Silver Co. Strikes >75KM of Rich Gold and Silver Across 2 USA Sites

You may know Summa Silver Corp. (SSVR:TSX.V; SSVRF:OTC) as the Canada-based junior mineral exploration company engaged in acquisition, exploration, and evaluation activities at two U.S. sites: the Hughes property in Nevada and the Mogollon property in New Mexico.

The firm owns 100% of the Hughes project, where the latest gold and silver discoveries were made. Consisting of approximately 57 patented mining claims and 103 unpatented mining claims that together cover an area of some 5,504 acres, the Hughes property is spread across the middle of the state of Nevada, near Tonopah.

Summa Silver also has the option to earn 100% interest in its Mogollon project, which is approximately 120 km from Silver City in southwestern New Mexico and covers a silver-gold bearing epithermal vein field.

The Catalyst: Outstanding Assay Results from Hughes

On October 11, Summa Silver Corp. announced results from ongoing data compilation and geologic modeling at the Hughes Project, including historic underground rock sampling data.

The results highlight the exploration potential of multiple previously untested high-grade zones in the historic Belmont Mine.

Highlights include grades of up to:

• 3,204 g/t silver equivalent (1,639 g/t Ag, 20.2 g/t Au) from the Belmont 1000 level
• 3,164 g/t silver equivalent (1,854 g/t Ag, 17.5 g/t Au) from Vein 953
• 2,739 g/t silver equivalent (2,229 g/t Ag, 8.6 g/t Au) from Vein 707
• 2,192 g/t silver equivalent (350 g/t Ag, 21.9 g/t Au) from a potential extension of the Belmont Vein.

The newly identified but un-mined zones present compelling drill targets and show that significant mineralization still exists in the historic Belmont Mine. The mine produced 36.7 million ounces of silver and 428,000 ounces of gold at grades of 1,137 g/t silver equivalent (599 g/t Ag and 6.99 g/t Au) between 1903 and 1929.

The final drill hole of the 2023 Hughes drill program is now complete, representing a 650 m step out to the east from the Ruby discovery. It intersected extensive hydrothermal alteration and meter-scale zones of quartz veins, breccias, and stockworks locally host to visible silver sulfide mineralization. Assays of the newly drilled areas are pending.

Silver remains an important money metal, with The Silver Institute reporting on February 8, " Silver is also expected to achieve a new high in industrial applications, the most important category in the demand complex."

Summa Silver CEO Galen McNamara explains that "At Hughes, a compilation of historical data has outlined numerous exploration targets in the Belmont Mine. In its heyday in the 1920s, the Belmont Mine was one of America's great silver producers. Since restarting exploration here in 2020 after decades of no activity, our work has shown that significant high-grade zones of silver and gold remain un-mined."

McNamara goes on to say, "This is also true throughout the entire historic Tonopah Mining District, where our neighbor Blackrock Silver Corp. (BRC:TSX.V; BKRRF:OTCQX) just announced a 100M ounce silver equivalent resource at over 500 g/t silver equivalent on their Tonopah West project. On our side of the project boundary, we have outlined both new discoveries and un-mined zones of high-grade mineralization over a 6.5 km trend length. All zones discovered to date remain open to significant expansion and require follow-up."

Why this Sector? Continuing Demand Growth for Gold and Silver

Gold ended 2022 at $1,825 per ounce, with many analysts forecasting considerable price growth in a roundup piece published by GoldSilver.com.

"In general, we are looking for a price-friendly 2023, supported by recession and stock market valuation risks — an eventual peak in central bank rates combined with the prospect of a weaker dollar and inflation not returning to the expected sub-3% level by year-end — all adding support," Ole Hansen of Denmark's Saxo Bank predicts. "The gold price will be higher once markets realize global inflation will remain hot despite monetary tightening."

As Juerg Kiener of Swiss Asia Capital points out, "Gold is also the only asset which every central bank owns."

Of course, gold isn't the only metal Summa Silver is poised to pull out of the ground. As the company's name implies, where there's gold, there's silver, and analysts are equally bullish about that metal.

