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Impact Silver Exploration Summary
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IMPACT Silver Corp. ("IMPACT") is pleased to provide a summary of its
exploration activities in 2007 and plans for 2008. Most of IMPACT's
exploration work was carried out at the Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver
District ("Zacualpan") and the adjacent Mamatla District in 2007. A
smaller program took place in the Zacatecas Silver District.
ROYAL MINES OF ZACUALPAN EXPLORATION OVERVIEW
Zacualpan is located in central Mexico and consists of a
125-square-kilometer land package with wholly owned operating mines and
a processing plant rated at 500 tonnes-per-day ("tpd") and currently
operating at 300 tpd.
Since 2004, IMPACT has been reporting results from a large number of
old mine prospects at Zacualpan. To put the results of this extensive
field work, historical information and assays in context and prioritize
exploration targets, IMPACT hired a senior geological database expert
in early 2007 to compile a computer GIS (Geographic Information System)
database encompassing all past mining and exploration data in the
Zacualpan and neighbouring Mamatla Districts. To date, over 750 old
mine workings have been entered into the database, of these IMPACT
exploration crews have sampled in detail 87. Of these, ten priority
targets were drill tested resulting in the discovery of two new mines
(Chivo and San Ramon). Five of the other ten targets returned
economically significant results that will lead to further drilling.
At this point, only about 10% of the Zacualpan property has seen
detailed exploration.
In 2008, an expanded drill budget including 12,000m of Phase 1 surface
drilling and 5000m of underground drilling will continue to test
targets. The field workforce has also been expanded to better tackle
the more than 700 old mine workings that remain to be explored.
Reconnaissance crews and prospectors continue to sample an expanded
soil grid which will encompass an additional 12,000 samples in 2008 and
more prospective old mine workings are being added to the existing data
bank on a regular basis.
Due to the vast size of the Zacualpan district, exploration activity is
carried out as a series of projects, each with its own dedicated team.
A summary of exploration work completed in 2007 is discussed below with
target areas described as near term, intermediate term and long term
production potential (see map at www.impactsilver.com for locations).
Near Term Exploration Targets (Less than one year horizon to potential
production)
Near Term Exploration targets are mainly located in the vicinity of
active mine workings. Many of these targets are tested by the mine
staff through underground sampling and IMPACT's wholly owned,
continuously operating underground drill. The resulting samples are
processed in a modern fully equipped laboratory that is located at the
mine site. IMPACT does not routinely report assays from this
underground sampling and drilling as the work is considered part of the
daily management of mining operations.
In 2007 underground Near Term Exploration focused on the Guadalupe,
Gallega and Chivo Mines. The underground drill is presently testing
extensions of known veins on Level 195m of the Guadalupe mine outlining
new areas for production. Other parts of the mines are re-evaluated by
underground channel sampling. For example the San Lorenzo Vein on
Level 195 at Guadalupe returned nine underground samples averaging
444g/t silver, 1.3% lead and 2.6% zinc across 0.54m true width ("TW")
along a strike length of 90m with the best sample assaying 1,040g/t
silver, 0.8% lead and 2.3% zinc across 1.1m TW and is now included in
production plans for 2008. Similarly, underground exploration combined
with surface drilling at the nearby Gallega Mine in 2007 discovered
several new veins that are now in production.
Chivo Project
The Chivo Mine is the newest addition to IMPACT's production profile.
In early 2007 drill results from 18 holes in the Chivo Silver Shoot
lead to a production decision. Highlights of this work included the
following: 937g/t silver, 0.35g/t gold, 1.88% zinc and 0.75% lead
across 2.7m TW (DH Z-06-10) and 378g/t silver, 0.30g/t gold, 4.25% zinc
and 1.76% lead across 4.7m TW (DH Z07-03).
In November 2007 the first underground workings reached the Chivo
Silver Shoot. This shoot has since been exposed underground for a
distance of 120m on the south end in preparation for commercial
production. Underground sampling of this southern portion of the shoot
has now been completed to NI43-101 standards and an additional five
drill holes from surface have been completed to the north. Assays from
this work are pending.
Exploration of several nearby targets continues on the premise that any
of them could be readily and quickly integrated into the Chivo Mine.
One of them, the San Patricio Vein, located 600m west of the Chivo
Mine, is a branch off the main Lipton Vein which is host to the
producing Guadalupe Mine further to the north. Four drill holes at San
Patricio in 2007 returned highlights of 242g/t silver across 4.6m TW
and 935g/t silver and 2.14% zinc across 0.6m TW. Further drilling is
planned at San Patricio to expand on these results and on other targets
in the Chivo Project area in 2008.
