CSE-listed exploration and development company Silver Hammer Mining has announced the appointment of Warwick Smith – a long-time strategic adviser of the company – as its new interim president and CEO, effective immediately.

To facilitate the appointment, Morgan Lekstrom has resigned with immediate effect as president and CEO.

“Silver Hammer is a well-structured and well-positioned company with cash and high-grade past-producing assets that have tremendous exploration upside. We expect to have assay results from our Silver Strand project in the coming weeks and have a queue of quality drill targets now defined at our other projects that provide us with optionality in terms of potential joint ventures (JVs).

“I look forward to bringing my experience and working with our team to deliver shareholder value on an interim basis as we put this company on track for future growth,” commented Smith, who is currently also the CEO of America Pacific Mining.

At just 30 years old, Smith was a founding shareholder of Riverside Resources before becoming CEO of Western Pacific Resources at age 33 where he successfully negotiated the transaction to acquire the Deer Trail mine, now operated by MAG Silver, while concurrently closing $18-million in financing.

As America Pacific Mining CEO, Smith negotiated the transaction to purchase the past-producing Madison mine, in Montana, a JV, earn-in agreement with major, Rio Tinto, a transaction that was subsequently nominated for the S&P Global Platts Deal of the Year for 2021.

Subsequently, Smith led American Pacific in its takeover of Constantine Metals, which brought the 14-million-tonne high-grade VMS Palmer project, under partnership with Dowa Mining and Metals, into the portfolio.

In 2022 Smith was nominated for CEO of the Year by S&P Global Platts.

Silver Hammer is advancing the flagship past-producing Silver Strand mine, in the Coeur d’Alene mining district in Idaho, US, as well as both the Eliza Silver project and the Silverton Silver mine in one of the world’s most prolific mining jurisdictions in Nevada and the Lacy gold project, in British Columbia, Canada.

Silver Hammer’s primary focus is defining and developing silver deposits near past-producing mines that have not been adequately tested. The company’s portfolio also provides exposure to copper and gold.