-60	110.5	Sombra
DDH 25-024	720877	7199436	4,432	315	-60	524.5	Oculto East

About Diablillos

The Diablillos property is located within the Puna region of Argentina, in the southern part of Salta Province along the border with Catamarca Province, approximately 160 km southwest of the city of Salta and 375 km northwest of the city of Catamarca. The property comprises 15 contiguous and overlapping mineral concessions acquired by AbraSilver in 2016.  The project site has good year-round accessibility through a 150 km paved road, followed by a well-maintained gravel road, shared with other adjacent projects.

There are several known mineral zones on the Diablillos property. Approximately 150,000 m have been drilled to date, which has outlined multiple occurrences of epithermal silver-gold mineralization at Oculto, JAC, Laderas and Fantasma. Several satellite zones of silver/gold-rich epithermal mineralization have been located within a 500 m to 1.5 km distance surrounding the Oculto/JAC epicentre.  In addition, a large porphyry complex is centered approximately 4 km northeast of Oculto which includes outcropping porphyry intrusions within a major zone of alteration, and associated gold rich epithermal mineralization.

Comparatively nearby examples of high sulphidation epithermal deposits include: La Coipa (Chile); Yanacocha (Peru); El Indio (Chile); Lagunas Nortes/Alto Chicama (Peru) Veladero (Argentina); and Filo del Sol (Argentina). The most recent Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillos is shown in Table 2:

Table 2 - Diablillos Mineral Reserve Estimate – As of March 07, 2024

 

Category	Tonnage (000 t)	Ag (g/t)	Au (g/t)	Contained Ag (000 oz Ag)	Contained Au (000 oz Au)
Proven	12,364	118	0.86	46,796	341
Probable	29,930	80	0.80	76,684	766
Proven & Probable	42,294	91	0.81	123,480	1,107

Notes for Mineral Reserve Estimate:

1. Mineral reserves have an effective date of March 7th, 2024.  

2. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserve Estimate is Mr. Miguel Fuentealba, P.Eng. 

3. The mineral reserves were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Reserves, as prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council. 

4. The mineral reserves were based on a pit design which in turn aligned with an ultimate pit shell selected from a Whittle TM pit optimization exercise. Key inputs for that process are: 

• Metal prices of USD $1,750/oz Au; USD $22.50/oz Ag

• Variable Mining cost by bench and material type. Average costs are USD $1.94/t for all lithologies except for “cover”, Cover mining cost of USD 1.73/t, respectively.

• Processing costs for all zone, USD $22.97/t. • Infrastructure and G&A cost of USD 3.32/t. • Pit average slope angles varying from 37° to 60° depending on the geotechnical domain. • The average recovery is estimated to be 82.8% for silver and 86.6% for gold.

1. The Mineral Reserve Estimate has been categorized in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (CIM, 2014). 

2. A Net Value per block (“NVB”) cut-off was used to constrain the Mineral Reserve with the reserve pit 2shell. The NVB was based on "Benefits = Revenue-Cost" being positive, where, Revenue = [(Au Selling Price (USD/oz) - Au Selling Cost (USD/oz)) x (Au grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Au Recovery (%)] + [(Ag Selling Price (USD/oz) - Ag Selling Cost (USD/oz)) x (Ag grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Ag Recovery (%)] and Cost = Process Cost (USD/t) + Transport Cost (USD/t) + GA Cost (USD/t) + [Royalty Cost (%) x Revenue]. The NVB method resulted in an average equivalent cut-off grade of approximately 46g/t AgEq.  

3. In-situ bulk density was read from the block model, assigned previously to each model domain during the process of mineral resource estimation, according to samples averages of each lithology domain, separated by alteration zones and subset by oxidation. 

4. All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes and ounces of contained gold and silver are troy ounces. 

5. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures. 

QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols

AbraSilver applies industry standard exploration methodologies and techniques, and all drill core samples are collected under the supervision of the Company’s geologists in accordance with industry practices. Drill core is transported from the drill platform to the logging facility where drill data is compared and verified with the core in the trays. Thereafter, it is logged, photographed, and split by diamond saw prior to being sampled. Samples are then bagged, and quality control materials are inserted at regular intervals; these include blanks and certified reference materials as well as duplicate core samples. Groups of samples are then placed in large bags which are sealed with numbered tags in order to maintain a chain-of-custody during the transport of the samples from the project site to the laboratory.

All samples are sent to the Alex Stewart sample preparation facility in Jujuy, then the sample pulps are sent to the Alex Stewart laboratory in Mendoza where they are analyzed. All samples are analyzed using a multi-element technique consisting of a four-acid digestion followed by ICP/AES detection, and gold is analyzed by 50g Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Silver results greater than 100g/t are reanalyzed using four acid digestion with an ore grade AAS finish.

  

Qualified Persons

David O’Connor P.Geo., Chief Geologist for AbraSilver, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About AbraSilver

AbraSilver is an advanced-stage exploration company focused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-gold project in the mining-friendly Salta and Catamarca provinces of Argentina.  The current Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillos, from a recently completed Pre-Feasibility Study, consists of 42.3 Mt grading 91 g/t Ag and 0.81 g/t Au, containing approximately 124 Moz silver and 1.1 Moz gold, with significant further exploration upside potential. In addition, the Company has entered into an earn-in option and joint venture agreement with Teck on the La Coipita project, located in the San Juan province of Argentina.  AbraSilver is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “ABRA” and in the U.S. on the OTCQX under the symbol “ABBRF.”

 

For further information please visit the AbraSilver Resource website at www.abrasilver.com, our LinkedIn page at AbraSilver Resource Corp., and follow us on X at www.x.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 Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially 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 keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in the Company’s disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.  The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release