Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Expands Silver Valley Land Position by 60% to Approximately 38,000 Acres and Initiates Multi-Year, 45,000-Meter District-Scale Exploration Program
Sunshine Silver Mining enlarges its Silver Valley land package and commits to extensive surface and underground drilling through at least late 2026.
Rhea-AI Summary
Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining (SSMR) expanded its consolidated mineral rights in Idaho's Silver Valley by approximately 14,100 acres, a 60% increase, to about 38,000 acres, and launched a multi-year, 45,000-meter district-scale surface exploration drilling program.
The program will initially focus on three drill-ready targets: East Sunshine near the Sunshine Mine, and the Rock Creek and Pine Creek areas. Sunshine expects surface drilling to start in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company’s 2025 reconnaissance program (322 fieldwork days, 128 rock and 2,935 soil samples) defined multiple targets. Separately, a 50,000-meter underground in-fill drilling program at the Sunshine Mine is on track to finish in October 2026, with additional downshaft drill results expected in the fourth quarter.
Positive
- Land position +60% to approximately 38,000 acres in Silver Valley
- 45,000 meters of planned multi-year district-scale surface drilling
- Three initial high-priority drill targets: East Sunshine, Rock Creek, Pine Creek
- 50,000-meter underground in-fill drilling program on track to complete in October 2026
- 2025 reconnaissance program completed 322 man-days, 128 rock and 2,935 soil samples, generating drill-ready targets
Negative
- None.
News Explained
Separately, the
Key Figures
- Land position expansion
- approximately 14,100 acres
- Added to Sunshine's consolidated mineral rights position
- Expansion rate
- 60%
- Increase in consolidated mineral rights position
- Total land position
- approximately 38,000 acres
- Expanded Silver Valley mineral rights position
- Planned drilling
- 45,000 meters
- Multi-year surface exploration program
- Drilling start
- fourth quarter of 2026
- Expected start of surface drilling
Historical Context
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High-grade silver intercepts from the ongoing underground program supported resource expansion objectives
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Key Terms
geophysics technical
geochemistry technical
diamond drilling technical
in-fill drilling technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Furthermore, the Company is also initiating a multi-year, 45,000-meter surface exploration drilling program across its expanded land position. The program will initially target three drill-ready areas: East Sunshine, located immediately east of the Sunshine Mine along strike of known mineralization, as well as Rock Creek and Pine Creek within the Company's broader land position. These targets provide multiple opportunities to further evaluate the potential for new discoveries across the Company's highly prospective and underexplored district-scale land package. Sunshine expects surface drilling to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
Heather White, Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining, commented: "The Sunshine Mine is already an extraordinary, world-renowned asset. The possibility that it may be only one part of our company's much larger story is very exciting. We now control some 38,000 acres in one of the most important silver-yielding districts in America. We have identified three drill-ready target areas, extending from the Sunshine Mine across our broader land package. Much of that land position has seen limited modern exploration to date, leaving significant discovery potential beyond the current Sunshine Mine footprint."
She continued: "We believe our extended land package could possibly expand the Sunshine story beyond a single mine. As such, our announced multi-year, 45,000-meter surface exploration program represents a pivotal and promising step toward rigorously evaluating the district's multiple-mine potential."
Expanded District-Scale Position in the Silver Valley
The addition of approximately 14,100 acres increases Sunshine's consolidated mineral rights position to approximately 38,000 acres and expands the prospective ground available for exploration across the Company's broader Silver Valley land position (see Figure 1).1
The Silver Valley's long history of high-grade silver production underscores the singular prospectivity of the district. Large portions of Sunshine's land position have seen limited modern exploration to date, creating a rare opportunity to apply modern geophysics, geochemistry, diamond drilling and geological interpretation across a substantially larger area.
Multi-Year, District-Scale Exploration Program
The Company's multi-year surface exploration program includes approximately 45,000 meters of planned drilling across high-priority areas within Sunshine's expanded land position.
In 2025, the Company completed a reconnaissance field program across previously unexplored areas within its land position. The program comprised 322 man-days of fieldwork, 128 rock samples and 2,935 soil samples and identified multiple drill-ready targets. The planned surface exploration drilling program is intended to test these targets and evaluate additional prospective areas across the expanded land position.
Sunshine's highest-priority surface exploration target is East Sunshine, located immediately east of the mine along strike of known mineralization within the Sunshine vein system. The target extends east, well beyond the current mineral resource footprint (see Figure 2).1
Pine Creek and Rock Creek, which were identified as part of the 2025 reconnaissance field program, represent additional high-priority, drill-ready targets outside the Sunshine vein system (see Figure 1).
Together, East Sunshine, Pine Creek and Rock Creek provide multiple opportunities to further evaluate the potential for mineralization beyond the current Sunshine Mine resource. Drill locations and sequencing will be refined as work progresses and the Company continues to prioritize targets across its expanded land position.
Additional Drill Results Expected in Fourth Quarter
In July 2026, the Company reported drill results from the Upper Country as part of its 50,000-meter underground in-fill drilling program at the Sunshine Mine. The program was designed in support of two key objectives: upgrading the classification of the mineral resource in the Company's planned 2027 Sunshine Mine feasibility study, and evaluating opportunities for near-mine resource expansion in the Upper Country. Drilling has since advanced to downshaft areas and remains on track for completion in October. The Company expects to report results from the downshaft drilling during the fourth quarter of 2026.
About Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Company
Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Company is advancing toward silver production from the Sunshine Mine in Idaho's Silver Valley, the most prolific silver district in U.S. history. The Sunshine Mine is North America's highest-grade primary silver resource. It is characterized by exceptional size, extraordinary growth potential, existing infrastructure, and a history of proven production. Sunshine, the largest holder of mineral rights in the Silver Valley, also controls a consolidated land position with significant exploration potential and is evaluating additional value opportunities through silver/copper refining and antimony production. For more information, visit www.sunshinesilvermining.com.
Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's plans for future exploration drilling activities, the potential for additional mines on the Sunshine land package and the potential for additional mineralized systems beyond the Sunshine Mine. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "will," "could," "predict" and similar expressions or terminology. These statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations and projections regarding its business, operations and other factors relating thereto and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risk factors set forth in our registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and other filings that we make from time to time with the SEC, that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
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1 Mineral rights boundaries and geographic features depicted are approximate and for illustrative purposes only. They do not represent a legal survey or definitive title. Distances, scale, and exact positioning may vary from actual field boundaries. |
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SOURCE Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining
FAQ
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Which areas will Sunshine Silver Mining target first in the new surface exploration program?
The initial phase of the multi-year surface exploration drilling program will focus on three drill-ready targets: East Sunshine, located immediately east of the Sunshine Mine along strike of known mineralization within the Sunshine vein system, and the Pine Creek and Rock Creek areas within the company’s broader land position.
When is Sunshine Silver Mining expecting surface drilling and additional underground drill results?
Sunshine expects surface drilling for the new district-scale program to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. The ongoing 50,000-meter underground in-fill drilling program at the Sunshine Mine is scheduled to complete in October 2026, with downshaft drill results expected during the fourth quarter of 2026.
What work did Sunshine Silver Mining complete in 2025 to define its drill targets?
In 2025, the company carried out a reconnaissance field program across previously unexplored areas of its land position. This work included 322 man-days of fieldwork, 128 rock samples, and 2,935 soil samples, which were used to identify multiple drill-ready targets such as Pine Creek and Rock Creek.