These two metals are expected to see a sharp boost in demand, leading to a predicted shortage in materials for electronics like iPads and Kindles starting in 2017, and an anticipated increase in prices.

Demand for both silver and tin is driven by the fact that both metals are key components in solder alloys that meet the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive implemented in the EU in 2006.

The directive, which took effect in July of 2006, recognizes that a large proportion of electronic waste will never be recycled, and therefore the materials within devices will dissipate into the environment. For example, when lead is used in substances such as the solder that connects components to a circuit board in an electronic device, there is no way the lead can be collected.

As a result, the EU said that substances like solder, at least within devices intended for sale in the region, must not contain any of the hazardous materials the directive is concerned with, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and diphenyl ether.

Because of this new law, the search for a new standard solder in the electronics industry began, resulting in a mixture of tin and silver - putting pressure on supplies for both of these metals.

Byron Capital says that from the period of 2004 to 2011, prices for both tin and silver have been appreciating markedly. The firm noted in a recent report that many electronic manufacturers have decided to use lead-free solders on all versions of their products - whether shipping to regions in which RoHS regulations pertain, or not - as it is logistically simpler.

Hykawy says that a shortfall in tin supply is of particular concern, as mining production levels suggest growth rates of tin output are "anemic".

Tin, which is an LME-traded metal, had the lowest warehouse availability of any LME-traded metal at only 10,000 tonnes as of February 22.

Byron predicts that non-investment demand for tin will jump from around 362,000 tonnes last year to more than 544,000 tonnes by 2020. Silver demand, meanwhile, is expected to go up from 844 million ounces in 2011 to over 1 billion ounces by 2020 as demand for silver in the construction of solar modules is also accelerating quickly.

Prices for tin, according to Byron, are projected to more than double to $59,047 per tonne in 2018, while prices for silver are expected to rise to $68.88 per ounce in 2018 - when silver is anticipated to reach critical supply levels - from $35.11 in 2011.

"Global growth is driven by people, energy and materials, and of these materials, more tin and silver is needed or we will have a potentially dangerous supply situation on our hands," says Hykawy.

After an enlightening talk on critical materials used in hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles from General Motors' Dr. Yucong Wang, South American Silver's (TSE:SAC) investor relations manager, Robert Gill, spoke on the company's silver and indium assets in Bolivia on Thursday.

Indium's current primary application is to form transparent electrodes from indium tin oxide in liquid crystal displays and touchscreens, and this use largely determines its global mining production.

It is also used for making particularly low melting point alloys, and is a component in some lead-free solders.

South American's Malku Khota project in Bolivia, which is listed by Byton as one of the major new silver projects coming on stream, is one of the world’s largest undeveloped silver and indium resources with an NI 43-101-qualified indicated resource of 230.3 million ounces of silver and 1,481 tonnes of indium, plus an inferred resource of 140 million ounces silver and 935 tonnes indium.

An updated preliminary economic assessment, released last year, showed a net present value of $704 million at a five percent discount rate for a 40,000 tonne per day bulk mineable heap leach operation. Projected silver production is 13.2 million ounces per year, with 80 tonnes of indium per year.

Gill says that the company, with $26.6 million in cash, is due to release a pre-feasibility level update in the second quarter of this year, with feasibility work to start in the second half of 2012.

Other noteworthy companies in the silver sector include Southern Silver (CVE:SSV), SilverCrest Mines (CVE:SVL)(OTCQX:STVZF), Silver Bull Resources (TSE:SVB)(AMEX:SVBL), Great Panther Silver (TSE:GPR)(AMEX:GPL), Orko Silver (CVE:OK), and Arian Silver (CVE:AGQ)(AIM:AGQ).

Southern Silver Exploration

Southern Silver Exploration is a Canadian precious and base metals explorer with mining ventures in Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona.

At its Cerro Las Minitas project in Mexico, Southern Silver has scheduled 20,000 metres of core drilling in 2012, with the aim of completing an NI 43-101 compliant resource on its first set of targets by the fourth quarter.  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.

Assay results from hole 12CLM-030 returned a 1.1 metre interval averaging 250 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 10.7% lead and 16.95 zinc (1,007 g/t silver equivalent) at a vertical depth of approximately 270 metres.

