High-Grade Results Support Resource Expansion Ahead of Upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate

Toronto – April 02, 2025 – TheNewswire - AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSX: ABRA; OTCQX: ABBRF) (“AbraSilver” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce new assay results from the recently completed Phase IV drill program on its wholly-owned Diablillos project in Argentina (the “Project”).  

The latest results from step-out drilling at the JAC Extension and Oculto Northeast zones, returned multiple high-grade silver intercepts beyond the current conceptual open pit margins.  These results are expected to contribute to a meaningful increase in the upcoming Mineral Resource estimate, scheduled for release in mid-2025, which will form the basis for the Definitive Feasibility Study that is currently underway.  

Key highlights include:

JAC Extension:

• Hole DDH 24-077: 41.0 metres (“m”) at 113 g/t Ag, starting at 88 m down-hole depth, including 8.5 m at 301 g/t Ag 

• Hole DDH 24-078: 36.0 m at 148 g/t Ag, from 137 m depth, including 15.0 m at 182 g/t Ag. 

• Hole DDH 24-079: 47.0 m at 169 g/t Ag, from 111 m depth, including 4.0 m at 674 g/t Ag 

• Hole DDH 24-080: 67.2 m at 77 g/t Ag, from 68 m depth, including 12.0 m at 136 g/t Ag 

• Hole DDH 24-082: 54.0 m at 125 g/t Ag, from 51 m depth, including 8.0 m at 228 g/t Ag 

• Hole DDH 24-084: 63.5 m at 190 g/t Ag, from 80 m depth, including 9.0 m at 341 g/t Ag 

• Hole DDH 24-088: 70.0 m at 147 g/t Ag, from 61 m depth, including 9.0 m at 331 g/t Ag 

• Hole DDH 24-090: 40.5 m at 86 g/t Ag, from 89 m depth, including 7.0 m at 218 g/t Ag 

Oculto Northeast:

• Hole DDH 24-074: Drilled 100 m beyond the margin of the Oculto Mineral Resource, returned 10.0 m grading 1.49 g/t Au and 56 g/t Ag in oxides, from a down-hole depth of 206 m.  

John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, “Once again, our latest drill results highlight the significant growth potential that remains at our Diablillos project.  These intercepts continue to confirm the presence of additional mineralization across Diablillos, and we look forward to incorporating these results into our upcoming Mineral Resource estimate.  With several zones delivering strong grades beyond the existing open pit limits, the Project continues to demonstrate excellent exploration upside.”  

Dave O’Connor, Chief Geologist, commented, “The continuity and consistency of the near-surface silver mineralization we are seeing south of the JAC open pit is quite remarkable. With strong results from both new and existing zones, and several exploration targets still to be tested, our Phase V drill program will play a key role in unlocking further upside across the broader Diablillos system.”  

    

Table 1 – Summary of Key Drill Intercepts

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

Drill Hole	Area		From (m)	To (m)	Type	Interval (m)	Ag g/t	Au g/t
DDH-24-074		Oculto NE	130.0	131.0	Oxides	1.0	156.4	-
			173.0	179.0	Oxides	6.0	30.2	2.18
			206.0	216.0	Oxides	10.0	55.9	1.49
			229.0	251.5	Oxides	22.5	15.8	0.22
DDH-24-077		JAC Extension	88.0	129.0	Oxides	41.0	112.5	-
			140.0	148.5	Oxides	8.5	300.7
DDH-24-078		JAC Extension	97.0	122.5	Oxides	25.5	73.7	-
			137.0	173.0	Oxides	36.0	147.5	-
DDH-24-079		JAC Extension	53.0	65.0	Oxides	12.0	35.8
			111.0	158.0	Oxides	47.0	168.6	-
DDH-24-080		JAC Extension	67.8	135.0	Oxides	67.2	77.2	-
		including	76.0	88.0	Oxides	12.0	136.0
DDH-24-082		JAC Extension	51.0	105.0	Oxides	54.0	124.9	-
		including	86.0	94.0	Oxides	8.0	228.3	-
DDH-24-084		JAC Extension	79.5	143.0	Oxides	63.5	189.5	-
		including	102.0	111.0	Oxides	9.0	341.2	-
DDH-24-088		JAC Extension	61.0	131.0	Oxides	70.0	147.1	-
		including	92.0	101.0	Oxides	9.0	330.6	-
DDH-24-089		JAC Extension	102.7	105.7	Oxides	3.0	43.6	-
			112.0	130.0	Oxides	18.0	65.6	-
DDH-24-090		JAC Extension	89.0	129.5	Oxides	40.5	85.7
		including	110.0	117.0	Oxides	7.0	218.3
DDH-24-091		JAC Extension	67.0	72.5	Oxides	5.5	42.8	-
			91.5	106.5	Oxides	15.0	92.3

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

 

Additional Details on Drill Results

Oculto Northeast Target  

A linear, high-grade, gold-dominant mineralized trend extends along the northern margin of the Oculto open pit and continues several hundred metres to the northeast, beyond the current conceptual open pit boundary. Drill hole DDH 24-074 intersected 10 m grading 1.5 g/t gold and 56 g/t silver, confirming the continuity of this mineralized structure.  Additional drilling is planned to further define and potentially expand this emerging zone.  

JAC Extension

The latest drilling confirms that silver mineralization continues to extend south and southwest of the current modeled JAC open pit boundary. These shallow, high-grade intercepts are anticipated to contribute meaningfully to the upcoming Mineral Resource estimate.  Importantly, mineralization remains open to the south, where ongoing Phase V drilling will target further Mineral Resource growth and continuity.

 Figure 1 –Plan View of Latest Drill Results  

Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2 – Cross Section Through JAC Looking North - Drill Holes DDH 24-077 - 24-079 & 24-090

Click Image To View Full Size

Exploration Program Update

The recently completed Phase IV exploration program comprised a total of 21,172 metres drilled across 106 holes.  The Company is currently awaiting assay results from the final holes from this program, which are expected to be received over the next several weeks.  All drill results from this program will be incorporated in an updated Mineral Resource estimate scheduled for release in mid-2025 and will underpin the Definitive Feasibility Study that has now commenced on the Project.

The Phase V drill program is now in progress, with approximately 20,000 additional metres planned.   Key targets include:

• • The Oculto-JAC epithermal district, focusing on JAC, JAC south extension, Sombra, Oculto Northeast, Oculto East and Laderas targets. 

  • The northeast epithermal-porphyry complex, located approximately 4 km northeast of the main Oculto deposit, including the newly identified Cerro Viejo gold target, which remains largely unexplored. 

Collar Data

Hole Number	UTM Coordinates		Elevation	Azimuth	Dip	Depth (m)	Area
DDH 24-074	720727	7200034	4,269	180	-60	266.0	Oculto NE
DDH 24-077	719252	7198569	4,133	305	-60	157.5	JAC Extension
DDH 24-078	719290	7198582	4,136	315	-60	185.0	JAC Extension
DDH 24-079	719143	7198492	4,128	315	-60	172.5	JAC Extension
DDH 24-080	719250	7198745	4,135	0	-60	151.0	JAC Extension
DDH 24-082	719211	7198712	4,133	0	-60	148.5	JAC Extension
DDH 24-084	719179	7198664	4,131	0	-60	160.5	JAC Extension
DDH 24-088	719100	7198669	4,127	0	-60	160.5	JAC Extension
DDH 24-089	719113	7198521	4,126	315	-60	160.0	JAC Extension
DDH 24-090	719224	7198562	4,133	0	-60	155.5	JAC Extension
DDH 24-091	719194	7198562	4,131	315	-60	120.5	JAC Extension

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