Intermediate Term Exploration Targets (1 to 3 year horizon to potential
production)
Significant effort is being given to Intermediate Term Exploration
Targets. The latest success in this category is the silver-rich Chivo
Mine which progressed from discovery sampling in September 2005 to
first drill hole assays in October 2006 and to first production in
November 2007. A variety of Intermediate Term Exploration Targets were
explored in the district in 2007.
San Antonio Project
The San Antonio zone is located four kilometers southeast of the
Zacualpan mill and 1350m northeast of the Chivo Mine. On surface it is
marked by a large glory hole, two old adits and a foundation for an old
processing plant. Highlights from the 11 hole drill program in 2007
include the following:
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SAN ANTONIO DRILL HOLES
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TOP OF
DRILL INTERCEPT ESTIMATED ZINC LEAD SILVER GOLD
HOLE No. (m) TW (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
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SECTION 2000N
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Z07-15 53.5 2.9 7.81 3.76 50 0.91
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Including: 0.9 15.95 8.10 97 1.63
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Z06-22 47.4 1.1 4.09 4.46 118 5.12
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SECTION 2050N
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Z07-21 82.8 4.5 11.55 1.94 33 0.51
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Including: 1.8 16.53 1.63 25 0.55
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Further drilling is planned for the San Antonio Zone and other nearby
veins in 2008 and soil sampling, prospecting and mapping are planned
for the general San Antonio Project area.
Cuchara Project
The Cuchara Mine is located three kilometers east of the Zacualpan
mill. The main shoot has been mined intermittently for hundreds of
years and was last in production in 2004. Recent drilling tested the
southern extension of the Cuchara Vein system beyond historic mining
areas returning the following highlights:
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CUCHARA EXTENSION DRILL HOLES
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DRILL TOP OF ESTIMATED SILVER GOLD ZINC LEAD
HOLE No. INTERCEPT (m) TW (m) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%)
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Z07-29 107.5 2.2 641 0.02 1.67 0.53
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Including: 0.6 1,340 0.02 2.27 0.80
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Z07-30 18.8 1.5 229 0.07 1.17 0.35
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In early 2007, a new discovery was also made at the nearby Oscar Vein:
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OSCAR VEIN DRILL HOLE
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DRILL TOP OF ESTIMATED SILVER GOLD ZINC LEAD
HOLE No. INTERCEPT (m) TW (m) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%)
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Z07-26 95.0 0.3 2,820 7.83 7.83 3.48
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Mapping and prospecting has identified a cluster of at least ten other
veins with old workings in the Cuchara area. Data compilation and
surface work are continuing in preparation for further drilling of
these and other nearby veins.
Pino Prospect
The Pino Prospect lies on the Lipton Vein system. It is located 700m
south of the Guadalupe Mine which has historically produced 10 million
ounces of silver predominantly from the Lipton Vein. The Pino Prospect
area is marked by a large soil anomaly and sparse old small mine
workings. Highlights from drilling returned:
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PINO PROSPECT DRILL HOLES
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DRILL TOP OF ESTIMATED SILVER GOLD ZINC LEAD
HOLE No. INTERCEPT (m) TW (m) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%)
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Z06-19 125.5 4.9 8 0.06 1.84 0.59
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Including: 3.3 11 0.05 2.29 0.67
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Z06-21 63.6 2.7 84 0.09 2.67 0.64
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and: 1.7 109 0.11 3.58 0.84
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This initial test indicated this to be a zinc-rich prospect. The best
holes (19 and 21) were both drilled near the valley bottom and indicate
that metal values were increasing with depth in the vein structure. In
late 2007 one additional hole was drilled to test this system to
greater depth. Assays are pending. Additional drill sites have been
prepared to further test this zone to depth in 2008.
Longer Term Exploration Targets (3 to 5 year horizon to potential
production)
IMPACT field crews have been exploring various mineralized areas at
Zacualpan with longer term production possibilities. The most
significant of these is the CPN Gold-Copper Zone.
