Apex Silver Mines Ltd. (SIL) Trade Alert – SIL's Subsidiary Enters Amendment to Loan Agreement

Apex Silver Mines Ltd. (SIL) shares closed yesterday at $1.76, up 30.37% from the previous close of $1.35. Apex Silver engages in the mining, exploration, development and operation of silver and other mineral properties.

The company previously sold 35% of Minera San Cristobal S.A. to Sumitomo Corp. for $224 million in cash and a deferred payment agreement valued at $108 million September 8, 2006. Minera, now a 65% owned indirect subsidiary of Apex Silver, recently entered into an amendment to the loan agreement dated August 11, 2008, with SC Minerals Aktiebolag, a subsidiary of Sumitomo.

Under the terms of the Amendment, Sumitomo has agreed to increase by $25 million the amount available for borrowing by Minera. This amount may be used solely to fund Minera's operating expenses and is in addition to the $50 million already borrowed by Minera pursuant to the loan agreement.

Analysts recently expressed concern about the multi-million-dollar funding requirements of the San Cristobal silver mine in Bolivia, which, according to them, is the only important asset Apex Silver currently owns. In response, Apex Silver announced it had reached an agreement with joint venture partner Sumitomo to sell the rights for deferred payments to Sumitomo for $70 million.

Apex Silver has rights to or control over various claims or concessions located in or near the silver producing regions of Central and South America, including Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia.

The company owns a 65% interest in the San Cristobal silver, zinc and lead mines located in southwestern Bolivia.

As of December 31, 2007, Apex Silver had proven and probable reserves of approximately 250 million tonnes of ore grading 55 grams per tonne silver, 443 million ounces of silver, 8.43 billion pounds of zinc and 2.92 billion pounds of lead.

In today's daily chart, SIL's MACD reflects a weak bullish signal, with the indicator trending above the 9-day moving average signal line but still below the 0 level, indicating bearish moving averages. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price trend. With share prices currently above the stock's 13-day moving average, a bullish trend is generally indicated.