Silvercorp Reports High-Grade Silver-Lead Drill Results from the SGX Mine

Silvercorp Reports High-Grade Silver-Lead Drill Results from the SGX Mine

Trading Symbol:        TSX: SVM
NYSE AMERICAN: SVM

 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia June 14, 2023 – Silvercorp Metals Inc. (“Silvercorp” or the “Company”) (TSX: SVM) (NYSE American: SVM) is pleased to report assay results from its ongoing diamond drilling program at the LMW mine within the Ying Mining District, China.

 

Highlights:

Discovery of new, low angle copper-gold veins at the W Zone:

  • Hole ZKX1009 intersected 18.0 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”), 32 g/t silver (“Ag”), and 8.38% copper (“Cu”) over a 1.11 metre (“m”) interval of vein LM29 at the 1,028 m elevation; and 3.0 g/t Au, 1,167 g/t Ag, 1.49% lead (“Pb”), and 0.58% Cu over a 2.55 m interval of vein LM30 at the 1,023 m elevation

High-grade intercepts from low angle gold veins LM50 and LM26:

  • Hole ZKX0597 intersected 10.79 g/t Au, 272 g/t Ag, 1.55% Pb, 0.19% zinc (“Zn”) and 0.10% Cu over a 1.26 m interval of vein LM50 at the 782 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX0598 intersected 22.79 g/t Au, 31 g/t Ag and 0.13% Pb over a 0.59 m interval of vein LM50 at the 777 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX0778 intersected 0.33 g/t Au, 1,327 g/t Ag, 3.45% Pb, 0.63% Zn, and 0.15% Cu over a 2.99 m interval of vein LM26 at the 672 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX3822 intersected 28.9 g/t Au and 12 g/t Ag over a 1.24 m interval of vein LM56 at the 532 m elevation

High-grade Ag-Pb intercepts at the W Zone:

  • Hole ZKX0471 intersected 3,943 g/t Ag, 2.54% Pb, 0.95% Zn, and 1.07% Cu over a 3.43 m interval of vein W1 at the 1,084 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX0623 intersected 2,991 g/t Ag, 2.52% Pb, 2.29% Zn, and 0.96% Cu over a 0.61 m interval of vein W1 at the 1075 m elevation

High-grade intercepts of Ag-Pb-Zn mineralization in the Production Zone:

  • Hole ZKX3414 intersected 1,112 g/t Ag, 3.09% Pb, 0.34% Zn, 0.17 g/t Au, and 1.35% Cu over a 2.83 m interval of vein LM17 at the 553 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX3423 intersected 1,209 g/t Ag, 4.51% Pb, 1.75% Zn, and 0.93% Cu over a 1.47 m interval of vein LM17 at the 565 m elevation

From October 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023, a total of 25,692 m in 189 diamond drill holes, including 165 underground holes and 24 surface holes, were completed at the LMW mine. Assay results for 145 holes have been received and select results are presented in Table 1 below.

This drilling program has been focused on four target areas: 1) expansion drilling of newly discovered high-grade Ag-Pb and low angle Au-Ag-Cu veins west of the LMW mine (W Zone) at elevations above 918 m to surface (1250 m); 2) expansion drilling of low angle Au and Ag-Au-Cu veins LM50, LM26, and LM21; 3) drilling to extend the high-grade LM41E series veins; and 4) infill drilling of Ag-Pb-Zn veins at the Production Zone.

 

  1. Expansion drilling of newly discovered high-grade Ag-Pb and low angle Au-Ag-Cu veins west of the LMW mine (W Zone)

Drilling at the W Zone intersected several new, low angle, and high-grade Ag-Au-Cu veins, including LM28, LM29 and LM30 (Table 1). These quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins were intersected at elevations between 1028 m and 990 m, striking between 210 and 240 degrees with a dip angle between 10 and 30 degrees.