SilverCrest Mines

Precious metals producer SilverCrest Mines, meanwhile, is focused on production from its Santa Elena Mine in Sonora, Mexico, which started commercial production in July of last year.

The company recently announced that silver production in the first quarter from its Santa Elena Mine more than doubled while gold production almost tripled year-over-year.

For the first quarter, silver production jumped 108 percent to 134,528 ounces, from 64,712 ounces a year ago, when the mine, which is now in commercial production, was still in the commissioning phase. Silver equivalent ounces sold soared 339 percent to 641,532 ounces from 146,219 in the first quarter one year ago.

The mine is a high-grade, epithermal gold and silver producer, with an estimated life of mine cash cost of US$8 per ounce of silver equivalent.

SilverCrest anticipates that the mine should recover around 4,805,000 ounces of silver and 179,000 ounces of gold over the 6.5 year life of the open pit phase.

Silver Bull Resources

Silver Bull Resources is a silver and zinc-focused explorer, whose flagship project is Sierra Mojada in Mexico. The property is located 150 kilometres north of the city of Torreon in Coahuila, Mexico and is highly prospective for silver and zinc. The explorer said that the third in a series of NI 43-101 resource updates is anticipated in the second quarter of 2012.

Given the drilling results to date for Silver Bull, it is anticipated that the next report for the property will show a substantial increase in the silver resource at Sierra Mojada, as well as including a resource for the significant zinc mineralization seen on the project.

Recent drill results from the site include 8.45 metres of massive sulphide grading 16.98% zinc, 5.45% lead, and 57.29 grams per tonne (g/t) silver in a previously untested zone 500 metres to the north of the Shallow Silver Zone.

Overall, Silver Bull has acquired or has options to acquire mineral concessions totaling 15,833 hectares in the Sierra Mojada Mining District. The company has been working on the Sierra Mojada property since 1997 and has completed over 80,000 metres of drilling.

The Vancouver-headquartered miner also owns three mineral exploration licences in Gabon, Africa, two of which are currently under joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU).

Great Panther Silver

Vancouver-headquartered Great Panther Silver is a silver miner focused on its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico - Guanajuato and Topia.

Since commencing operations at these two mines in 2006, Great Panther has achieved continuous growth in metal production in excess of 20 percent per year until 2010, when the company saw record production of 2.3 million silver equivalent ounces.

In 2012, Great Panther expects to deliver production of 2.5 to 2.75 million silver equivalent ounces, an increase of 14 to 25 percent from 2011.

Orko Silver

Another company with robust assets in the silver sector includes Orko Silver, which earlier this month regained 100 percent ownership in its La Preciosa property in Mexico.

In early April, Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA)(NASDAQ:PAAS) relinquished its right to earn a 55 percent interest in the La Preciosa project, one of the world's largest primary silver deposits, after it decided not to deliver feasibility study before an April 13, 2012 deadline.

Orko Silver's chief executive Gary Cope confirmed that four unnamed mining companies had "expressed an interest" in the project, with Orko signing standstill agreements with two of these parties.

La Preciosa is located in Durango State, which envelops the heart of Mexico’s prolific Sierra Madre Mining Belt, and includes large silver deposits such as Fresnillo and Pitarrilla.

An August 2011 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) gave an estimated mineral resource containing 113 million ounces of silver classified as indicated and a further 46 million ounces of silver classified as inferred. In addition, the deposit contains over 222,000 ounces of indicated gold and 83,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category.

The PEA showed an after-tax net present value of $315 million at a five percent discount rate, and a 24.3 percent internal rate of return. The results assumed prices of $25 per ounce of silver and $1,250 per ounce of gold.

Arian Silver

Mexico-focused Arian Silver, meanwhile, is an emerging producer, that in March unveiled an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for its 100 percent-owned San José property in Zacatecas State.

Resource tonnage was up 29 percent along the San José Vein (SJV) from a July 2011 estimate, while contained ounces of silver were up 32 percent.

The company said that in the indicated category, the resource contained 8 million tonnes at an average grade of 119 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 0.38% lead and 0.85% zinc. Contained metal comprised 30.61 million ounces of silver, 67.02 million pounds of lead and 149.91 million pounds of zinc.

In the inferred category, the resource contained 24.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 110 g/t silver, 0.38% lead and 0.76% zinc. Contained metal comprised 86.65 million ounces of silver, 205.25 million pounds of lead and 410.50 million pounds of zinc.

