Silver Standard Resources Follow-Up #8



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SILVER STANDARD RECOURCES: RETURN ON $ 20,000 INVESTMENT

Purchase Date

No. of Shares

Purchase Price

Cost ($)

Price Today

Value Today

July 5, 2002

1'100

8.90

9'790.00

 

 

October 29, 2002

1'800

5.76

10'368.00

 

 

Total

2'900

6.95

20'158.00

13.97

      40'513.00

Profit

 

 

 

 

      20'355.00

Profit (in %)

 

 

 

 

101%

 

 

 

FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SILVER DEPOSITS

 

 

 

Business Summary

Silver Standard Resources Inc. controls the largest silver resource of any publicly-traded company in North America and is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of silver-dominant projects. With a quality portfolio of core properties in Argentina, Mexico, Australia, Chile, the United States, Peru and Canada, Silver Standard controls significant in-situ resources that have been estimated by independent consulting geologists


2004 HIGHLIGHTS

  • November: Acquired remaining 53% interest of Pirquitas silver project in Argentina.
  • October: Silver Standard and Minco Mining & Metals Corporation (Minco) announced strategic alliance to jointly pursue silver opportunities in China.
  • April/May: Purchased 1.95 million ounces of bar silver for investment purposes.
  • January: Completed $43.7 million financing.

STATUS OF CURRENT PROJECTS

PROJECT

INTEREST

ACTIVITIES

La Pitarrilla, Mexico

100%

Phase IV diamond drilling underway, assays pending

Pirquitas, Argentina

100%

Small-scale mining and updating feasibility

Manantial Espejo, Argentina

50%

Feasibility study underway

Berenguela, Peru

Under option, 100% of contained silver

Drilling completed, assays pending

Bowdens, N.S.W., Australia

100%

Feasibility work underway

Challacollo, Chile

100%

Scoping study completed

Maverick Springs, Nevada

Under option, 100% of contained silver

Step-out drilling completed

Shafter, Texas

100%

Scoping study completed

 

 




PROJECT PROFILES

Silver Standard Resources Inc. has interests in 15 primary projects:

Feasibility Stage:

  • 100% interest in the Pirquitas silver-tin project in Jujuy province, Argentina. The property was formerly owned by Sunshine Mining and Refining Company, which had spent over             USD 25 million on drilling and feasibility work. The feasibility study is being updated as a result of higher silver prices and a small-scale mining program is now being implemented. The property is fully permitted for production.
  • 50% direct interest in the Manantial Espejo silver-gold project in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. Silver Standard and Pan American Silver Corp. each hold a 50% interest in the project. Pan American Silver is the operator of a feasibility study expected to be complete in H1 2005.
  • 100%-owned Bowdens project in New South Wales, Australia. Based on an updated block model estimate completed in 2004, a feasibility study has commenced using an open-pit mining model with a low strip ratio. A 19,000-meter program of infill drilling has been completed and forms the basis of a feasibility study.


Advanced, Pre-feasibility and Scoping Stage:

  • 100% interest in the Pitarrilla grass roots silver discovery in Durango, Mexico. A block model resource was completed in the second quarter of 2004. Mineralization at the first two silver targets drilled on the property is silver-dominant, at surface, and amenable to open-pit, bulk tonnage mining. Drilling at a third target began in January. Resources will be updated on completion of the program.
  • 100% owned Shafter advanced silver project in Texas, US. Silver Standard now holds all nine material permits required for production, and has moved an 800 ton-per-day mill from the Silver Peak Mine in Nevada to Shafter. Drilling is planned in early 2005.
  • 100% interest in the Challacollo silver project in Tarapaca, Chile. The deposit consists of four main north-south trending veins. The principal vein, Lolon, is 2,000 meters in length and has been prospected and developed along 700 meters. Mineralization is hosted in a dominant quartz-rich zone that averages up to 13 meters in width. Silver Standard has estimated an inferred polygonal resource containing 42.2 million ozs of silver.
  • 100% interest in the Diablillos silver-gold project in Salta province, Argentina. This 36 km2 silver-gold project was purchased from Pacific Rim Mining Corp. in 2001. The Oculto deposit hosts a block model inferred resource of 93.8 million ozs of silver and 820,000 ozs of gold. The resource is based on a cut-off of 42 grams of silver per ton. The acquisition cost is less than USD 0.025 per ounce of silver-equivalent. Further mapping and drilling has been recommended for the property.
  • 100% interest in the Candelaria silver mine in Nevada, US. The mine has formerly produced 65 million ozs of silver. The main ore bodies vary in width from 80 to 120 feet (25 m to 40 m), averaging 3.5 to 4.1 ounces per ton silver (120 g/t to 140 g/t silver). The project hosts silver resources contained in extensions to two open pits (block modeled), heap leach pads and two low-grade stockpiles.