At the W Zone, drilling also intersected high-grade Ag-Pb veins W2, W1, W18 series and W6 series at elevations between 1087 m and 905 m, with extension over 800 m along strike.  The cross-cuts and drifts from surface at 1040 m and 988 m elevations have traced the high-grade Ag-Pb veins W1, W2 and W18 for up to 100 m in length in tunnels.  The W2, W1, W18 and W6 vein series clearly cut and only slightly off-set the new low angle veins.

 

  1. Expansion drilling of low angle Au and Ag-Au-Cu veins LM50, LM26, and LM21

Drilling for the low angle Au and Ag-Au-Cu veins targeted LM50, as well as LM21, LM26, LM22, LM51, LM54 and LM55. A continuous LM50 vein block extending 1000 m along strike and 400 m downdip has been defined and will be developed for test mining.  Test mining of vein LM26 is underway.

 

  1. Drilling to extend the high-grade LM41E series veins

At the east side of the resource area (E Zone), drilling continued to extend the high-grade Ag-Pb-Zn LM41E series veins, including LM41E, LM41E1 and LM41E1Wa. In particular, vein LM41E has been expanded from 1,000 m to 554 m elevation.

High-grade Ag-Pb-Zn highlights from the E Zone:

  • Hole ZKX11142 intersected 2,114 g/t Ag, 5.17% Pb, 1.94% Zn, 0.05 g/t Au, and 0.24% Cu over a 0.86 m interval of vein LM41E at the 779 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX10514 intersected 1,097 g/t Ag, 22.82% Pb, 0.14% Zn, 0.26 g/t Au, and 0.09% Cu over a 0.71 m interval (0.60 m true width) of vein LM41E at the 554 m elevation.

 

  1. Infill Drilling of Ag-Pb-Zn Veins at the Production Zone

Most holes in this period targeted blocks of known Ag-Pb-Zn veins at the Production Zone, including blocks that were previously missed due to limited drilling or tunneling, changes in the strikes and dips, and/or pinch-swelling of the pay-zones in the veins. The high-grade intercepts are mainly associated with the southeast-striking LM7 series, LM12 series and LM17 series of veins, and the northwest-striking LM8 series, LM14, LM19 and LM20.

High-grade Ag-Pb-Zn highlights at the Production Zone:

  • Hole ZKX3413 intersected 318 g/t Ag, 7.48% Pb, 0.43% Zn, 0.13 g/t Au, and 1.07% Cu over a 34 m interval (3.05 m true width) of vein LM17 at the 554 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX3610 intersected 862 g/t Ag, 10.82% Pb, 0.23% Zn, and 1.08% Cu over a 1.62 m interval (1.32 m true width) of vein LM17 at the 551 m elevation
  • Hole ZKX0158 intersected 1,046 g/t Ag, 5.69% Pb, 0.74% Zn over a 0.91 m interval (0.86 m true width) of vein LM12 at the 850 m elevation.

Table 1: Selected intercepts from the 2022-2023 drilling program at the LMW mine 

Hole ID

From
(m)

To
(m)

Elevation
(m)

Interval
(m)

Ag
(g/t)

Pb
(%)

Zn
(%)

Au
(g/t)

Cu
(%)

