Sun Silver Delivers Major 59Moz AgEq Resource Growth at Maverick Springs
- Noel Ong
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
Announcement
Resource grows 59Moz to 539Moz AgEq at 71g/t - 9 December 2025 (click here to view the announcement)
Sun Silver Limited (ASX: SS1) has delivered yet another step-change in the scale of its cornerstone Maverick Springs Silver–Gold Project, located in northeast Nevada, approximately 85km from Elko and proximal to the world-renowned Carlin Trend.
Figure 1: Project Location (source: SS1)
The latest Mineral Resource upgrade increases the total Inferred Mineral Resource to 539Moz silver equivalent (AgEq) at 71 g/t AgEq, representing an additional 59Moz AgEq uplift from the 2025 exploration and re-assay program.
This marks the third Mineral Resource upgrade delivered by Sun Silver in less than two years — a trajectory that continues to elevate Maverick Springs as one of the most strategically important undeveloped primary silver assets in the United States.
The Business of the Silver: Focus – Maverick Springs Project
Sun Silver is advancing the Maverick Springs Project as a large-scale silver–gold system with strong geological continuity, favourable metallurgy, and significant extensional potential. The Project hosts broad, disseminated mineralisation typical of Carlin-style and epithermal-sediment-hosted systems. With mineralisation remaining open in all directions, the system is positioned for continued growth both in grade and footprint.
Highlights – Strategic Resource Growth and Uplift in Grade
This upgrade is driven by three key catalysts:
2025 extensional and infill drilling,
A major multi-element re-assay program, and
The removal of a legacy regression applied to historic silver data.
🔷 Key Highlights (9 December 2025)
• Total Maverick Springs Resource increased by 59Moz AgEq to 539Moz AgEq at 71 g/t AgEq
— comprising 347.2Moz silver at 45.5 g/t Ag and 2.25Moz gold at 0.30 g/t Au (Table 1).
Table 1 – Maverick Springs JORC Resource Upgrade
• Silver-only Resource increased to 347.2Moz at 45.5 g/t Ag, representing an uplift in both grade and ounces.
• Three Mineral Resource upgrades achieved in under two years, reflecting continuous value creation and strong geological understanding.
• Maverick Springs remains open in all directions, with 2024–2025 drilling hitting some of the broadest intercepts along the Resource margins:
Section Line A (Oblique Long Section)
(Figure 2)
High-grade intercepts occur beyond the previous MRE boundary:
Drillholes such as MR25-211 (70m @ 160 g/t AgEq) and MR24-190 (71.6m @ 112 g/t AgEq) sit outside or directly on the edge of the earlier mineral resource envelope, demonstrating continuation of wide, high-grade zones along the hinge beyond historical limits.
Near-surface and deeper extensions remain unmodelled and open:
Multiple intercepts highlighted as “Near-Surface Intercepts Outside Mineral Resource” show mineralisation continuing vertically and laterally beyond current modelling, reinforcing open extensions both up-dip and along strike.
Figure 2: Oblique Long Section Line A showing the Mineral Resource extent, near-surface mineralisation not included in this Mineral Resource upgrade (NAD83) (source: SS1)
Section Line B (Oblique Long Section)
(Figure 3)
Broad intercepts confirm open mineralisation to the north and south:
Significant hits such as MR25-230 (140.2m @ 71 g/t AgEq) and MR25-250 (102.1m @ 105 g/t AgEq) extend beyond the existing boundaries and illustrate that high-grade, thick mineralised intervals persist along the full strike length, remaining open NNW–SSE.
New extensional drilling demonstrates depth continuity:
Deep intercepts including MR06-167 (54.9m @ 317 g/t AgEq) and MR12-127 (114.3m @ 105 g/t AgEq), sit beyond the previous modelled volume, indicating that the mineralised system continues at depth with consistent thickness and grade.
Figure 3: Oblique Long Section Line B showing the Mineral Resource extensions, near-surface mineralisation not included in this Mineral Resource upgrade (NAD83) (source: SS1)
• Recent U.S. Department of the Interior listing of silver as a 2025 Critical Mineral enhances strategic importance and increases U.S.–Australian government interest.
• China’s new export controls and tax changes on silver signal tightening supply conditions — elevating the relevance of large, Western-based silver projects.
• Re-assay program confirms historical silver grades were underestimated by >20%, providing a strong uplift in confidence and grade accuracy (Figure 4).