CPN Gold-Copper Project
The Carlos Pacheco-Nochebuena ("CPN") Project covers a sizeable target
area within the larger Zacualpan District. It is located five
kilometers southwest of the Zacualpan mill in the central portion of
IMPACT's land holdings covering a 10-square-kilometer area of
large-scale, well mineralized with Copper-Gold and Silver-Zinc-Lead
veins. In early 2007 the first results of sampling in some old mine
workings returned highlights of:
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CARLOS PACHECO ADIT SAMPLES
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ESTIMATED GOLD COPPER SILVER
LOCATION TW (m) (g/t) (%) (g/t)
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End of adit 2.7 14.6 0.46 58
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Including: 1.2 32.4 0.80 106
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8m from end of adit 2.4 5.9 0.70 80
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Including: 0.9 10.9 1.27 134
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The Cobre Prospect is an old adit located on the Pacheco Vein System
3.5 kilometers south of the Pacheco Prospect. Samples were collected
in five places over the 25m exposed length of the vein in the adit and
returned the following values:
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COBRE ADIT SAMPLES
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ESTIMATED GOLD COPPER SILVER
LOCATION TW (m) (g/t) (%) (g/t)
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Average of 5 samples along 25m
exposed length of vein 1.0 1.2 2.34 181
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including 1.2 0.2 7.81 88
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Through much of 2007, a dedicated exploration team has been mapping and
sampling the CPN Project area in preparation for a major drill program
in 2008. Results from the 2007 exploration work will be released when
all assays are received and interpreted.
These significant copper and gold zones are found at lower elevations
in the Zacualpan district and may be indicative of a copper and gold
district underlying the silver district. IMPACT geologists consider
this idea to hold big blue sky exploration potential and incorporate
the possibility into their exploration planning.
MAMATLA DISTRICT EXPLORATION OVERVIEW
IMPACT won the 200-square-kilometer Mamatla District in a government
auction in February 2007 and a dedicated field crew began work
immediately. The district is located immediately adjacent to and
southwest of Zacualpan. Mamatla is host to epithermal silver and base
metal veins as well as volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") base and
precious metal mineralization.
Mamatla VMS Prospects
Capire VMS Project
The most advanced exploration targets at Mamatla are the Capire and
Aurora 1 VMS Deposits which were discovered less than one kilometer
apart and drilled by prior operators in the 1990's. In the auction bid
document publicly released by the Mexican Geological Survey, the Capire
deposit is described with an indicated resource of 1,154,500 tonnes
grading 0.22g/t gold, 73g/t silver, 0.45% lead and 1.13% zinc in a near
surface zone with potential for open pit mining and open for expansion.
Several past drill highlights such as the following indicate that
there are also higher grade portions to this deposit:
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CAPIRE ZONE
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Width Gold Silver Lead Zinc Copper
(m) g/t g/t % % % Source
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4.0 2.66 430 2.88 7.18 0.35 See Valerie Gold Press
Release dated April 3, 1997
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6.0 3.65 2218 2.38 5.67 0.66 See Valerie Gold Press
Release dated May 22, 1996
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In the auction bid document publicly released by the Mexican Geological
Survey, the Aurora 1 Deposit is described with an indicated resource of
194,000 tonnes grading 1.28g/t gold, 180g/t silver, 2.13% lead and
4.45% zinc. Some past drill highlights include:
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AURORA 1 ZONE
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Width Gold Silver Lead Zinc Copper
(m) g/t g/t % % % Source
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7.5 0.54 230 3.67 6.71 0.44 See Valerie Gold Press
Release dated April 3, 1997
---------------------------------------------
1.0 0.65 693 4.16 6.85 1.28
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1.0 1.34 353 5.18 10.6 0.67
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IMPACT has not independently verified the resource estimates in this
news release and the estimates are not compliant with NI 43-101
requirements, therefore they should not be relied upon. IMPACT has
also not yet verified the results of the previous exploration assays
quoted from news releases of Valerie Gold Resources (now Valgold
Resources), a TSX Venture Exchange company. These news releases were
issued in the 1990's and therefore readers are cautioned that the
results as presented may not comply with current NI43-101 standards of
disclosure. However IMPACT believes the historical resource estimates
and drill results provide an indication of the potential of the Capire
VMS Project and are relevant to IMPACT's plans for further exploration
work.
In December 2007 IMPACT drilled an initial four holes into the Capire
Deposit. Assays have not yet been received but these holes did
intersect the mineralized horizons as indicated by previous drilling.
A further 3,000m of drilling is planned for the Capire and Aurora 1
Deposits in 2008 to outline mineral resources.
Mamatla Epithermal Vein Prospects
Since acquisition of the Mamatla project in February 2007, a dedicated
exploration crew has discovered over 70 previously unidentified
epithermal vein prospects and old mines. Initial results from this
work include the following. Assays from other prospects are pending.
Huatecosco Prospect
IMPACT crews found two old mine workings at the historic Huatecosco
Prospect located about 10 kilometers southwest of the Zacualpan mill.
