Overview
Location & access
Located within one of the most developed trends in Ecuador, near large-scale operations such as the Fruta del Norte gold mine (33 km north) and the Mirador copper mine (55 km north).
Zamora-Chinchipe province is serviced twice daily by air from the City of Loja, a three-hour drive from the property. Access is by paved highways via the provincial capital of Zamora and 30 km east to the village of Zumbi. From Zumbi ~35 km of gravel road passes through several villages with a variety of services before arriving to the property.
Location & access
Location & access
Located within one of the most developed trends in Ecuador, near large-scale operations such as the Fruta del Norte gold mine (33 km north) and the Mirador copper mine (55 km north).
Zamora-Chinchipe province is serviced twice daily by air from the City of Loja, a three-hour drive from the property. Access is by paved highways via the provincial capital of Zamora and 30 km east to the village of Zumbi. From Zumbi ~35 km of gravel road passes through several villages with a variety of services before arriving to the property.
Target areas
Target areas
The Condor Project consists of three areas:
- Condor North includes the Los Cuyes, Soledad, Enma, and Camp deposits, and the Prometedor Prospect.
- Condor Central hosts the Santa Barbara and El Hito copper-gold and copper-molybdenum porphyries .
- Condor South consists of the Nayumbi Prospect.
Approximately 156,000 metres of drilling has been completed across all deposits. Three distinctive types of mineralization are recognized at the Condor Project:
- Intermediate sulphidation narrow-vein epithermal system in the historical Chinapintza area
- Intermediate sulphidation epithermal gold-bearing diatremes, volcanoclastic and breccia bodies at Los Cuyes, Camp, Enma and Soledad
- Au-Cu porphyry mineralization at Santa Barbara and Cu-Mo porphyry mineralization at El Hito
Camp deposit – Over 25,000 metres of drilling has discovered substantial high-grade gold mineralization. Surface sampling and mapping may have identified a northwest extension to the Camp deposit. This work has defined rhyolite dikes with highly altered, brecciated and veined margins with abundant pyrite dominant sulphide mineralization, a style identical to the Camp deposit. Rock chip sampling has returned up to 4 g/t Au and up to 108 g/t Ag from surface.
In addition to the Northwest extension, the Camp deposit mineralization remains open laterally and at depth, . Additional drilling in 2022 intersected further high-grade mineralization outside the existing resource.
Cuyes West underground – A new structurally controlled, high grade intermediate epithermal discovery has been made adjacent to the Los Cuyes open pit resource. Drilling to date has confirmed lateral continuity across 350 metres and confirmed to a depth of 300 metres. The zone remains open laterally and at depth. Mineralization of pyrite, marcasite and sphalerite in veins, veinlet networks and disseminations are very similar to the underground Camp mineral deposit. Drilling this new zone also intersected a parallel hanging wall structure increasing the grade and thickness of the Cuyes West zone to the east. The Cuyes West zone could extend the underground mine life at Condor North or open the possibility of scoping a smaller higher grade project.
El Hito & El Hito North – In June 2002, the discovery of a copper porphyry drill target located 500 metres north of the El Hito prospect was announced. The initial four-hole drill program at El Hito was completed in October 2022. All four holes intersected phyllic-altered quartz-diorite porphyry rocks with copper mineralization including 627 metres grading 0.20% copper, 42 ppm molybdenum and 0.21% copper equivalent.
Santa Barbara – Classified as a gold-copper porphyry deposit and hosted in basaltic andesites within the eastern edge of the Zamora Batholith. The mineralized body extends at least 700m in length by approximately 300m in width and contains an NI 43-101 resource of 0.9 Moz gold and 1.0 Moz silver Indicated, and 2.8 Moz gold and 4.9 Moz silver Inferred.
Next steps
Next steps
Silvercorp is evaluating various exploration targets at the Condor Project and will announce its exploration plans in due course.
Technical
Resources
Condor Deposit All Areas - Resource Summary
Notes: Resource QP: Rob Sim, P.Geo., as defined by NI 43-101
Mineral Resource Estimate Notes: (1) The mineral resource estimate has an effective date of July 28, 2021. (2) There are no known issues related to legal, political, or environmental issues that could materially affect the potential development of the mineral resources. (3) The quantity and grade of reported inferred mineral resources is based on limited geological evidence and sampling which is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred mineral resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource. It is reasonable to expect that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated or measured mineral resources with continued exploration. (4) Mineral resources exhibit reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction using open pit extraction methods at Santa Barbara, Los Cuyes, Soledad and Enma and using underground mining methods at the Camp deposit. At Los Cuyes and Soledad, the base case cut-off grade is 0.30 g/t AuEq and at Santa Barbara and Enma, the base case cut-off grade is 0.37 g/t AuEq. At Los Cuyes, Soledad, and Enma, AuEq = Au g/t + (Ag g/t × 0.012), and at Santa Barbara, AuEq = Au g/t + (Ag g/t × 0.012) + (Cu% x 1.371). The base case cut-off grade for the Camp resource is 1.33g/t AuEq, where AuEq = Au g/t + Ag g/t * 0.0062. (5) Totals may not add up due to rounding. Base metal values are not displayed: copper for Santa Barbara and copper, lead and zinc for Camp. Base metal values are excluded from Camp AuEq. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Resources
Resources
Condor Deposit All Areas - Resource Summary
Notes: Resource QP: Rob Sim, P.Geo., as defined by NI 43-101
Mineral Resource Estimate Notes: (1) The mineral resource estimate has an effective date of July 28, 2021. (2) There are no known issues related to legal, political, or environmental issues that could materially affect the potential development of the mineral resources. (3) The quantity and grade of reported inferred mineral resources is based on limited geological evidence and sampling which is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred mineral resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource. It is reasonable to expect that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated or measured mineral resources with continued exploration. (4) Mineral resources exhibit reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction using open pit extraction methods at Santa Barbara, Los Cuyes, Soledad and Enma and using underground mining methods at the Camp deposit. At Los Cuyes and Soledad, the base case cut-off grade is 0.30 g/t AuEq and at Santa Barbara and Enma, the base case cut-off grade is 0.37 g/t AuEq. At Los Cuyes, Soledad, and Enma, AuEq = Au g/t + (Ag g/t × 0.012), and at Santa Barbara, AuEq = Au g/t + (Ag g/t × 0.012) + (Cu% x 1.371). The base case cut-off grade for the Camp resource is 1.33g/t AuEq, where AuEq = Au g/t + Ag g/t * 0.0062. (5) Totals may not add up due to rounding. Base metal values are not displayed: copper for Santa Barbara and copper, lead and zinc for Camp. Base metal values are excluded from Camp AuEq. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.