U.S. Silver to expand drilling

Surface and underground drilling by U.S. Silver will be significantly expanded in 2012.

The company's 2011 exploration program provided encouraging results, and U.S. Silver officials believe there's a potential for reserve expansion.

Operational consistency and favorable commodity prices have provided U.S. Silver with improved financial strength, said Gordon Pridham, U.S. Silver's executive chairman, in a press release.

"We are confident that our large land position in this prolific region will continue to provide additional reserves for years to come as we explore more aggressively," he said.

According to the press release, from August through December, the company drilled 21,433 feet of core in 46 diamond drill holes underground at the Coeur and Galena mines. This drilling has resulted in the confirmation of additional resources that will be developed for mining in 2012 and beyond.

An additional 10,893 feet has been drilled in seven holes from surface locations. A total of 994 samples have been collected from this drilling and submitted for analysis.

"The drilling results continue to successfully confirm existing resources at the Coeur mine," the release states.

U.S. Silver has operated one drill with one shift at the Coeur. The current drill program is designed to confirm and verify existing resources on the 356 vein.