Figure 4: QQ Plot Comparison (source: SS1)
• 2025 drilling highlights include (Figure 5):
— MR25-211: 70m @ 160 g/t AgEq, including 22.4m @ 460 g/t AgEq
— MR25-212: 54.1m @ 137 g/t AgEq, including 6.3m @ 506 g/t AgEq
Figure 5: Plan View of Drilling (source: SS1)
This combination of geological scale, increasing grade, and strategic relevance places Maverick Springs at the centre of the evolving North American silver supply chain narrative.
Leadership Commentary
Sun Silver Managing Director, Andrew Dornan, commented:
“Delivering our third Mineral Resource upgrade in under two years highlights Maverick Springs’ emergence as one of the most strategically important undeveloped silver assets in the United States. Our 2025 drill program and extensive re-assay work have added a further 59Moz AgEq, increasing the Resource to 539Moz AgEq at a higher grade of 71g/t AgEq, an 85% increase to the size of the Mineral Resource since listing. With silver now on the U.S. Critical Minerals List and China moving to restrict exports, the need for secure Western supply has never been clearer. Maverick Springs is exceptionally positioned to support domestic U.S. supply as we continue to expand and increase confidence in a system that remains open to the north and south.”
About the Project
The Maverick Springs deposit is located along the southeastern extension of the Carlin Trend and is hosted in Permian limestones and dolomites, forming a broad, gently folded antiform. Mineralisation is characterised by:
pervasive decalcification,
varying intensities of silicification,
fine-grained Ag–Au sulphide dissemination, and
localised high-grade, fracture-controlled silver zones.
The mineralised body extends from approximately 120m depth to over 500m and remains open along strike and down-dip. Combined modelling of silver and gold supports a large-scale, continuous silver-equivalent system (Figure 6).
Metallurgical testwork from historic campaigns, combined with updated density measurements, supports a current assumption of 85% recovery for both silver and gold. Further metallurgical programs are underway using newly drilled 2025 core to refine recovery profiles across oxidation states.
Figure 6: Grade Tonnage Curve of Maverick Springs 2025 Mineral Resource Upgrade (<150 g/t AgEq cutoff, ID² Estimate) (source: SS1)
This figure illustrates the sensitivity of the mineral resource to varying cut-off grades and visually demonstrates the robustness of the deposit across multiple grade thresholds — reinforcing the Project’s bulk-tonnage potential within a Tier-1 jurisdiction.
Near-term Milestones to Watch
Sun Silver has several value-generating activities underway:
Outstanding 2025 infill drilling results — to be released in coming months.
Additional metallurgical testwork using 2025 core samples — to refine recovery assumptions (currently 85% Ag & Au).
Resource confidence upgrades — targeting Indicated classification through increased drill density.
Exploration drilling targeting north-west high-grade extensions — supported by wide, high-grade intercepts outside current modelling.
Strategy updates linked to U.S. critical-mineral policy developments.
How Samso Understands the Investment Memo for the Company
Maverick Springs stands at the intersection of geological scale, grade uplift, and strategic supply-chain importance. The 59Moz AgEq increase — driven largely by robust re-assay work — elevates confidence in both grade continuity and metallurgical potential. The Project’s open geometry, Carlin-style characteristics, and proximity to major mining infrastructure present an opportunity for sustained resource expansion. From an investment perspective, the combination of a Tier-1 jurisdiction, rising Western critical-mineral focus, and strengthening silver demand positions Sun Silver for continued growth.
Samso Concluding Comments
Maverick Springs is steadily emerging as a prominent silver-gold system with the scale to contribute meaningfully to Western supply chains.
The business of Silver is now creating a lot of opportunities for Sun Silver. The scalability of the project is being pushed to a "doable" level, and the geology of the system — large, continuous, and hosted within favourable carbonate lithologies — is now being looked at seriously to support a long-life development potential in a jurisdiction that is globally recognised for permitting stability and mining expertise.
Strategically, the timing of this Resource upgrade is important. Silver’s elevation to a U.S. Critical Mineral and concurrent shifts in Chinese export behaviour create a backdrop in which large North American silver projects may command increasing attention from institutional, industrial, and governmental stakeholders.
For Sun Silver, further drilling, metallurgical refinement, and resource confidence upgrades are the next steps in de-risking what is shaping up to be one of the most significant pre-production primary silver assets on the ASX and in the United States.
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