VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 25, 2022 /CNW/ - Outcrop Silver & Gold Corporation (TSXV: OCG) (OTCQX: OCGSF) (DE: MRG1) ("Outcrop") is pleased to announce that drilling at El Dorado vein system commenced on January 8, 2022, and as a result of the successful regional exploration work that generated seven new vein targets last year, plans to add a second drill-rig in February to accelerate the definition  of additional high grade shoots is underway. In late March, Outcrop plans to bring in a third drill rig to focus on delineation drilling of potential resource areas from eight shoots that cumulatively totals 2,100 metres long by 350 metres projected depth. Outcrop is working towards defining twelve shoots in total to provide a potential resource area of over 3,000 metres by 350 metres projected depth, adequate for a maiden resource report to be released before the end of 2022. 

Highlights

• Outcrop is guiding an initial resource between 45 and 55 million ounces equivalent silver at grades between 550 and 750 grams equivalent silver per tonne.
• 18,000 metres of drilling is planned for this year to complete the discovery of 12 high-grade shoots and up to another 8,500 metres for definition drilling in preparation of the maiden compliant resource.
• One drill-rig will remain in the north to explore El Dorado, Naranjos and Alaska targets and a second rig will be deployed to the south to explore La Isabela, Espiritu Santo, Las Maras, and California veins.
• In parallel with drilling, Outcrop will continue advancing regional-scale exploration south to the Frias Mine Group (Frias, Plaza, and Calamonte mines in three parallel vein zones) where it expects to generate numerous additional drill targets.
• Outcrop will expedite prospecting, mapping, and sampling activities between El Cristo mine and Baroyeca Silver's La Ye vein system which projects to the northeast and southwest onto Outcrop concessions. The El Cristo to La Ye vein system provides a new target zone 2.5 kilometres long.
• The resource may be upscaled as new shoots are discovered and delineated on the Santa Ana project. The maiden resource is expected to represent less than 25% of the veins mapped and projected from only 6,000 hectares of the entire 36,000 hectare property.

"Success in defining eight high-grade shoots and generating seven high-grade targets to the north and south of the historic mines of Santa Ana, demonstrates the exceptional geologic potential of the district and reinforces Outcrops goal to identify a total of twelve shoots in preparation for a maiden resource report by year end," commented Jesus Velador, Vice President of Exploration.

"Santa Ana is quickly maturing towards the next important stage of the project, where a significant, high-grade discovery provides a robust initial resource," adds Joseph Hebert, Chief Executive Officer.

Near-term targets and geologic potential

Seven near-term targets were generated last year within a radius of 2.5 km from the historic mines of Santa Ana. Outcrop plans to complete its phase four program of 18,000 metres for exploration drilling and up to another 8,500 metres for potential resource delineation.  Exploration drilling by target ranking may extend to Baroyeca Silver's La Ye vein that project onto Outcrop claims, and further south to the Frias Mine Group.  Outcrop will prioritize exploration drilling along 16 kilometres of veins with the objective to define and delineate a total a minimum of four new shoots for a total of twelve shoots minimum.

The veins commonly outcrop or sub-crop as vein boulders. Veins uniformly show surface samples that exceed 1,500 g eq Ag/t and veins within target areas can be traced by mapping and or trenching, or gridded soil sampling.  The seven targets show high values of 5,224 g Ag/t and 64 g Au/t.

Guidance for Geologic Resources

Outcrop is providing guidance for an upward scalable maiden compliant resource by the end of 2022 of between 45,000,000 and 55,000,000 silver equivalent ounces with grades between 550 to 750 g eq Ag/t. Minimum vein widths will be appropriate to potential mining with resue or modified resue stopes. Grade and tonne models for each shoot are estimated using an estimation module in Leap Frog software. Grade and volume limiting vein surfaces are created using a wire-frame 3D model based on geologic logs from drilling. A minimum vein width of 0.25 metres is used, and grades are estimated from drill-hole assay composites using a projection ellipsoid oriented to the preferential trend of shoot mineralization. No grade capping or external dilution was applied.

The guidance is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient drilling to define a compliant resource, and there is no certainty that a resource will be defined.