Exploration Stage:

  • An option to acquire all silver resources in the Berenguela silver-copper-manganese project in southwestern Peru. A 45-hole program has been completed on the property and a resource update is underway.
  • An option to acquire all silver resources in the Maverick Springs silver-gold project in northeastern Nevada. Further drilling is planned in 2005.
  • 100% interest in the San Marcial gold-silver project in Sinaloa, Mexico
  • 100% interest in the San Agustin gold project in Durango, Mexico
  • 100% interest in the Sunrise Lake silver-base metal project in Canada's N.W.T.
  • 100% interest in the Silvertip silver-base metal project in northern British Columbia
  • 100% interest in the Sulphurets-Bruceside gold-silver project in British Columbia

  All but the San Marcial, Sulphurets, Sunrise Lake and Silvertip projects are considered core projects.

 



 

Recent News: Silver Standard Intersects 825 Feet Grading 1.9 Oz./ton Silver Plus Base Metals in New Silver Zone at Pitarrilla in Mexico

 

Silver Standard Resources Inc. reported highlights from its ongoing program of diamond drilling at its wholly-owned Pitarrilla silver project located approximately 150 kilometers      (90 miles) north of Durango City in the state of Durango, Mexico. A total of 3,650 meters in 22 holes was completed in this phase, resulting in the discovery of two new silver zones, Breccia Ridge and Javelina Creek, and significantly enhancing the property's resource potential. The project now hosts four drill-defined zones of silver mineralization including the existing Cordon Colorado and Peña Dyke zones.

Highlights from the current program include:

  • Hole BPD-15 at Breccia Ridge which intersected:
    • 825.1 feet averaging 1.9 ounces of silver per ton (251.5 meters averaging 64.5 grams of silver per ton), 0.56% lead and 0.84% zinc; including 580 feet averaging 2.3 ounces of silver per ton (176.7 meters averaging 80.1 grams of silver per ton), 0.70% lead and 1.13% zinc;
  • Hole BPD-04 at Javelina Creek which intersected:
    • 89.6 feet averaging 4.0 ounces of silver per ton (27.3 meters averaging 136.6 grams of silver per ton) mineralized from surface similar to the Cordon Colorado and Peña Dyke zones;
  • Hole BPD-12 at Cordon Colorado which intersected:
    • 268.7 feet averaging 2.6 ounces of silver per ton (81.9 meters averaging 90.3 grams of silver per ton).

Fundamental Considerations

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS

  • Low-cost acquisitions
    Most of the company's in-situ resources have been purchased, optioned, or drill-defined at a fraction of silver's current price, and at a significant discount to the investment by prior owners.
  • Well-financed, with no material long-term debt, significant environmental liabilities or hedging program
  • Geopolitically diverse project portfolio
  • Nominal Long-term Debt
  • USD 34.4 million in cash (February 28, 2005) plus 1.95 million oz. physical silver and marketable securities (USD 3.9 million)
  • Total Silver Resources (in millions of oz.): Measured: 101.9; Indicated: 411.0; Inferred: 444.0 plus Gold Resource (in thousands of oz.): Measured and indicated: 840.0; Inferred: 1,412.0
  • Three projects in feasibility stage

 

 

Technical Considerations

 

 

The silver price touched $ 8.15 on December 2, only 30 cents away from the April high of $ 8.44 before selling off down to $ 6.50.

 

Remaining within the lower up-trend line and above the firm support around $ 6.50 to $ 6.75, we remain confident that silver prices will move higher from here.

Silver shares have not followed the silver price - which may be a bit puzzling, but this should be viewed as a buying opportunity such as has often happened in the past.

 

Our recommendation: BUY!

 

Peter Zihlmann

  

www.pzim.com

zihlmann@pzim.ch

 

 

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Disclosure: The author has not been paid to write this article, nor has he

received any other inducement to do so. The author is a shareholder in the

company and will benefit from any increase in the company’s share price.

Disclaimer: The author’s objective in writing this article is to invoke an

interest on the part of potential investors in this stock to the point where

they are encouraged to conduct their own further diligent research. Neither

the information nor the opinions expressed should be construed as a

solicitation to buy or sell this stock. Investors are recommended to obtain

the advice of a qualified investment advisor before entering into any transactions in the stock.

 

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-- Posted Wednesday, April 20 2005



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