Mineralization remains open along the western and eastern strikes of the main vein, and to depth, with further drilling planned.

Silver Standard

On the tin side, Byron Capital listed Silver Standard Resources' (TSE:SSO) (NASDAQ:SSRI) Pirquitas Mine in northern Argentina as one of the new tin projects globally. The mine is the company's first major mining operation, and commercial production started in December 2009. At full production, it is estimated the mine will produce an average of around eight to ten million ounces of silver and ten to twelve million pounds of zinc annually, ranking Pirquitas among the largest primary silver mines in the world, the company says.

The silver and zinc concentrates produced from the plant are shipped to various smelters around the world.

Other new projects for tin listed are Eurotin's (CVE:TIN) Oropesa project in Spain, Kasbah Resources’ (ASX:KAS) Achmmach property in Morocco, anticipated to come on stream in 2017, and Consolidated Tin Mines' (ASX:CSD) Mount Garnet asset in Australia.

Last week, Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA)(NASDAQ:PAAS) relinquished its right to earn a 55 percent interest in the La Preciosa project, one of the world's largest primary silver deposits, after it decided not to deliver feasibility study before an April 13, 2012 deadline.

In a conference call, Orko Silver's chief executive Gary Cope confirmed that four unnamed mining companies had "expressed an interest", with Orko signing standstill agreements with two of these parties - preventing these two parties from launching a hostile bid.

"Our preferred exit strategy was always to sell the deposit to a mining company," Cope said in the conference call.

Orko's Cope said confidentiality agreements prevented him from naming these parties but he did say that one company has been "very agressive" in coming to the table, while two others had prior knowledge of La Preciosa and "were happy" that the project was up for sale.

La Preciosa is located in Durango State, which envelops the heart of Mexico’s prolific Sierra Madre Mining Belt, and includes large silver deposits such as Fresnillo and Pitarrilla.

An August 2011 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) gave an estimated mineral resource containing 113 million ounces of silver classified as indicated and a further 46 million ounces of silver classified as inferred. In addition, the deposit contains over 222,000 ounces of indicated gold and 83,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category.

The PEA showed an after-tax net present value of $315 million at a five percent discount rate, and a 24.3 percent internal rate of return. The results assumed prices of $25 per ounce of silver and $1,250 per ounce of gold.

At the time, Orko's management called the PEA's findings "conservative" and had been expecting "significant upside potential" in a pending feasability study.

On the conference call, Orko's vice president of exploration George Cavey added that there was a lot of value to be discovered close to La Preciosa's existing deposits.

Orko's Cope said that the project was worth "considerably more" than the last PEA, and return of 100 percent control of La Preciosa was a "good deal" for shareholders. Orko has now commissioned AMEC to prepare a new PEA which is due in late July.

Cope illustrated that at current precious metals prices, the after-tax net present value would jump to around $922 million.

Although Pan American said it ended the joint venture due to the Mexican silver deposit being "unlikely to generate a rate of return that meets Pan American's internal economic hurdle rate", Orko management speculated that there may have been other, uncited reasons for Pan American's exit.

Mike Devji, Orko's executive vice president, said the explorer had $12.5 million of cash in the bank. The company has already paid approximately half of the $900,000 required for AMEC's pending PEA.

Meanwhile, a separate joint venture deal with Pan American and Canasil Resources (CVE:CLZ) on the Carina silver project, located 6.5 kilometres southeast of La Preciosa, is "still in place" Cope said.

"It doesn't affect us right now unless a big discovery is made," Cope told investors and analysts on the call.

Orko's Cope also said that the company has had numerous financing offers if it chose to put La Preciosa into production itself.

"If nobody was interested, we would put this [project] forward ourselves and would have no problem at financing."

Pan American Silver provided notice to Orko that it has decided not to deliver a feasibility study before the April 13, 2012 deadline set out under the agreement.

As a result, Pan American relinquished its right to earn a 55 percent interest in the La Preciosa project, one of the world's largest primary silver deposits.

"We are very excited about regaining 100% ownership of the La Preciosa project and developing it into a large primary silver mine," said president and CEO of Orko, Gary Cope.