Vein

Ore Type

Ore Zone

Low Angle Gold-Copper-Silver Veins

ZKX07X083

59.07

61.21

821

2.14

24

0.05

0.09

2.39

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX05X001

60.79

62.58

820

1.79

17

0.06

0.14

2.62

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX05X129

75.94

76.59

820

0.65

78

0.90

0.41

13.80

0.05

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX07X100

73.58

77.88

817

4.30

6

0.19

0.10

1.84

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX0595

94.28

95.72

796

1.44

3

0.01

0.02

3.03

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX10420

79.86

81.26

789

1.40

1

0.01

0.01

2.35

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX0597

30.01

31.27

782

1.26

272

1.55

0.19

10.79

0.10

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX0598

33.19

33.78

777

0.59

31

0.13

0.02

22.79

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX05X048

75.30

78.39

775

3.09

16

0.81

0.23

5.63

0.01

LM50

Au

Au zone

ZKX0238

46.68

47.30

813

0.62

8

0.14

0.26

2.54

0.03

LM21

Au

Au zone

ZKX0440

66.13

66.89

812

0.76

1

0.01

0.03

4.57

0.01

LM21

Au

Au zone

ZKX10731

64.96

65.46

771

0.50

1

0.01

0.01

4.37

0.01

LM21

Au

Au zone

ZKX10984

111.63

112.97

761

1.34

4

0.05

0.06

3.04

0.01

LM21

Au

Au zone

ZKX10517

66.51

67.67

744

1.16

3

0.03

0.02

9.67

0.00

LM21

Au

Au zone

ZKX0778

81.23

84.22

672

2.99

1,327

3.45

0.63

0.33

0.15

LM26

Ag-Au-Cu

Au zone

ZKX05X053

76.49

77.56

664

1.07

59

0.03

0.03

4.74

1.90

LM26

Au-Cu

Au zone

ZKX0388

55.68

56.22

604

0.54

84

0.01

0.14

1.69

9.98

LM26

Ag-Au-Cu

Au zone

ZKX13817

238.77

239.27

992

0.50

2,069

2.24

0.14

0.59

0.09

LM28

Ag-Au-Cu

 W
zone

ZKX0692

60.75

61.51

991

0.76

63

0.56

0.63

0.61

0.14

LM28

Ag-Au-Cu

 W
zone

ZKX1009

208.69

209.80

1,028

1.11

32

0.01

0.03

18.00

8.38

LM29

Ag-Au-Cu

 W
zone

ZKX0980

58.24

58.83

720

0.59

16

0.01

0.01

0.03

2.62

LM51

Au-Cu

Au zone

ZKX05X076

135.01

138.35

531

3.34

1,698

0.42

0.07

0.66

0.11

LM53

Ag-Au-Cu

Au zone

ZKX10744

119.29

120.32

566

1.03

5

0.14

0.39

1.98

0.01

LM54

Au

Au zone

ZKX10934

158.49

160.94

555

2.45

3

0.04

0.03

1.78

0.00

LM54

Au

Au zone

ZKX10741

337.30

338.20

406

0.90

7

0.62

0.06

8.08

0.00

LM55

Au

Au zone

ZKX1009

217.32

219.87

1,023

2.55

1,167

1.49

0.03

3.01

0.58

LM30

Ag-Au-Cu

 W
zone

ZKX3822

127.56

128.80

532

1.24

12

0.07

0.04

28.90

0.02

LM56

Au

Au zone

ZKX14007

48.66

49.40

1,114

0.74

1

0.01

0.01

2.93

0.15

NA

Au-Cu

Au zone

High-Grade Silver-Lead Veins at the W Zone

ZKX0674

14.70

16.15

1,087

1.45

505

0.09

0.03

0.02

0.06

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX0471

25.02

28.45

1,084

3.43

3,943

2.54

0.95

0.04

1.07

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX0623

77.79

78.40

1,075

0.61

2,991

2.52

2.29

0.02

0.96

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX0823

186.56

187.22

1,049

0.66

308

0.35

0.04

0.01

0.03

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX13817

201.67

202.44

1,015

0.77

27

7.15

0.11

0.01

0.01

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX13814

202.58

203.47

1,007

0.89

80

3.66

1.04

0.00

0.00

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX0656

61.02

62.15

1004

1.13

808

4.16

0.20

0.05

0.12

W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX13814

164.85

167.82

1,032

2.97

189

2.99

0.25

0.00

0.00

W18

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX13818

191.19

192.31

990

1.12

220

3.57

0.37

0.05

0.04

W18

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX13815

209.43

211.09

976

1.66

582

2.14

0.18

0.05

0.19

W18

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX14226

98.81

99.49

1,067

0.68

500

4.09

5.51

0.14

0.14

W18W

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX0673

142.53

143.14

1,020

0.61

133

2.11

0.04

0.01

0.01

W6

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

ZKX13817

379.60

380.49

905

0.89

325

1.22

0.20

0.02

0.05

W6E

Ag-Pb-Zn

W Zone

High-Grade Silver-Lead-Zinc Veins at the E Zone

ZKX11141

57.95

58.64

800

0.69

474

1.71

1.41

0.01

0.12

LM41_1

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX1905

224.18

225.04

1,003

0.86

385

0.37

0.22

0.00

0.00

