Southern Silver Drills 24.8 Metres averaging 124g/t Silver, 1.9% Lead and 2.1% Zinc at Cerro Las Minitas

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 13, 2012) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SSV)(FRANKFURT:SEG) reported today that new assays from 2011 drilling have identified silver-enriched high-grade polymetallic mineralization in two separate target areas on the Cerro Las Minitas project, located in Durango State, Mexico.

El Sol Zone Drilling

Drill testing of the recently identified El Sol zone returned a 24.8 metre interval averaging 124g/t silver, 1.9% lead and 2.1% zinc (239g/t AgEq) which included a 2.8 metre interval averaging 404g/t silver and 1.4% lead and 2.5% zinc (509g/t AgEq) from drill hole CLM11-027. The El Sol zone is an adjacent and sub-parallel mineralized structure located approximately 125 metres to the northeast of the new Blind zone discovery. A second hole, CLM11-029, also returned strongly anomalous polymetallic mineralization and is reported in Table 1.

Drill hole CLM11-27 tested both the El Sol and Blind zone structures and returned a near-surface mineralized intercept from the El Sol zone (as reported above) and two intercepts deeper in the Blind zone. The El Sol intercept occurs along strike from previously reported mineralization in drill holes CLM11-006 (7.8 metres of 221g/t Ag, 6.2% Pb and 2.1% Zn; NR-06-11) and CLM11-015 (1.3 metres of 165g/t Ag, 6.2% Pb, 2.4% Zn; NR-17-11). The El Sol zone has now been tested over a 250 metre strike-length to depths of up to 150 metres and remains open in all directions.

Blind Zone Drilling

Drilling on the Blind zone continues to identify multiple intervals of high-grade silver-enriched polymetallic mineralization, extending both the strike length and the depth of the presently known mineralized zone. Highlights from drill holes which tested the Blind zone include.

• an additional 3.5 metre interval averaging 146g/t silver, 6.4% lead and 3.5% zinc (417g/t AgEq) from deeper in hole CLM11-027;
• a 1.4 metre interval averaging 528g/t silver, 10.5% lead and 1.3% zinc (847g/t AgEq) from drill hole CLM11-022; and
• a 1.5 metre interval averaging 146g/t silver, 4.7% lead and 7.8% zinc (490g/t AgEq) from drill hole CLM11-028.

Drilling has now tested the Blind zone for over 600 metres strike-length and for over 300 metres depth. The Blind zone remains open in all directions. Orientations of the mineralization may vary from sub-vertical to near flat-lying. Assays are therefore reported as down hole intervals.

Table 1: Summary of Select Composited Assays from the Cerro Las Minitas Project

BLIND ZONE TARGET
	From		To		Interval	Ag	Au	Cu	Pb	Zn	AgEq
Hole No.	m		m		m	g/t	g/t	%	%	%	g/t
11CLM-022	209.3		210.3		0.9	611	0.1	0.7	18.5	13.1	1515
	232.2		233.7		1.4	528	0.1	0.0	10.5	1.3	847
11CLM-024	119.1		124.7		5.7	71	0.2	0.1	1.8	1.5	177
inc.	119.1		120.0		0.9	92	0.2	0.2	2.7	2.9	265
11CLM-025	NSV
11CLM-026	69.0		72.0		3.0	165	0.0	0.1	5.5	4.5	441
	102.5		103.4		1.0	240	0.0	0.9	6.6	8.3	716
	116.3		117.8		1.5	127	0.0	0.2	4.2	4.9	386
	131.7		132.7		1.0	65	0.0	0.1	2.6	2.7	209
	141.5		142.4		0.9	75	0.0	0.0	2.8	3.0	231
11CLM-027	220.2		223.6		3.4	146	0.0	0.1	6.4	3.5	417
(Continued from El Sol)	433.8		435.6		1.8	161	0.0	0.3	2.1	4.0	353
11CLM-028	50.5		55.4		4.9	88	0.0	0.1	2.0	0.9	170
	89.3		90.3		1.1	87	0.1	0.0	3.4	2.8	259
	113.6		114.6		1.1	79	0.0	0.1	2.6	3.4	247
	115.6		116.8		1.3	146	0.0	0.1	4.7	7.8	490
EL SOL TARGET
	From		To		Interval	Ag	Au	Cu	Pb	Zn	AgEq
Hole No.	m		m		m	g/t	g/t	%	%	%	g/t
11CLM-027	0.6		25.4		24.8	124	0.0	0.1	1.9	2.1	239
inc.	9.0		11.8		2.8	404	0.0	0.0	1.4	2.5	509
and inc.	20.9		22.4		1.5	125	0.0	0.1	2.6	4.0	306
	34.8		36.1		1.4	26	0.0	0.0	0.8	1.7	97
	48.1		50.8		2.7	45	0.0	0.1	4.2	5.3	305
inc. (Continued in Blind Zone)	49.7		50.8		1.1	88	0.0	0.1	7.9	8.6	537
11CLM-029	96.6		99.3		2.7	44	0.0	0.0	2.5	1.0	142

