New Gold And Additional Zinc Mineralization At Salamandra

VANCOUVER, BC – MAG Silver Corp. reported assay results from its six hole, 4,271 meter Phase 3 drill program on the Salamandra Property in Durango, Mexico optioned from Canasil Resources Inc. Phase 3 drilling concluded in late September and final gold check assays were received in December. Combined with MAG’s Phase 1 and 2 drilling, MAG has now drilled 14,384 meters in 23 holes on the Salamandra property, complementing 12 holes previously drilled by Canasil.

MAG’s Phase 3 exploration program consisted of six follow-up holes (SA15-30 – 35) designed to seek mineralization in more favorable host rocks (limestones) at depth beneath the strongest silver-copper-antimony mineralization with associated skarn alteration seen at surface and in earlier drilling. No limestones were encountered and, as in Phase 1 and 2 drilling, appreciable widths of strongly anomalous zinc mineralization were cut in three of the new holes (SA15-32, 34, and 35). The best dispersed zinc intercept was hole SA15-34 with 28 meters (m) grading 1.43% zinc. The best narrow high-grade zinc zone was in Hole SA15-31 with 0.79 m grading 7.79% zinc. Strongly anomalous copper with no appreciable silver was cut in three holes.

Unlike any previous drilling, strong gold and tungsten mineralization was cut in the final hole, which was drilled farther east than any previous drilling. Hole SA15-35, cut two zones of coherent gold mineralization at 895-931 meters downhole depth: 9.33 m grading 1.01 g/t gold; including 0.88 m grading 3.6 g/t gold and 8.07 m grading 1.36 g/t gold; including 2.31m grading 2.96 g/t gold. These zones occur in scheelite-bearing skarn, which extends from approximately 650 m to 931 m downhole depth. The highest-grade tungsten (W) is 0.9 m of 0.38%. A broad zone of dispersed zinc mineralization (29.9 m grading 0.5%) lies just above the gold zone. Check assaying at SGS confirms these gold results.

"Salamandra continues to manifest signs of an extensive, complex system with a strong metals endowment,” said George Paspalas, President and CEO. "The broad pervasive multi-stage mineralization, now including consistent gold, in relatively unfavorable host rocks, supports interest in the system and warrants additional analysis to track it into the favorable limestones that regional work indicates should lie at depth."

To date, 18 of MAG’s 23 total holes have cut appreciable widths of strongly anomalous zinc mineralization, local silver-copper mineralization and now the first appreciable gold and tungsten mineralization. The lack of overlap between the metals zones suggests a combination of large-scale zoning and multi-stage mineralization; both hallmark features of a large Carbonate Replacement Deposit/skarn system. The fact that the gold and tungsten-bearing skarns were encountered outside the area of concentrated drilling and that deep drilling has not been undertaken outside this small area suggests that potential remains open in the majority of the system. Based on regional reconnaissance, MAG believes potentially more favorable limestone host rocks do underlie the system but that the hornfelsed shales that host the mineralization encountered to date in the drilled area are structurally repeated and overthickened. Another round of geophysical surveying and re-evaluation is in order to determine if limestone can be located.