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX11142

106.78

107.64

779

0.86

2,114

5.17

1.94

0.05

0.24

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10731

122.30

122.90

744

0.60

318

1.31

1.21

0.01

0.03

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10954

112.89

113.74

679

0.85

184

2.15

1.13

0.03

0.02

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10955

124.46

125.48

672

1.02

245

0.96

0.13

0.05

0.02

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX11136

116.01

116.86

627

0.85

756

0.60

0.31

0.46

0.04

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10729

123.77

124.87

625

1.10

328

2.60

0.13

0.00

0.00

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10743

135.54

136.79

625

1.25

396

11.40

1.06

0.00

0.00

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10744

163.62

164.67

554

1.05

51

4.08

0.12

0.04

0.05

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10514

174.87

175.58

554

0.71

1,097

22.82

0.14

0.26

0.09

LM41E

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX11141

136.42

136.92

794

0.50

309

1.26

0.18

0.01

0.03

LM41E1

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

ZKX10954

118.95

119.72

678

0.77

534

4.33

0.91

0.06

0.12

LM41E1

Ag-Pb-Zn

E Zone

High-Grade Veins at the Production Zone

ZKX07X079

5.44

6.33

750

0.89

823

1.05

0.47

0.00

0.00

LM10E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX07X080

3.80

4.99

750

1.19

595

1.75

0.30

0.00

0.00

LM10E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX07X081

2.90

3.54

750

0.64

239

0.62

0.06

0.00

0.00

LM10E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X121

9.12

9.68

747

0.56

325

1.25

0.11

0.00

0.00

LM10E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X120

50.64

52.38

742

1.74

251

0.98

0.16

0.00

0.00

LM11W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX07X080

44.06

45.23

731

1.17

204

0.29

0.06

0.00

0.00

LM11W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0158

37.48

38.39

850

0.91

1,046

5.69

0.24

0.00

0.00

LM12

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0159

34.14

34.69

845

0.55

1,816

4.98

0.07

0.00

0.19

LM12

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0398

65.74

66.27

805

0.53

568

0.98

0.37

0.18

0.13

LM12_1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1350

124.32

125.56

690

1.24

22

5.26

0.03

0.05

0.00

LM12_1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X076

147.87

148.99

520

1.12

225

3.39

0.08

0.05

0.11

LM12_1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX11443

4.24

5.34

800

1.10

98

0.82

0.15

0.34

0.06

LM12_2

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX11239

9.22

10.29

798

1.07

99

7.62

1.16

0.08

0.03

LM12_2

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X053

65.34

69.06

669

3.72

154

0.92

0.42

0.14

0.06

LM12_2

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X047

67.06

67.91

668

0.85

1,810

4.20

4.73

0.21

0.51

LM12_2

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X151

151.28

152.72

609

1.44

663

5.11

2.01

0.13

0.55

LM12_2

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0570

63.21

63.98

811

0.77

670

1.60

1.37

0.67

0.15

LM12_3

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX11239

80.78

81.75

782

0.97

321

14.65

0.09

0.07

0.08

LM12_3

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X158

87.79

88.56

655

0.77

190

0.74

0.28

0.00

0.00

LM12E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX00X007

23.26

24.15

785

0.89

372

5.59

0.10

0.01

0.30

LM12E2

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX11443

106.74

107.63

786

0.89

669

0.83

0.13

0.03

0.38

LM13

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX10936

71.50

75.56

602

4.06

547

1.32

0.26

0.00

0.00

LM14

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX10937

77.27

78.54

597

1.27

166

1.29

0.22

0.00

0.00

LM14

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX4220

56.18

57.72

596

1.54

206

0.68

0.06

0.01

0.02

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX4025

58.71

60.78

595

2.07

376

8.29

1.67

0.00

0.00

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX3417

40.75

46.27

566

5.52

342

1.86

0.39

0.00

0.58

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX3423

35.21

