Silver Standard boosts Snowfield gold tally (March 11, 2008)

Vancouver – Silver Standard Resources (SSO-T, SSRI-Q) has significantly increased gold resources at its Snowfield project located 65 km north-northwest of Stewart, B.C.

Measured and indicated resources have grown roughly 30% from the initial estimate in 2006 to now stand at 78.6 million tonnes grading 1.22 grams gold per tonne for almost 3.1 million contained oz. using a 0.5 gram gold cut-off grade. An additional 14.4 million tonnes grading 1 gram gold (about 466,000 contained oz.) was also reviewed.

Silver Standard’s estimate is based on 56 core holes drilled from 2006-07, a pair of resampled historic holes plus 13 trench samples.

Gold mineralization (along with minor copper) at Snowfield occurs in a suite of pyritic quartz-sericite-chlorite schists thought to represent Jurassic-age intermediate volcanics. The flat-lying, zoned deposit is within an elongate east-west bowl, or keel-shaped, structure that remains open in all directions and to depth. The company has targeted a high grade surface zone that averages over 2.5 grams gold and ranges in thickness from 30-90 metres.

Silver Standard says the entire mineralized package averages 150-170 metres in thickness but can range up to as much as 225 metres.

Snowfield adjoins the company’s Sulphurets property, located to the south, and is just east of Seabridge Gold‘s (SEA-V, SA-X) Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell project where resources of more than 34 million contained oz. gold and about 8 billion contained lbs. copper have been reviewed.

The project is also situated roughly 15 km southeast of Barrick Gold‘s (ABX-T, ABX-N) Eskay Creek gold-silver mine.

Silver Standard plans a four-drill, 20,000-metre program at Snowfield for 2008.

The company, which has one of the world’s largest silver resources, holds projects in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Canada, the United States and Australia. It is developing its first silver mine, Pirquitas in northern Argentina, which is anticipated to come on-stream in late 2008.