SS1 appoints global engineering firm for economic studies on 539M silver equivalent ounce project in Nevada, USA.

Our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year Sun Silver (ASX: SS1, OTC SSLVF) just appointed Ausenco as engineering consultant for its 539M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource in Nevada.

Currently, SS1’s project already has a 539M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource which makes it the largest pre-production silver resource on both the ASX and in the USA.

Ausenco are coming in to deliver a maiden Scoping Study/ Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for SS1’s project.

Which SS1 expects to have delivered in Q4-2026.

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Ausenco have experience doing similar work on other major projects in Nevada including the Spring Valley gold project, so they will know exactly what needs to be done to get the best out of SS1’s project.

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In the meantime, SS1 is also currently drilling its project with FOUR diamond drill rigs on the project looking to grow its already giant resource with a mix of infill and extensional drilling:

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With the current round of drilling we are hoping SS1 can move more of its resource out of the inferred category into the higher confidence indicated/Measured categories.

(source - our article on JORC resources)

Basically, that upgrade happens when a company drills more holes, closer together so that the “confidence” in the resource estimate is stronger - literally a data collection exercise.

A higher confidence resource estimate matters because its typically what the larger institutional investors look for when thinking about development financing for a project.

(the more certain a company is in its orebody, the less risky it is for a financier to back)

See our educational article on resource categories here: What is a JORC resource? How does a company define a resource? 🎓

The added bonus for us will be if the resource grows even further…

Especially if that drilling to the north-west comes in:

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SS1’s project may also contain critical military metal antimony…

(antimony is critical for making bullets, missiles, tanks and all sorts of important military uses but the USA has zero domestic supply)

On the antimony front - SS1 is resampling old drillcore as well as sampling new drillcore to put together that maiden antimony resource - here is what we know about the antimony in SS1’s giant silver deposit right now:

(Source)

Here is a 3D visual we have been tracking for the antimony:

(Source - Canetoad.ai)

We think a maiden antimony JORC resource (which SS1 says is in the works) could also be a big catalyst for SS1 (and something that the current drilling program could also assist with.

Especially now with both silver and antimony have been declared as “critical metals” by the USA.

We note - SS1 recently finalised a white paper to submit to the Department of Defence (DoD) (now the Department of War) for funding.

(Source)

And we note that SS1 has explicitly said that it was pursuing US DoW funding right now...

(Source)

So an an increased silver resource AND a potential maiden antimony resource to go with it, could unlock potential funding deals…

Silver price back above US$80/ounce

This is all playing out with silver currently back above US$80/oz (as of writing), which from today’s announcement will “materially enhance project economics” for SS1's 539M ounce silver equivalent resource.

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So the timing of pushing development studies forward while silver prices could make financing and development much easier.

When we wrote about SS1 kicking off its drill program a couple of weeks ago, we flagged the scoping study as one of the key upcoming catalysts.

This is because it would finally give the market an idea of the potential economics behind SS1's giant silver resource.

Today's news shows us that SS1 is actively building the engineering team and doing the behind the scenes work needed to deliver that study.

A positive study would bring further value to the project and the current 539M ounce silver equivalent resource, SS1 needs to be able to show the market that it can be extracted economically.

Last month we covered the metallurgical results in a longer article, you can catch up on that: SS1: Giant USA silver resource. NEW: metwork demonstrates conventional processing and excellent recoveries

What's next for SS1?

🔄 Drill results from the current program

With four rigs turning, we should see a steady flow of results.

The infill drilling for the resource upgrade and the one we are looking out for the most - the extensional drilling to the north-west of the existing resource:

(source)

🔲 Scoping study - Q4 2026

The maiden scoping study will pull together the resource, met testwork, and mine planning into an economic picture.

This is the one we think could change the way the market views SS1’s projects (finally giving it some project economics context)

Today SS1 confirmed Ausenco (a global engineering company) will be used as lead engineering consultant who will help run studies for the Scoping Study/Preliminary Economic Assessment due by the end of the year.

🔲 Maybe a maiden antimony resource?

We have written in the past about how SS1’s deposit may also host a giant antimony resource to go with the silver.

IF a maiden antimony resource can be defined, we think it would be a game changer for SS1’s deposit AND could open up US government funding pathways for developing its project.

See our deep dive on the antimony potential here: Antimony could unlock government funding for SS1