36.68

565

1.47

1,209

4.51

1.75

0.00

0.93

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX4221

79.12

84.57

564

5.45

243

0.78

0.22

0.05

0.05

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX4219

79.61

82.21

559

2.60

134

1.39

0.37

0.00

0.00

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX3413

38.59

41.93

554

3.34

318

7.48

0.43

0.13

1.07

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX3414

41.33

44.16

553

2.83

1,112

3.09

0.34

0.17

1.35

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX3610

53.57

55.19

551

1.62

862

10.82

0.23

0.00

1.08

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX3418

48.87

49.94

544

1.07

96

0.77

0.14

0.00

1.39

LM17

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1905

304.01

305.29

968

1.28

136

0.76

0.03

0.00

0.00

LM17W

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX10210

125.49

131.35

790

5.86

197

1.30

0.09

0.00

0.00

LM19

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX07X090

64.08

64.98

624

0.90

50

5.11

0.52

0.05

0.05

LM29E3

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX11443

133.73

135.78

782

2.05

370

0.95

0.09

0.06

0.22

LM19Wa

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX11239

137.53

138.04

769

0.51

649

0.49

0.02

0.03

0.08

LM19Wa

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX03X024

88.81

89.52

619

0.71

51

3.22

0.11

0.03

0.25

LM19Wa

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0582

48.39

52.42

667

4.03

355

1.29

0.78

0.00

0.00

LM20

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0157

71.72

72.50

877

0.78

22

5.85

0.14

0.00

0.00

LM20W

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX03X086

32.28

34.97

778

2.69

415

1.47

0.13

0.70

0.06

LM20W

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0598

38.78

39.46

773

0.68

417

3.65

0.87

0.13

0.11

LM20W

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX00X002

142.43

143.20

911

0.77

1,178

1.75

0.04

0.03

0.14

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0397

125.66

128.01

815

2.35

124

3.56

0.21

0.00

0.00

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X041

126.13

127.39

806

1.26

64

2.76

0.03

0.00

0.00

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0759

42.23

43.18

770

0.95

129

1.21

0.05

0.05

0.05

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0179

77.98

79.38

770

1.40

161

1.10

0.07

0.00

0.00

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1153

104.93

105.65

654

0.72

329

1.76

0.22

0.00

0.00

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1353

101.87

103.43

638

1.56

67

2.97

0.20

0.00

0.00

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX09X079

86.13

87.72

628

1.59

62

2.77

0.03

0.05

0.09

LM7

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X051

131.93

132.60

777

0.67

42

12.64

0.18

0.00

0.00

LM7E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX05X048

123.20

126.13

758

2.93

164

0.62

0.05

0.02

0.09

LM7E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1153

122.94

124.39

647

1.45

193

0.45

0.35

0.00

0.00

LM7E

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0155

107.72

108.48

914

0.76

1,508

1.24

0.05

0.00

0.14

LM7W

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0759

29.55

32.91

782

3.36

608

0.64

0.09

0.13

0.10

LM7W

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0176

41.47

43.76

789

2.29

126

1.19

0.02

0.01

0.00

LM7W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0179

31.32

32.54

789

1.22

127

0.66

0.24

0.10

0.05

LM7W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX0177

40.32

42.86

776

2.54

70

3.11

0.22

0.08

0.01

LM7W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX09X079

55.67

56.30

653

0.63

370

8.28

4.55

0.13

0.24

LM7W1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX09X079

16.18

17.66

685

1.48

191

0.79

0.12

0.03

0.07

LM8

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1352

14.34

14.93

695

0.59

43

16.27

0.05

0.00

0.00

LM8_1

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1351

41.64

42.46

742

0.82

224

0.40

0.04

0.00

0.05

LM8_3

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

ZKX1009

31.93

32.70

1,125

0.77

144

0.44

0.12

0.01

0.24

NA

Ag-Pb-Zn

Production
zone

 

