Drills Deeper for Higher Gold Grades, Taviche Mexico

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OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 20, 2011) - Aura Silver Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:AUU) ("Aura Silver" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has resumed drilling on its Taviche properties in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Prime targets include the Higo Blanco project on East Taviche, the La Noria project on West Taviche as well as a mapping and sampling program in the area south of Fortuna's San Jose mine. Previous drilling in this latter area returned up to 2.12 grams per tonne gold over 22.1 meters.


The Higo Blanco project is being targeted first with step out holes to be drilled to the northwest of discovery hole HBET-03. Successive holes will then be drilled further on a northwest trend tracking a pronounced Induced Polarization (IP) chargeability high. This chargeability high extends for approximately 2100 meters (see Figure 1:http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Diagram.pdf), most of which remains untested from a drilling perspective. Drilling to date across the IP anomaly reveals a close coincidence between chargeability and a broad zone of quartz stockwork and hydrothermal breccias hosting significant gold and sulfide mineralization. This mineral style, referred to as the Mezcal-type, has been chased to moderate depths and data suggests that gold values are increasing with depth. This IP high seems to overlap the silver-rich silicified breccias on the southwest, as well.


During the Higo Blanco program, the drill rig will be moved to the La Noria project located near the western margin of the West Taviche concession. The West Taviche concession encompasses the San Jose Mine owned by Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (TSX: FVI) which has an indicated resource of 37,596,000 ounces (150 g/t cutoff) at 435 g/t Ag equivalent ounces of silver. In addition, an inferred resource of 30,357,000 ounces has been estimated at 392 g/t Ag equivalent. The La Noria project is approximately two kilometers due west of Fortuna's mine and shares similarities to the vein systems at San Jose. Upon the completion of this hole, the drill rig will return to Higo Blanco to continue following the gold and silver zones to depth.


Aura Silver is also pleased to announce that it will soon commence a detailed mapping and sampling program immediately south of San Jose and along the same vein system that hosts their Bonanza and Trinidad ore shoots. The Santa Maria-Donaji area is a broad zone, up to 500 meters wide, of anastamosing quartz veins up to several meters wide; the zone can be traced for over 2 kilometers into the gold-rich Portillo area. Drilling in 2008 at the Portillo prospect immediately to the south of Donaji discovered quartz-sulfide vein breccias, sheeted veins and stockwork in all holes completed during the program. These holes included sections containing 2.12 grams per tonne gold over 22.1 meters in hole EP01-08 and 23.6 grams per tonne gold over 0.85 meters in Hole EP03-08, all less than 100 meters below the surface. Previous surface sampling at Portillo also returned grades of between 5.2 and 18.2 grams per tonne gold.


"This is an exciting program for us", said Robert Boaz President and CEO of Aura Silver Resources. "This phase will comprise in excess of 3,000 meters of drilling and it is anticipated that the addition of these drill results will support the quantification of initial resource estimates for the property during the summer."


Dr. James M. Franklin, P. Geo. is Aura Silver's qualified person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.



About Aura Silver



Aura Silver is a TSX Venture listed company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of precious metal prospects in Canada (100% owned Greyhound project) and in Oaxaca, Mexico. Aura Silver has 78,594,090 common shares outstanding.


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