The lower working is a mine adit that has collapsed but a selected grab
sample of vein material from the mine dump returned an assay of 409g/t
silver, 5.41 g/t gold, 0.9% zinc and 0.5% lead. Crews were able to
enter the upper inclined shaft which leads to a small underground
working on the vein in oxidized material. Sampling of the exposed vein
returned 1.88g/t gold and 40g/t silver across 8.7m. Elsewhere in this
working, assays were highly variable ranging up to 189g/t gold across
1.5m. IMPACT geologists conclude that this is a wide vein that has
variable, locally very high gold grades in the near surface oxidized
zone and more consistent silver and gold grades at depth. Plans are to
open the lower adit and sample the vein at this lower level in
preparation for future drilling.
San Joaquin Prospect
The San Joaquin Prospect is located 2.5 kilometers west of Huatecosco.
A grab sample of vein material from the mine dump assayed 295g/t silver
and 1.5% zinc. Plans are to map and sample this area and establish
access to the old mine workings.
San Carlos Area Prospects
The ruins of the large historic San Carlos processing plant are located
13 kilometers southwest of IMPACT's operating Zacualpan processing
plant. The San Carlos plant appears to have served as a central
facility for processing minerals from local mines. At the site, IMPACT
crews found seven piles of mineralized rocks varying from 20 - 500
tonnes in size. Samples from these rock piles assayed between 0.06
2.12% copper, 0.1 - 17.55% zinc, 0.1 - 11.45% lead, 46 - 836g/t silver
and 0.2 -- 8.65g/t gold. With the belief that these piles represent
mineral collected from various nearby old mines, IMPACT crews began
prospecting the surrounding countryside and discovered numerous old
mine workings. Samples from some of the first workings discovered are
reported below.
Pirul Prospect
The Pirul Prospect is comprised of old mine shafts and adits located 1
kilometer north of the San Carlos plant. Samples from the workings
returned the following highlights:
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PIRUL PROSPECT
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SAMPLE SILVER ZINC LEAD
LOCATION WIDTH (m) (g/t) (%) (%)
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Sample from shaft 2.0 331 0.04 9.23
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Samples from adit located 65m southeast of shaft
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12m from entrance 1.0 285 5.31 6.88
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Gorrion Prospect
The Gorrion Prospect is located 500m west of the Pirul Prospect.
Samples from a dump beside a surface cut and a nearby outcrop returned
the following values:
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GORRION PROSPECT
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LOCATION ESTIMATED TW (m) SILVER (g/t)
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Surface sample of vein 2.1 163
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Angel Prospect
The Angel Prospect is located 3 kilometers northwest of the San Carlos
plant. Highlights from a series of old shafts and small surface open
cuts traced over 100m returned the following values:
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ANGEL PROSPECT
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LOCATION ESTIMATED TW (m) SILVER (g/t)
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Average of 3 samples
beside Shaft No. 1 0.9 331
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Sample from Shaft No. 2
(30mNW of Shaft No. 1) 0.9 492
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San Nicolas del Cobre Prospects
The San Nicolas del Cobre Prospects are found over a distance of 1
kilometer in the far northwest of the Mamatla District. Samples taken
from old mine workings in the area returned the following values:
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SAN NICOLAS DEL COBRE PROSPECTS
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ESTIMATED COPPER SILVER GOLD
LOCATION TW (m) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
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Amigo Shaft 1.0 1.67 123 0.5
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Enjambre Shaft 0.5 1.85 98 4.1
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Dedicated IMPACT crews continue to carry out Intermediate Term
Exploration and reconnaissance work in the Mamatla District. Detailed
field work in 2008 will begin in the Huatecosco area.
ZACATECAS SILVER DISTRICT
IMPACT has a Comprehensive Agreement to purchase the Veta Grande Silver
Project located historic Zacatecas Silver District of Mexico over a
term of four years. The project is located 500 kilometers northwest of
Mexico City and includes an operating 200 tonne-per-day processing
plant and certain surface rights. During 2007 exploration focused on
some of the 17 mineral concessions located within this district.
100% IMPACT Concessions
In 2007 IMPACT crews carried out a program of mapping and surface
sampling on the Nueva Granada and Asturiana concessions which cover
veins branching off the Veta Grande Vein system, the major silver
producer in the district. Old plans indicate the veins on these
concessions were mined over a length of 700m and to a depth of 150-200m
on the IMPACT concessions.
Field work in late 2007 focused on the San Jose and Armado Veins. The
San Jose Vein crosses the concessions over a distance of 800m. Old
mine workings and dumps mark the surface along its entire width. A
total of six channel samples were collected from surface exposures of
the vein and averaged 239g/t silver over 0.74m TW ranging to a high of
444g/t silver over 1.10m TW.