  1. Tunneling Programs at the LMW Mine

A total of 4,257 m of exploration tunnels have been developed at the LMW mine during this period. The exploration tunneling, comprised of drifting, cross-cutting and raising, was driven along and across major mineralized vein structures to upgrade the drill-defined mineral resources, and to test for new parallel and splay structures.

 

Quality Control

Drill cores are NQ size. Drill core samples, limited by apparent mineralization contacts or shear/alteration contacts, were split into halves by sawing. The half cores are stored in the Company's core shacks for future reference and checks, and the other half core samples are shipped in securely sealed bags to the Chengde Huakan 514 Geology and Minerals Test and Research Institute in Chengde, Hebei Province, China, 226 km northeast of Beijing, the Zhengzhou Nonferrous Exploration Institute Lab in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, and SGS in Tianjin, China. All three labs are ISO9000 certified analytical labs. For analysis, the sample is dried and crushed to minus 1mm and then split into a 200-300 g subsample which is further pulverized to minus 200 mesh. Two subsamples are prepared from the pulverized sample. One is digested with aqua regia for gold analysis with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and the other is digested by two-acid digestion for analysis of silver, lead, zinc and copper with AAS.

Channel samples are collected along sample lines perpendicular to the mineralized vein structure in exploration tunnels. Spacing between sampling lines is typically 5 m along strike. Both the mineralized vein and the altered wall rocks are cut by continuous chisel chipping. Sample length ranges from 0.4 m to more than 1 m, depending on the width of the mineralized vein and the mineralization type. Channel samples are prepared and assayed with AAS at Silvercorp’s mine laboratory (Ying Lab) located at the mill complex in Luoning County, Henan Province, China. The Ying lab is officially accredited by the Quality and Technology Monitoring Bureau of Henan Province and is qualified to provide analytical services. The channel samples are dried, crushed and pulverized. A 200 g sample of minus 160 mesh is prepared for assay. A duplicate sample of minus 1mm is made and kept in the laboratory archives. Gold is analysed by fire assay with AAS finish, while silver, lead, zinc and copper are assayed by two-acid digestion with AAS finish.

A routine quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedure is adopted to monitor the analytical quality at each lab. Certified reference materials (CRMs), pulp duplicates and blanks are inserted into each batch of lab samples. QA/QC data at the lab are attached to the assay certificates for each batch of samples.

The Company maintains its own comprehensive QA/QC program to ensure best practices in sample preparation and analysis of the exploration samples. Project geologists regularly insert CRM, field duplicates and blanks to each batch of 30 core samples to monitor the sample preparation and analysis procedures at the labs. The analytical quality of the labs is further evaluated with external checks by sending approximately 3-5% of the pulp samples to higher level labs to check for lab bias.  Data from both the Company's and the labs' QA/QC programs are reviewed on a timely basis by project geologists.

Guoliang Ma, P. Geo., Manager of Exploration and Resource of the Company, is the Qualified Person for Silvercorp under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and given consent to the technical information contained in this news release.

 

About Silvercorp

Silvercorp is a Canadian mining company producing silver, gold, lead, and zinc with a long history of profitability and growth potential. The Company’s strategy is to create shareholder value by 1) focusing on generating free cashflow from long life mines; 2) organic growth through extensive drilling for discovery; 3) ongoing merger and acquisition efforts to unlock value; and 4) long term commitment to responsible mining and ESG. For more information, please visit our website at www.silvercorp.ca.