Forward-looking geologic resource estimates anticipate success from a significant amount of additional drilling and achieving a success rate comparable to drilling to date. An anticipated success rate is derived from measuring the cumulative length of the eight shoots discovered to date as a proportion of vein length, the relatively consistent spacing or periodicity of these shoots, the cumulative length of drilled veins, the calculated true widths of veins, and the weighted average silver equivalent grades of 110 drill intercepts of 1,380 g eq Ag/t across all shoots as future prediction of as of yet undiscovered shoot grades.  

From the high-level metrics and internal shoot modeling described above, Outcrop estimates that each kilometre of vein zone can provide a geologic potential of up to 4.9 million silver equivalent ounces and undiscovered shoots will have a predictable spacing based on structural controls observed in the veins.

QA/QC

Core samples are sent to either Actlabs in Medellin or ALS Chemex in Medellin for preparation and then to ALS Chemex in Toronto or Lima, Peru for analysis. In line with QA/QC best practice, approximately three control samples are inserted per twenty samples (one blank, one standard and one field duplicate). The samples are analysed for gold using standard fire-assay on a 50-gram sample with a gravimetric finish. Multi-element geochemistry is determined by ICP-MS using either aqua regia (ME-MS41) or four acid (ME-MS61) digestion. Comparison to control samples and their standard deviations indicates acceptable accuracy of the assays and no detectible contamination.

About Santa Ana

The 100% owned Santa Ana project comprises over 36,000 hectares located in northern Tolima Department, Colombia, 190 kilometres from Bogota. The project consists of five or more regional scale parallel vein systems across a trend 16.5 kilometres wide and 30 kilometres long. The Mariquita silver-gold belt contains the highest-grade primary silver in Colombia, with historic silver grades reported to be among the highest in Latin America from dozens of mines dating back to 1585. Historic mining depths support a geologic and exploration model for composite mesothermal and epithermal vein systems having mineralization that likely extends to great depth. At Santa Ana it is unlikely that there is sharp elevation restriction common to high-grade zones in many epithermal systems with no mesozonal component.

Within the current area of focus of Santa Ana project, located at the northern extent of just one of the regional vein systems controlled by Outcrop, seven high grade shoots have been discovered – La Ivana hanging-wall and footwall (La Porfia vein system); San Antonio, Roberto Tovar, San Juan (Royal Santa Ana vein systems); El Dorado (El Dorado and El Paraiso vein systems) and Megapozo (El Paraiso vein system). Each zone commonly contains multiple parallel veins. The veins can show both high-grade silver and high-grade gold mineralization and low angle veins appear to connect more common high angle veins.

Outcrop drilling indicates that mineralization extends from surface or near surface to depths of at least 300 metres. Cumulatively, over 60 kilometres of mapped and inferred vein zones occur on the Santa Ana project. The Frias Mine on the south-central part of the project, 12 kilometres south of the Royal Santa Ana Mines produced 7.8 million ounces of silver post-production in the Spanish colonial era at a recovered grade of 1.3 kg Ag/t. The Frias Mine is considered an analogue to each of the seven shoots discovered to date by Outcrop. Outcrop has advanced numerous target areas to the north, including north Eldorado that comprises the northern extension of seven Royal Santa Ana veins for over 1 kilometre. The north Eldorado shows high values over 3.0 kg Ag/t. Between the Royal Santa Ana mines and Frias, veins have been extended 2.8 kilometres to the south providing strong drill targets in the Espiritu Santo, Maras, and El Christo veins that show high values up to 5.5 kg AgEq/t. These veins show widths up to 2.8 to 4.0 metres.

About Outcrop

Outcrop is rapidly advancing exploration on five silver and gold exploration projects with world-class discovery potential in Colombia.  Outcrop is currently drilling and expanding the Santa Ana historic high-grade silver district.  These assets are being advanced by a highly disciplined and seasoned professional team with decades of experience in Colombia. 

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been approved by Joseph P Hebert, a qualified person as defined in NI43-101 and President and Chief Executive Officer of Outcrop.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "we believe", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Outcrop to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, capital expenditures and other costs, financing and additional capital requirements, completion of due diligence, general economic, market and business conditions, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, political uncertainties, and the state of the securities markets generally.  Although management of Outcrop have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.  There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Outcrop will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Outcrop Silver & Gold Corporation

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