Analyzed by FA-ES/AA for gold and ICP-MS by ALS Chemex, Vancouver BC; Silver overlimits (>100g/t Ag) re-assayed with FA-Grav. AgEq calculation uses values that approximate the three-year trailing average of the contained metals: $23.3 silver, $1,250 gold, $3.1 copper and $0.9 lead and $0.9 zinc. AgEq calculations did not account for relative metallurgical recoveries of the metals.

To view Figure 1 associated with this news release, please click the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/SSV_fig1.pdf.

2012 Exploration Program

Diamond drilling on the property with two core rigs resumed in January. One drill rig remains dedicated to the continued delineation of mineralization in the Blind and El Sol zones. The second drill is testing specific occurrences located within the area of historic mining and several targets derived from the recently completed surface sampling and an IP geophysical program. Multiple geological and geophysical targets remain to be tested and fully delineated within this part of the property.

Twenty-nine drill holes totaling approximately 7,400 metres were completed on the project in 2011. An additional 2,068 metres in eight drill holes have been completed to date in 2012. Assays from these drill holes are pending.

The Company has scheduled 20,000 metres of core drilling in 2012, with the aim of completing a NI 43-101 compliant resource on these first set of targets by Q4 of 2012. This will be the initial milestone toward the Company's goal of delineating a larger, multi-million tonne, high-grade, silver-enriched polymetallic resource on the project.

For a current drill-hole plan and a full table of drill results, please visit the Company's website at www.southernsilverexploration.com.

About the Cerro Las Minitas property

The Cerro Las Minitas property comprises 18 concessions which total 15,125 hectares and an approximate 25 kilometre lineal strike length. The property is located approximately 70 kilometres northeast of the city of Durango, Durango State, Mexico and is accessed easily by road.

Small-scale mining has been conducted on the property since Colonial times and has identified several types of silver, lead and zinc-enriched massive-sulphide pipes, veins and carbonate-replacement deposits (CRDs), as well as mineralized skarns at the margins of a large intrusive body. The Santa Eulalia replacement deposit (45Mt of 310g/t Ag, 7.1% Zn and 8.2% Pb) and the skarn deposit of San Martin (60Mt of 118g/t silver, 0.9% copper and 3.9% zinc) are examples of two major Mexican mines occurring in similar geological environments⁽¹⁾. The more recent discovery and development of the Nuestra Senora mine by Scorpio Mining Ltd. (6.3Mt of 106g/t Ag, 0.4% Cu, 1.4% Pb, 3.2% Zn) provides a more modern example of the development of these highly productive Mexican deposits.

Several of the historic mineralized zones at Cerro Las Minitas have been exploited to depths of up to 300 metres and over widths of up to 60 metres.

About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is a precious and base metal exploration company and a member of the Manex Resource Group; a private company comprised of an exceptional multi-disciplinary team of professionals with specific expertise in all areas of exploration, development, corporate finance and public company administration.

The Company's growth strategy is to acquire, explore and develop high-quality properties in progressive jurisdictions within North America. Its current projects include the silver-lead-zinc Cerro Las Mintas project and the copper-gold-silver Minas de Ameca in Mexico, the porphyry copper-molybdenum Dragoon project in Arizona, and the gold-silver-copper Oro project in New Mexico.

Robert Macdonald (P.Geo) is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release.

1. Southern Silver advises that tonnage and grade of adjacent properties or those used for comparative purposes may not reflect the ultimate potential of the Cerro Las Minitas project.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Lawrence Page, President, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general economic conditions, interest rates, commodity markets, regulatory and governmental approvals for the company's projects, and the availability of financing for the company's development projects on reasonable terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Southern Silver Exploration Corp. does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.