"With over $18 million in exploration and development expenditures funded by Pan American, there has been significant progress in developing the La Preciosa project over the past three years.

"We anticipate having an updated resource estimate in hand later this month or early in May and the AMEC preliminary economic assessment in late July. We identified a number of areas in the preliminary economic assessment of the project released Aug, 2011 that we believe offer opportunities for improving the economics of the project.

"AMEC will be exploring those opportunities in the current study. The new PEA will be based on work completed on the project since that time. We thank Pan American for their contribution and partnership and we look forward to developing La Preciosa."

The last PEA in August 2011 was favourable, Orko said, as results showed an after-tax net present value of US$315 million at a five percent discount rate and a 24.3 percent after-tax internal rate of return, assuming conservative prices of US$25 per ounce of silver and US$1,250 per ounce of gold.

Pre-production capital and development costs were estimated at roughly $270 million.

The project showed estimated production of 6.8 million ounces of silver per year, and 11,800 ounces of gold, over a mine life of 12 years. Cash cost per ounce of payable silver, a measure used to assess a company's ability to generate cash flow, was calculated at $11.84, net of gold by-product credits.

Orko has already hired Americas Limited (AMEC) to complete an updated preliminary economic assessment on the project, which is expected in late July, the company said, which Orko believes will improve on the economics released last August.

Orko said that though Pan American's drilling has been "quite successful" in delineating significant mineral resources on the property to support the 2011 PEA report, it believes drilling was terminated pre-maturely for the feasibility study.

Additional drilling is therefore still required to allow a feasibility study to be completed that will have a more meaningful result, Orko added.

The mineral resource in the 2011 preliminary economic report included around 30 percent inferred resources, and because Pan American did no further drilling of these resources since the last PEA, they would have had to treated as waste in the feasibility study.

"In addition, many of the vein structures were still not drilled out such that the veins are open ended and further drilling would likely result in additional resources that would significantly change the mine design," Orko explained in its statement.

Orko, which will now take over as operator on the site, has around $12 million in cash and short-term investments and is well funded to continue to advance the project.

As Pan American was advancing the project towards feasibility, a number of engineering studies are done or are close to being completed including metallurgical studies, environmental impact assessments and geotechnical testwork. More work will be required before a feasibility study can be completed, however.

The current data will be returned to Orko and included into the AMEC preliminary economic assessment and will also form the basis for a full feasibility study by Orko.

Further details on the additional work required, costs and schedule of the feasibility study will be announced after the completion of the AMEC PEA report, Orko said.

President and CEO of Pan American, Geoff Burns, commented: "After completing almost three years of exploration, engineering and project development work, we have come to the unfortunate conclusion that our continued participation in the La Preciosa project is unlikely to generate a rate of return that meets Pan American's internal economic hurdle rate.

"As a consequence, we have decided to relinquish our right to earn a 55% interest in La Preciosa. We thank Orko for the positive relationship that we have developed as partners and wish them good fortune with La Preciosa going forward."

Orko said that it is currently updating files in its digital data room in response to recent requests from other mining companies to review the project's technical information. Confidentiality agreements, including standstill clauses, have recently been signed, with site visits to be scheduled.

The project now contains 113 million ounces of silver in the indicated category, and a further 46 million ounces in the inferred category. In addition, the deposit contains over 222,000 and 83,000 ounces of indicated and inferred gold, respectively.

In August of last year, the company, along with joint venture partner Pan American Silver Corp (TSE:PAA) released an initial PEA for the property, which showed an after-tax net present value of US$315 million at a five percent discount rate, and a 24.3 percent internal rate of return.

The results assumed prices of US$25 per ounce of silver and US$1,250 per ounce of gold.

The report outlined a conventional surface and underground mining operation of 18 distinct vein structures with a 5,000 tonnes-per-day mill and cyanide leaching plant, producing an average estimated 6.8 million ounces of silver and 11,800 ounces of gold a year, at a cash cost of $11.84 per ounce of silver, net of by-product credits, over a mine life of 12 years.

In a statement Thursday, Orko said: "Orko believes the PEA provides a base case with substantial contingencies included in both capital and operating cost categories based on the approach taken, and the estimates in the PEA relating to mining methods, and mineral resources provide upside potential as questions and answers to these methods and estimates are refined."