The Armado Vein trends 100m west of and runs parallel to the San Jose
Vein. It has been traced over a distance of 500m and is marked by old
mine workings and dumps along its entire length. Channel samples
collected from surface exposures of the vein located 130m apart assayed
237g/t silver over 1.92 TW and 1,320g/t silver over 0.30m TW. Two
samples were collected at an old mine dump on the vein located 400m to
the north. A sulphide-bearing sample assayed 358g/t silver and a
sulphide-poor sample assayed 247g/t silver.
Most of the other IMPACT concessions have medium to high grade rock
dumps beside old mine workings that have not seen any modern
exploration or drilling. These include the Cristian Mine where samples
from surface dumps returned 310g/t silver, 24.2% lead and 8.0% zinc
from a high grade stockpile. At the San Pascual a representative sample
of the dump around the shaft assayed 875g/t silver. A representative
sample from the dump beside the nearby Pirul shaft assayed 525g/t
silver.
Based upon the encouraging results from this initial field work, the
known extensive old workings on the concessions and the close proximity
to the processing plant, a first phase drill program is being planned
in 2008.
Zacatecas Joint Venture (Yale Resources)
IMPACT optioned four of its Zacatecas concessions (San Sabino,
Zacatecas, Salvador and San Jose) to Yale Resources. Under the
agreement Yale may earn an interest in the concessions by making
certain cash payments and completing certain work commitments. In
mid-2007, a drill program was carried out on three concessions. In
total four holes (501m) were drilled at San Jose and 12 holes (1,314m)
were drilled at Salvador/Zacatecas. The best intersection assayed
1,340g/t silver over 0.80m at San Jose.
FUTURE EXPLORATION PLANS
The exploration budget for 2008 has been more than doubled in order to
put some of the 700+ known prospects at the Zacualpan and Mamatla
districts on a faster track to potential production. The exploration
program will be funded through existing cash balances. Additional
technical personnel were hired to carry out work ranging from green
fields to advanced stage exploration. 2008 will begin with three
dedicated field crews each led by a senior geologist working on the San
Antonio, Mamatla and CPN Projects respectively. A prospecting team
will continue reconnaissance work in the districts and a soil crew will
begin the year sampling a large grid in the Cuchara-San Antonio Project
areas Three geologists will also oversee both surface and underground
drilling operations at Zacualpan and Capire (Mamatla). An initial
phase of 12,000m of surface exploration drilling and 5,000m of
underground drilling is planned. The purchase of a second wholly owned
underground drill has also been budgeted. The GIS database compilation
will also continue into 2008 with an emphasis put on district-wide
interpretation.
George Gorzynski, P.Eng., Vice President Exploration and a Qualified
Person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43-101, is
responsible for the technical content of this news release. Drill core
was NTW size (5.71cm diameter) and BTW size (4.20 cm diameter). Half
core samples were collected with a rock saw and tagged for
identification. Chip and channel samples were collected from cleaned
rock faces over a continuous representative interval using a chisel and
hammer. All samples were securely stored at the IMPACT base camp until
shipment. A total of 5% assay standards and blanks were inserted
into every sample shipment as a quality control measure. All samples
were shipped to the ALS Chemex preparation laboratory in Guadalajara
(Mexico) where they were fine crushed (70% passing a 2mm screen),
pulverized (85% passing a 75 micron screen) and pulp split separated
for assay by a riffle splitter. These pulps were shipped to the ALS
Chemex laboratory in North Vancouver, Canada where a 30 gram split of
each was assayed for gold and silver by standard fire assay and a 10
gram split was analysed for an additional 30 elements by ICP
spectrometry. Higher copper, zinc and lead values were done by wet
assay methods.
IMPACT Silver Corp. is a silver focused mining and exploration company
operating in Mexico with a producing silver operation at Zacualpan, an
advanced project with a producing mill at Zacatecas and the
200-square-kilometer advanced Mamatla District. Energold Drilling
Corp. (EGD: TSX.V) who was the contractor for the drill programs, owns
6.6 million shares of IMPACT.
On behalf of the Directors of IMPACT Silver Corp.
"Frederick W. Davidson"
President, CEO
For further information please contact:
Darrell Rader, Corporate Development
Telephone: 604-681-9501
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
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Copyright (c) 2008 IMPACT SILVER CORP. (IPT) All rights reserved. For
more information visit our website at http://www.impactsilver.com/ or
send mailto:inquiries@impactsilver.com
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