45pc resource boost: Sun Silver’s Maverick Springs rules the roost as largest silver development on the ASX

Sun Silver upgrades Maverick Springs resource by 45% to 423Moz silver equivalent
Silver only inventory has also increased by 43.7% to 253Moz, making it the ASX’s largest pure primary silver resource
Recent drill results outline potential to grow Maverick Springs even further

Special Report: Sun Silver is now the proud owner of the ASX’s largest development-stage primary silver resource after upgrading the inferred resource at its Maverick Springs project by 45% to 423Moz silver equivalent.

When silver alone is taken into account, the resource has increased from 176Moz at 43.5g/t silver to 253Moz at 40.25g/t.

This big inventory is likely to garner plenty of interest with silver demand surging on the back of growing industrial use, particularly in solar3 photovoltaic cells, that resulted in a supply deficit of 140Moz in 2023.

Prices have risen 23% YTD to US$29.44/oz, near more than decade long highs.

Sun Silver’s (ASX:SS1) revision of the resource estimate for Maverick Springs in Nevada to 195.7Mt grading 67.25g/t silver equivalent (40.25g/t silver and 0.32g/t gold) follows a comprehensive review of existing drill data and remodelling of the resource.

This led to the inclusion of the entire mineralised domain at the project, which is deemed to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.

“Achieving the status of the largest pure silver resource on the ASX is a significant milestone in Sun Silver’s short history,” executive director Gerard O’Donovan said.

“Expanding our resource base was crucial, particularly given that the previous report was calculated based on market pricing of US$21.50 silver and US$1850 gold.”

Oblique view of previous pit constrained resource (yellow) with additional mineralisation (blue). Pic: SS1

Room for growth

O’Donovan added that the company’s current drill campaign has intercepted high-grade results beyond the existing resource, with mineralisation open in all directions.

“This initial resource upgrade is just the beginning of what we expect could be a series of upgrades over the coming years,” he said.

SS1 highlighted the high-grade results near the north-west corner of the current resource as being particularly striking as they not only indicate a continuation of wide mineralisation in that direction, but also imply a much higher grade.

This drilling returned results such as 13m grading 331.76g/t silver and 41m at 126.75g/t silver.

Also on the cards is the potential for Maverick Springs to host antimony, which is recognised as a critical mineral and has seen a doubling in price after export restrictions were introduced by primary supplier China.

That only 20% of the property has been covered by drilling just adds more weight to Sun Silver’s belief that there’s more silver, gold and antimony to be found.

Drilling is currently ongoing on the north-west section of the property.

The project is in elephant country, located proximal to the Carlin trend in Nevada. Not only is that one of the most prolific precious metal domains in the world, but it also ranked as the top mining jurisdiction in the world as recently as 2022 according to the Fraser Institute.

Carlin-type geology is known for its large scale and the likelihood of deposits to occur in clusters, extending over significant area to enable bulk mining operations.

Despite being lower in grade than vein-hosted deposits, the softer rock makes for cheaper processing and consistent ore grades that improve their predictability once in operation.

This article was developed in collaboration with Sun Silver, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.