Under the joint venture with Pan American, Orko is fully carried to commercial production, as if a decision is made to mine at La Preciosa, 100 percent of the construction costs will be funded by Pan American, while operating costs and profits will be split between the partners, with Orko receiving 45 percent of the profits.

Pan American is expected to deliver a NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study before April 13, 2012 under the deal, with the possibility of a one-time, three month extension. If Pan American fails to deliver the study, it will lose the right to earn a 55 percent interest in the deposit.

In December 2010, Orko retained the services of AMEC Americas Limited to provide an independent technical review of the Pan American work. While AMEC's work has not yet been completed, the review of the PEA to date suggests that there could be opportunities to improve the project economics, Orko said.

As a result, Orko has contracted AMEC to complete a new independent PEA - to be delivered in mid-2012.

The new PEA will include an updated resource estimate currently being prepared by Mining Plus, which is scheduled to be completed before the end of March.

Orko also said that the Environmental Impact Study being completed by Clifton Associates is nearing completion, and will be submitted to the Mexican government for approval in order to obtain construction and operating permits for the deposit.

In addition, Pan American is completing a series of auger drill holes, test pits and diamond drill holes at La Preciosa. This work is expected to help determine the optimum location of the proposed tailings site, as well as the best location for the mill and mining infrastructure, Orko said.

President and CEO of Orko, Gary Cope, said: "We believe the new resource estimate and the results of the studies in progress will provide Orko with valuable information to support the strengths of our La Preciosa project and we are looking forward to sharing these results with our shareholders as soon as they become available."

The project, in which Pan American can earn a 55% direct interest by bringing it into production, showed estimated production of 6.8 million ounces of silver per year, and 11,800 ounces of gold, over a mine life of 12 years.

Cash cost per ounce of payable silver, a measure used to assess a company's ability to generate cash flow, was calculated at $11.84, net of gold by-product credits, Pan American and Orko said.

The preliminary economic assessment, which accounts for the construction of a 5,000 tonne-per-day conventional leaching operation, noted an after-tax net present value of $315 million for La Preciosa, at a 5% discount rate, assuming a conservative price of $25.00 per ounce of silver and $1,250 per ounce of gold.

Pre-production capital and development costs were estimated at roughly $270 million.

"As we get closer to the Feasibility Study due by April 2012, we expect that the conservative estimates in the Preliminary Economic Assessment will demonstrate significant upside potential as questions and answers relating to mining methods and resources are refined," said president and CEO of Orko, Gary Cope.

"I am confident about the success of the project, which at metal prices of $38.00/oz silver and $1,600/oz gold has a net present value of over $900 million and generates an internal rate of return of 52.7% with a payback period of less than 2 years."

The optimum mine plan includes three open pits producing a nominal 2,000 tonnes of ore per day at an average strip ratio of 15:1, and an underground mine producing a nominal 3,000 tonnes of ore per day. As mining progresses, the companies can expect reduced mine dilution, costs and possible improvements in mining recoveries, they said.

Currently, life-of-mine average silver and gold recoveries are estimated at 86% and 78%, respectively.

The preliminary report was based on an updated mineral resource estimate from the last in 2009, based on the results of 667 drill holes available at the end of October last year. The project now contains 113 million ounces of silver in the indicated category, and a further 46 million ounces in the inferred category.

In addition, the deposit contains over 222,000 and 83,000 ounces of indicated and inferred gold, respectively.

Pan American, which has operations in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia, said in a statement that it believes necessary permits can be obtained to allow for the start of construction of the project in the second half of 2012.

La Preciosa is located in Durango State, which envelops the heart of Mexico’s prolific Sierra Madre Mining Belt, and includes large silver deposits such as Fresnillo and Pitarrilla. The area produced a total of 104.7 million ounces of silver in 2009, and is known as the world’s second largest producer of silver. La Preciosa is close to the city of Durango and is surrounded by a paved highway, national power grid, rail lines, and access to a local smelter that is 2 hours away by both road and rail. 

