Southern Silver Announces New Drill Program at Cerro Las Minitas, Durango Mexico

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 24, 2014) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. ("Southern Silver") (TSX VENTURE:SSV)(FRANKFURT:SEG) reported today that equipment has mobilized and a new phase of diamond drilling has started on the Cerro Las Minitas Project, Durango Mexico.

Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation (FMEC) continues to finance Southern Silver's exploration on the property and provide input on exploration programs. The current program follows the second phase of drilling, completed in late January 2014, which was successful in identifying additional high-grade Ag-Pb-Zn mineralization at depth in the El Sol zone from hole 13CLM-071 and a potential new target along the southwestern margin of the central intrusive in the area of hole 13CLM-073 (see NR-01-14; February 27, 2014).

Current plans are for approximately 2,000 metres of core drilling in three or more holes designed to test at depth several previously identified copper anomalies on the project. These include an extension of drill hole CLM-073, which terminated in anomalous copper mineralization at 708 metres depth; and a down-dip test of copper mineralization at the North Skarn target (CLM-003: 16.6 metres averaging 56g/t Ag, 0.8% Cu, 0.5%Pb and 1.6% Zn). Additional holes are planned for a deep test of the central intrusive and its southern margin (South Skarn target).

Since execution of an earn-in agreement on the Cerro Las Minitas project in October 2012, Southern Silver's Mexican subsidiary, Minera Plata del Sur, S.A. de C.V., has completed 5,500 metres of diamond drilling, conducted soil and vegetation geochemistry surveys and a Reconnaissance IP (RIP) geophysical survey over the entire 15,125 hectare property. Additional lines of deep-penetrating IP geophysics and a Gravity survey were completed over the area of historic mining which has led to the development of several new targets on the property.

FMEC has been providing funding to Southern Silver for Minera Plata del Sur's exploration of the property since October 2012 and holds an option to earn a 70% indirect interest in the project by paying Southern Silver both option payments and program funding that could reach $25 million on the project over a ten year period if FMEC does not terminate earlier. Included in the gross interest is an initial 51% interest to be earned in the first three years of the agreement by expenditure of $5 million. To date, FMEC has provided Southern Silver funding of approximately $4,100,000 for option payments and applicable taxes, and to fund exploration of the property.