IMPACT Silver Corp. ("IMPACT") is pleased to announce mining has started at the new Noche Buena Mine in the prolific Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver and Gold District of central Mexico. Full production is scheduled to commence in April and will augment current production from the Chivo and San Ramon Mines.
The start of operations at Noche Buena will focus on accessing the main zone of mineralization. The adit is being developed on the vein and initial production is planned for between 80 to 100 tonnes per day and will increase over the year as additional mining faces are developed. IMPACT's operating processing plant at Guadalupe, located four kilometers away, is being upgraded to accommodate the additional Noche Buena throughput.
The Noche Buena Project will be the third new mine that has been taken from discovery to production by the IMPACT technical team. From the time first assays were received from the discovery drill hole (January 2009) to projected commercial production in April, approximately 15 months will have elapsed. This ability to fast track new mines into production is a cornerstone of IMPACT's plans to rapidly grow silver production in the Zacualpan-Mamatla Districts.
To date, drilling has defined the upper levels of the Noche Buena Zone over a strike length of 300 meters, a depth of 100 meters and an average width of 3 meters. The zone remains open for expansion. Exploration on this northerly trending, west dipping Silver-Gold breccia zone has consisted of holes drilled on a 50-meter by 50-meter drill pattern designed to systematically explore and build tonnage. A compilation of drill results to date as reported in previous news releases is as follows:
NOCHE BUENA ZONE UPPER LEVEL DRILL INTERSECTIONS TO DATE
| DRILL HOLE | FROM (m) | TO (m) | INTERVAL (m) | SILVER (g/t) | GOLD (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SECTION 1100N | |||||
| Z09-06 | 134.3 | 135.6 | 1.3 | 332 | 0.7 |
| Including | 134.3 | 134.7 | 0.4 | 872 | 1.2 |
| Z09-05 | 125.0 | 126.5 | 1.5 | 123 | 0.1 |
| SECTION 1150N | |||||
| Z08-70 | 21.8 | 30.4 | 8.6 | 204 | 0.2 |
| Z08-71 | 108.3 | 112.6 | 4.3 | 233 | 0.7 |
| Z09-10 | 119.9 | 121.9 | 2.0 | 167 | 0.4 |
| SECTION 1200N | |||||
| Z09-72 | 118.7 | 119.5 | 0.8 | 243 | 0.5 |
| SECTION 1250N | |||||
| Z09-12 | 52.0 | 55.9 | 4.0 | 319 | 2.0 |
| Including | 54.5 | 54.8 | 0.3 | 3,600 | 15.5 |
| Z09-19 | 125.4 | 127.9 | 2.5 | 146 | 0.8 |
NOCHE BUENA ZONE UPPER LEVEL DRILL INTERSECTIONS (Continued)
| DRILL HOLE | FROM (m) | TO (m) | INTERVAL (m) | SILVER (g/t) | GOLD (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SECTION 1300N | |||||
| Z09-27 | 28.4 | 32.4 | 4.0 | 368 | 0.3 |
| Including | 30.6 | 32.4 | 1.8 | 691 | 0.5 |
| Z09-20 | 73.9 | 78.5 | 4.6 | 280 | 0.3 |
| Z09-21 | 129.0 | 130.3 | 1.4 | 151 | 0.5 |
| SECTION 1350N | |||||
| Z09-28 | 75.2 | 88.8 | 13.5 | 158 | 0.3 |
| Including | 75.2 | 75.6 | 0.4 | 651 | 0.8 |
| Including | 78.4 | 81.2 | 2.8 | 233 | 0.5 |
| Including | 87.5 | 88.8 | 1.3 | 563 | 0.9 |
| Including | 88.2 | 88.8 | 0.6 | 766 | 1.4 |
| SECTION 1400N | |||||
| Z09-39 | 52.75 | 55.83 | 3.08 | 589 | 0.2 |
| Including | 52.75 | 54.15 | 1.4 | 940 | 0.1 |
| Z09-40 | 91.50 | 95.55 | 4.05 | 116 | 0.1 |
| Z09-41 | 101.91 | 105.44 | 3.53 | 154 | 0.2 |
| SECTION 1450N | |||||
| Z09-42 | 68.90 | 72.90 | 4.00 | 124 | 0.1 |
| Z09-43 | 74.46 | 77.43 | 2.97 | 240 | 0.1 |
Noche Buena mining operations will begin in the vicinity of drill hole Z08-70. Other veins intersected in the drilling above and below the Noche Buena Vein returned high grade silver values including 499g/t Silver over 3.8 meters in drill hole Z09-39 and 1,078 g/t Silver over 3.3 meters in drill hole Z09-43 and will be incorporated into the mining plan. Further drilling is planned to expand the zone.
George Gorzynski, P.Eng., a Qualified Person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43 101, is responsible for the technical content of this news release.
IMPACT Silver Corp. is a profitable silver producer and exploration company operating in Mexico with a 500-tonne-per-day processing facility in its 272-square-kilometer Royal Mines of Zacualpan District, the adjacent 200-square-kilometer advanced Mamatla Mineral District and a portfolio of projects with an option on a producing mill at Zacatecas.
On behalf of the Directors of IMPACT Silver Corp.
"Frederick W. Davidson"
President & CEO
For further information, please contact:
Sunny Pannu, Investor Relations
Telephone: 604-681-0172
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
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