 

For further information

Silvercorp Metals Inc.
Lon Shaver
Vice President

Phone: (604) 669-9397
Toll Free 1(888) 224-1881
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.silvercorp.ca

 

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER - FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain of the statements and information in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. Any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as “expects”, “is expected”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “plans”, “projects”, “estimates”, “assumes”, “intends”, “strategies”, “targets”, “goals”, “forecasts”, “objectives”, “budgets”, “schedules”, “potential” or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements or information.  Forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the price of silver and other metals; the accuracy of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates at the Company’s material properties; the sufficiency of the Company’s capital to finance the Company’s operations; estimates of the Company’s revenues and capital expenditures; estimated production from the Company’s mines in the Ying Mining District; timing of receipt of permits and regulatory approvals; availability of funds from production to finance the Company’s operations; and access to and availability of funding for future construction, use of proceeds from any financing and development of the Company’s properties.

Forward-looking statements or information are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or information, including, without limitation, social and economic impacts of COVID-19; risks relating to: fluctuating commodity prices; calculation of resources, reserves and mineralization and precious and base metal recovery; interpretations and assumptions of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; exploration and development programs; feasibility and engineering reports; permits and licenses; title to properties; property interests;  joint venture partners; acquisition of commercially mineable mineral rights; financing; recent market events and conditions; economic factors affecting the Company; timing, estimated amount, capital and operating expenditures and economic returns of future production; integration of future acquisitions into the Company’s existing operations;  competition;  operations and political conditions; regulatory environment in China and Canada;  environmental risks; legislative and regulatory initiatives addressing global climate change or other environmental concerns; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; insurance; risks and hazards of mining operations; key personnel; conflicts of interest; dependence on management; internal control over financial reporting as per the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and bringing actions and enforcing judgments under U.S. securities laws.

This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, those referred to in the Company’s Annual Information Form for the year ended March 31, 2021 under the heading “Risk Factors”.  Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended.  Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.  

The Company’s forward-looking statements and information are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements and information if circumstances or management’s assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements or information. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information.

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US INVESTORS

The disclosure in this news release and referred to herein was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 which differs significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").  The terms “proven mineral reserve”, “probable mineral reserve” and “mineral reserves” used in this news release are in reference to the mining terms defined in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards (the “CIM Definition Standards”), which definitions have been adopted by NI 43-101.  Accordingly, information contained in this news release providing descriptions of our mineral deposits in accordance with NI 43-101 may not be comparable to similar information made public by other U.S. companies subject to the United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral resources will ever be converted into reserves. Pursuant to CIM Definition Standards, “Inferred mineral resources” are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling.  Such geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity.  An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. However, it is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration.  Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases.  Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable.  Disclosure of “contained ounces” in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute “reserves” by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.

Canadian standards, including the CIM Definition Standards and NI 43-101, differ significantly from standards in the SEC Industry Guide 7.  Effective February 25, 2019, the SEC adopted new mining disclosure rules under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “SEC Modernization Rules”), with compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021.  The SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical property disclosure requirements included in SEC Industry Guide 7.  As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of “Measured Mineral Resources”, “Indicated Mineral Resources” and “Inferred Mineral Resources”.  In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of “Proven Mineral Reserves” and “Probable Mineral Reserves” to be substantially similar to corresponding definitions under the CIM Definition Standards.  During the period leading up to the compliance date of the SEC Modernization Rules, information regarding mineral resources or reserves contained or referenced in this news release may not be comparable to similar information made public by companies that report according to U.S. standards.  While the SEC Modernization Rules are purported to be “substantially similar” to the CIM Definition Standards, readers are cautioned that there are differences between the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definitions Standards.  Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral reserves or mineral resources that the Company may report as “proven mineral reserves”, “probable mineral reserves”, “measured mineral resources”, “indicated mineral resources” and “inferred mineral resources” under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the reserve or resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.