The Joint Venture ground covers 32,400 hectares or about 80,000 acres, and currently hosts a NI 43-101 Compliant Indicated Resource Estimate of 10.64 million tonnes grading 0.27 g/t Au, and 185 g/t Ag, for a Silver-Equivalent grade of 201 g/t at a cut-off grade of 100 g/t Ag; and an Inferred Resource Estimate of 12.0 million tonnes grading 0.25 g/t Au and 185 g/t Ag for a Silver-Equivalent grade of 200 g/t at a cut-off grade of 100 g/t Ag. That equates to an Indicated Resource of 68.9 Million Silver Equivalent Ounces, and an Inferred Resource of 77.6 Million Silver Equivalent Ounces. 

This resource estimate was completed in February of 2009, and covers part of the strike line on the Martha Vein, within a conceptual open pit area of approximately 1,250 meters, measuring only a small part of the resource potential of the entire strike line.

Orko Silver discovered the main Martha Vein, while drilling on the property in March of 2007, and delineated a relatively flat lying vein that dips 20 degrees from surface to depth. This vein is not typical of vein systems and should allow for low cost mining methods for ore extraction, over its average width of 10 meters, and represents approximately 74% of the current resource. The current estimate for precious metal content is made up of 95% silver and 5% gold, with very little base metal content. 

In 2010 the Joint Venture Partners confirmed the completion of over 245,000 meters of drilling that covered 717 holes, and initiated geotechnical, metallurgical, petrographical and environmental studies, and also launched processing plant design studies. 

This drilling now covers a strike extension of at least 4,000 meters, with recent highlights including hole BP10-539, which yielded a true thickness of 7.71 meters in the Gloria vein grading 0.646 g/t Au and 648.0 g/t Ag for a silver-equivalent grade of 686.8 g/t. This included 3.59 meters grading 0.894 g/t Au and 986.7 g/t Ag for a silver-equivalent grade of 1,040.3 g/t. Pattern drilling has already been completed at LP resources, Bartina South, along with Martha East and South.

Additional identified targets include Cerro San Juan, El Vaquero, La Plomosa, Nancy and Dany that lie along an 8 kilometer strike line that runs parallel and is approximately 1,000 meters west of the La Preciosa resource outline. The property also contains four more large targets that are located up to 12 kilometers to the northwest and northeast of La Preciosa at Esmeralda, Flores Magon, Javier Mina and Mesa de los Panuquenos.

Snowden Mining Consultants were recently retained to examine various mining scenarios for La Preciosa, and AMEC were contracted to Orko to provide an independent technical review of project engineering. Snowden Mining Industry Consultants is on track to issue both the Preliminary Economic Assessment as well as an updated NI43-101 compliant resource estimate near the end of July, 2011, with a strong probability that this estimate will define a larger resource. 

Recent studies confirm that a combined open pit, and underground mining operation is the most attractive development option. Positive results have allowed Pan American to approve an additional expenditures to complete a bankable feasibility study by the end of April, 2012.

Additional ongoing studies include finalization of the open pit and underground modeling, detailed metallurgical testing, geotechnical work, condemnation drilling, tailings and waste rock disposal, community relations, environmental studies, water sourcing and dewatering, land acquisition and road construction.

Pan American Silver is the ideal Joint Venture Partner, it is world’s fourth largest primary producer of silver, operating seven mines in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia, that currently produce 21.2 million ounces of silver per year.  

The Joint Venture Partners have also established an additional Joint Venture with Canasil Resources (CVE:CLZ) over the Carina Project, which is located 6.5 kilometers southeast of the La Preciosa Project. The Partners will be able to acquire up to an 80% interest in the venture and incorporate that interest into the La Preciosa Joint Venture. 

Prior mapping and sampling at Carina defined an area measuring 500 meters by 800 meters that hosts multiple quartz vein structures with anomalous silver, gold and base metal values in surface samples that are characteristic of a high level epithermal system. The large claim area covers 3,100 hectares and has potential for additional mineralized zones and for bulk tonnage disseminated mineralization. 

Orko Silver currently represents a pure silver play on one of the world’s largest primary silver deposits that has only been partially explored, and has substantial upside for further resource definition. The Company is fully funded for its 45% equity interest.

Joint Venture Partner Pan American Silver reported cash generation of $39 million in the March quarter along with cash reserves of $397 million, and certainly has the financial muscle to buy out its minority partner. Both Byron Capital Markets and GMP securities agree that Orko provides a unique opportunity to gain exposure to an undervalued silver play.

La Preciosa is under a joint venture agreement with Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA), which has the option to earn a 55% interest in the property by bringing the deposit into production. Orko retains a 45% interest carried to production.

