Black Bear Minerals Confirms Higher-Grade Silver and Polymetallic Potential at Shafter

Historic Core Re-Assays Reveal Substantially Higher Silver Grades

Black Bear Minerals (ASX:BKB) has unveiled fresh assay results from its Shafter Silver Project in Texas that significantly upgrade the silver content in historic drill core samples. The standout intercept, from hole S-12-403, returned 9.1 metres at 1,043g/t silver, including a blistering 0.6 metres at 2,990g/t Ag. This represents a 133% increase in silver grade for the internal interval compared to the original assays and a 30% uplift in contained silver for the broader intercept. Another hole, S-12-420, also showed a modest 5% increase in contained silver, confirming the tenor of the historic mineralisation.

These results stem from a systematic re-analysis of legacy drill core using modern four-acid digestion and gravimetric fire assay methods, which tend to provide more complete mineral digestion than the historic two-acid methods. The re-assays include rigorous QAQC protocols, lending confidence to the data. The company has extended this re-analysis across all available historic drill programs, reflecting a consistent trend of higher silver grades compared to the original dataset.

Polymetallic Mineralisation Broadens Project Potential

Beyond silver, Black Bear has confirmed polymetallic mineralisation within the Shafter Project, including gold grades up to 0.8g/t and lead concentrations as high as 30%. Historic samples were originally analysed for silver only, so this multi-element focus is uncovering new dimensions to the deposit. Recent exploration drilling outside the current foreign Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) footprint has intercepted significant zinc mineralisation, such as 10.7 metres at 3.3% Zn, including a high-grade 1.7 metres at 19.8% Zn alongside lead and gold.

This polymetallic character could enhance the economic profile of Shafter, particularly if by-product credits from gold, zinc, and lead contribute materially to future mine plans. Black Bear is progressing metallurgical testwork to assess these possibilities and plans to incorporate multi-element data into an upcoming JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, moving beyond the current silver-only foreign MRE prepared under Canadian NI 43-101 standards.

Advancing Towards JORC Resource and Mine Restart

The Shafter Project hosts a foreign mineral resource of approximately 17.5 million ounces of silver at an average grade near 289g/t Ag. Black Bear is undertaking validation and technical work to convert this estimate to JORC compliance, a key step for advancing the project towards development. The company is also progressing a Rapid Mine Restart Study, leveraging Shafter's existing infrastructure and historic production record; the Presidio Mine historically produced over 35 million ounces of silver at an average grade of 521g/t.

Recent twin-hole drilling has returned higher-grade and thicker intercepts than their historic counterparts, reinforcing confidence in the upgraded assay data. The company’s CEO, Dennis Lindgren, highlighted that the extensive historic core on site offers a significant catalyst to build a more complete geological and resource model as exploration and technical studies advance.

Broader Portfolio and Economic Context

Black Bear Minerals also holds the Independence Gold Project in Nevada, where a recent scoping study outlined a low-capital open-pit heap-leach operation with a post-tax NPV of approximately A$511 million and a 64% IRR. This complements the Shafter silver exposure with a significant gold asset in a Tier-1 jurisdiction. Additionally, the company maintains a lithium exploration portfolio in Quebec’s James Bay region, diversifying its exposure to critical minerals.

The Shafter Project’s location within the mineral-rich Sierra Madre Belt extension, near major operations like Newmont’s Peñasquito mine, adds geological appeal. The polymetallic nature and grade uplifts from historic core re-assays underscore the potential for resource expansion and improved project economics, provided the JORC conversion and metallurgical studies proceed as planned.