"We reiterate our Speculative Buy recommendation," McDougall wrote, explaining that Research Capital also maintained its CA$2 per share target price on the company. At the time, the stock was trading at CA$0.55, suggesting that a return to target could provide some 264% growth.

Speaking to CNBC, Janie Simpson, managing director at ABC Bullion, pointed out that "Silver has historically delivered gains of close to 20% per annum in years inflation is high. Given that track record and how cheap silver remains relative to gold, it wouldn't surprise to see silver head towards $30 per ounce this year, though that will likely offer significant resistance."

Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at precious metals company MKS PAMP, agreed with that assessment in the same report. "Silver is in a shortage," she explained, "and there is a notable drawdown in the available physical stocks held in New York and London's physical hubs, more so than seen in gold."

It's quite possible that, as with gold, silver production has peaked for good. As President of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM:TSX; WPM:NYSE), Randy Smallwood, explains, "We hit peak silver supply back about five, six years ago. Silver production on a worldwide basis has actually been dropping, and we're not seeing as much silver produced from the mines."

Silver remains an important money metal, with The Silver Institute reporting on February 8, "Silver is off to a good start in 2023. The year-to-date silver price average for 2023 (through to February 7) is more than 8% higher than the full-year price average for 2022. Silver is also expected to achieve a new high in industrial applications, the most important category in the demand complex."

Why this Company? New Promotion Partners in New Markets

Before the completion of the recent analysis program, Summa Silver announced on May 2 that it "has engaged [Toronto, Ontario-based] Capital 10X to provide marketing and investor relations services." This new relationship is designed to assist with "expanding investor awareness of its business and actively communicating with the investment community."

The company has also "engaged Scandinavian Alliance to provide business development, brand awareness, and consulting services."

As part of this new work, " Scandinavian Alliance will undertake a comprehensive European awareness campaign for the Company, including consultation, advice, heightening brand awareness, broadening the Company's reach within the Scandinavian audience, and similar activities designed to further the business and development interests identified by the company."

Why Now? Analysts Say "Buy"

On July 20, Analyst Suart McDougall reported on older news that Summa Silver Corp. had discovered several new, high-grade surface showings at the Mogollon gold-silver project in New Mexico, on which the company has a 100% interest earn-in option.

"We reiterate our Speculative Buy recommendation," McDougall wrote, explaining that Research Capital also maintained its CA$2 per share target price on the company. At the time, the stock was trading at CA$0.55, suggesting that a return to target could provide some 264% growth.

Just as at the Hughes site, the sample results from Mogollon "all point to their continuation beyond historic underground workings," McDougall explained. Grades varied, as expected, but included high concentrations of silver, gold, and copper.

"Summa Silver intends to follow up the results with more detailed geological mapping, rock chip sampling, and soil geochemical surveys to better define the structural controls on mineralization and their orientations," McDougall concluded. 

The new showings in July expanded Mogollon's cumulative vein potential to 75 kilometers. Only 0.5 km of that has been drilled, with the remainder representing nothing but exploration upside. 

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Reuters, 6.19% of the company is owned by management and insiders.

CEO and Director Galen Stuart Mcnamara has 2.67%, with 2.55 million shares. Director Thomas O'Neill has 1.72%, with 1.64 million. CFO and Director Martin Bajic has 1.41%, with 1.35 million. Director Brian Goss has 0.26%, with 0.25 million, and Director Michael Konnert has 0.13%, with 0.13 million. 

17.73% is with strategic investor 2176423 Ontario Ltd, with 16.97 million shares.

10.91% is held by institutional investors.

Sprott Asset Management LP has 8.05%, with 7.70 million. ETF Managers Group LLC has 1.93%, with 1.84 million, and U.S. Global Investors Inc. has 0.78%, with 0.75 million.

The rest is with retail investors.

Summa Silver Corp. has a market cap of CA$50.56 million. The company has 85.7 million shares outstanding, with a free float of 62.83 million.

Important Disclosures:

1. Owen Ferguson wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
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