AMEC will be working together with consulting firm Snowden, which was appointed by Pan American for evaluating the resource estimates and mine designs.

A preliminary assessment for La Preciosa has been scheduled for the second quarter, which is expected to give consultants sufficient time to examine three mining scenarios: underground, combined underground / open-pit, and a large open-pit operation.

Pan American recently optioned a property next to La Preciosa, called the Carina project, from Canasil Resources (CVE:CLZ). Because of the proximity of the two properties, Carina has been assigned to the La Preciosa joint venture by Pan American.

The move is a result of the recent spike in silver prices, which is expected to significantly impact the economics of La Preciosa.

The preliminary assessment, now scheduled for the second quarter 2011, will examine alternate mining methods and extraction scenarios.

The three main scenarios to be studied will be an underground operation, a combined underground and open-pit operation, and a large open-pit approach.

"This rescheduling of the PA for a few months is a logical step to ensure that multiple choices in design are available for the resource model, mine layout and processing plant," said president Gary Cope.

La Preciosa is under a joint venture agreement with Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA), which has the option to earn a 55% interest in the property by bringing the deposit into production. Orko retains a 45% interest carried to production.

As at the end of November, Pan American had completed more than 88,000 metres of diamond drilling at La Preciosa.

Drill results released today included some impressive intersects, including (true thickness) 7.7 meters averaging 0.656 grams per tonne gold and 648 grams per tonne silver in drill hole BP10-539, which was drilled into the Gloria vein.

In total Pan American has now completed over 76,000 meters of diamond drilling on La Preciosa designed to both focus on upgrading the current resource and continuing with exploration drilling around the resource area. The current 43 101 compliant Indicated resource estimate is 68.9 million ounces of silver equivalent and an Inferred resource estimate of 77.6 Million ounces of silver equivalent.

Alongside the extensive drilling budget, Pan American is also undertaking a range of studies as part of the PEA. 

Orko Silver confirmed a number of milestones on this front, including the contracting of Golder Associates to complete geotechnical engineering and underground and pit designs, contracting of M-3 Engineering for plant and tailings design, plus infrastructure costing, contracting of Clifton Associates for environmental studies, and Quantitative Group and SGS Mineral Services to undertake resource modelling and metallurgical studies respectively.

"The additional excellent drilling results and engineering studies will lead to a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), to be released by Pan American Silver, which is expected to be ready for the end of the year, or early first quarter 2011. The project is on schedule,” Gary Cope, President of Orko, stated.

Byron Capital Markets recently initiated coverage on Orko Silver with a ‘buy’ rating and a price target of CAD$2.85

Summer is over and now we fire up our first One2One Forums of the autumn in Toronto with Orko Silver, Halo Resources, Andover Ventures. The strong line up on both evenings will be sure to please attendees looking for up and coming companies with serious potential to grow shareholder wealth.

City Hall Room, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen Street West, Toronto, M5H 2M9

The directors of Andover Ventures (TSX-V: AOX), Halo Resources (TSX-V: HLO) and Orko Silver (TSX-V: OK) will be presenting:

The presentations will start at 5:00pm and finish at 6:30pm. After the presentations are complete the directors will also be available to take questions during a free canapé and wine reception. Details on the presenting companies can be found below.

Register Here.

Andover Ventures (TSX-V:AOX) is a precious and base metal exploration and development company, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with world class properties located in the historic Tintic Mining District, Utah, USA and the Polymetallic rich Ambler Mining District, located in Alaska, USA.

Halo Resources (TSX-V:HLO) is a Canadian-based resource company focused on the acquisition and development of near-production stage gold and base metal deposits. Currently, the Company owns or has an interest in three projects: the Sherridon VMS copper-zinc property in Manitoba and the West Red Lake and  Duport gold properties in Ontario. The Company is operated by an experienced management team and backed by a strong network of mining financiers. The Company's growth strategy is to develop a diversified portfolio of advanced mining projects.

Orko Silver (TSX-V:OK) is developing one of the world's largest primary silver deposits, La Preciosa, located near the city of Durango, in Durango State, Mexico. The La Preciosa silver project and adjacent mineral concessions cover 32,400 hectares (80,000 acres) of contiguous mining claims.