Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM) has reported new assay results from the ongoing drill program at its LMW mine in the Ying Mining District in China. The company has drilled a total of 56,803 metres in 416 diamond drill holes. The program included 372 underground holes and 44 surface holes at the LMW mine. Two surface rigs and eight underground rigs and drilling at the LMW mine at present. 

Highlights from the results are as follows:

1)  New Discovery of High-Grade Silver-Lead-Zinc Veins at the West of LMW Outside Current Mining Areas

Drilling at the west side of LMW, where there has been no previous mining activity, intersected new high-grade silver-lead-zinc veins, including W1, W2, W2W, W6, W6E, W6W, and W18.  Among these, veins W2, W1 and W18 may have lengths of over 800 m along strike and 400 m down-dip from 1100 m to 700 m elevation.  To pursue this new discovery, the Company has started to develop two new horizontal tunnels from surface at 1040 m and 988 m elevations, and a new branch off-ramp from 800 m to 700 m elevations to access these veins. 

Highlights of these new discovery holes are as follows:

• Hole ZKX0818 intersected a 3.18 m interval (2.82 m true width) of vein W2 grading 2,238 grams per tonne (“g/t”) silver (“Ag”), 5.90% lead (“Pb”), 0.61% zinc (“Zn”), and 0.36% copper (“Cu”) at the 1,045 m elevation
• Hole ZKX0634 intersected a 4.03 m interval (3.43 m true width) of vein W6W grading 970 g/t Ag, 16.20% Pb, 0.60% Zn, and 0.29% Cu, at the 1,031 m elevatio
• Hole ZKX0636 intersected a 1.18 m interval (0.91 m true width) of vein W1 grading 2,511 g/t Ag, 3.45% Pb, 1.01% Zn, and 0.38% Cu, at the 963 m elevation; an
• Hole ZKX14214 intersected a 6.58 m interval (1.19 m true width) of vein W18 grading 646 g/t Ag, 3.12% Pb, 0.3% Zn, and 0.16% Cu, at the1039 m elevation.

2)  Drilling of Low Angle Gold-Copper-Silver Veins Further Improved Continuity of Mineralization

Drilling of the low angle copper-gold-silver veins of LM21, LM22, LM26 and LM50 was designed to better understand this new type of mineralization which is strongly altered by silicification, with less obvious contact with host rocks of Archean granitic gneisses.  The lower angle copper-gold structures were also offset slightly by sub-vertical north-west and north-east trending silver-lead veins which have been the focus of mining production at LMW.  With the drilling program designed to expand gold-copper structures, and with better understanding, the Company is learning how to mine these low angle gold-copper bodies.

Highlights of the intercepts from the low angle gold veins at the LMW mine:

• Hole ZKX03X021 intersected a 7.03 m interval (5.39 m true width) of vein LM26 grading 0.17 g/t gold (“Au”), 2,896 g/t Ag, and 2.58% Cu, at the 602 m elevation
• Hole ZKX11238 intersected a 9.54 m interval (3.37 m true width) of vein LM26 grading 0.98 g/t Au, 1,323 g/t Ag, 7.45% Pb, 0.55% Zn, and 0.32% Cu, at the 670 m elevation
• Hole ZKX11223 intersected a 6.57 m interval (3.2 m true width) of vein LM26 grading 1.23 g/t Au, 1,780 g/t Ag, 16.71% Pb, 0.69% Zn, and 0.23% Cu, at the 670 m elevation
• Hole ZKX07X031 intersected an 8.10 m interval (4.06 m true width) of vein LM50 grading 1.26 g/t Au, 674 g/t Ag, 1.28% Pb, 0.21% Zn, and 0.09% Cu at the 799 m elevation
• Hole ZKX07X021 intersected an 1.01 m interval (0.65 m true width) of vein LM50 grading 19.2 g/t Au and 15 g/t Ag at the 791 m elevation
• Hole ZKX05X079 intersected a 4.21 m interval (3.42 m true width) of vein LM50 grading 6.36 g/t Au and 11 g/t Ag at the 794 m elevation
• Hole ZKX05X098 intersected a 0.77 m interval (0.70 m true width) of vein LM22 grading 29.00 g/t Au, 10 g/t Ag, and 1.21% Cu at the 850 m elevation; an
• Hole ZKX05X096 intersected a 0.51 m interval (0.38 m true width) of vein LM22 grading 32.50 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag, and 0.05% Cu, at the 848 m elevation.

3)  Drilling Above or Beneath Previously Mined Stopes

Most holes in this period targeted blocks of known silver-lead-zinc veins in the production areas 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 southwest-striking LM7 series, LM12 series and LM17 series of veins, and the northwest-striking LM8 series, LM19 and LM20E.

Highlights of the high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization in the production areas:

• Hole ZKX07X003 intersected a 13.31 m interval (12.80 m true width) of vein LM7 grading 365 g/t Ag, 0.71% Pb, 0.13% Zn, 0.06 g/t Au, and 0.33% Cu at the 778 m elevation
• Hole ZKX0733 intersected a 1.46 m interval (1.37 m true width) of vein LM12E grading 4,549 g/t Ag, 1.19% Pb, 0.24% zinc (“Zn”), 0.49 g/t Au, and 0.10% copper (“Cu”) at the 645 m elevation
• Hole ZKX0058 intersected a 3.40 m interval (3.39 m true width) of vein LM7W grading 1,181 g/t Ag, 2.49% Pb, 0.24% Zn, 0.12 g/t Au, and 0.21% Cu at the 771 m elevation
• Hole ZKX05X075 intersected a 4.16 m interval (3.72 m true width) of vein LM7 grading 360 g/t Ag, 1.75% Pb, 0.59% Zn, 9.15 g/t Au, and 0.24% Cu at the 764 m elevation; an
• Hole ZKX09X001 intersected a 5.78 m interval (5.53 m true width) of vein LM7W grading 531 g/t Ag, 1.06% Pb, 0.37% Zn, 0.02 g/t Au, and 0.19% Cu at the 575 m elevation.

4)  Drilling Intersected High-Grade Silver-Lead-Zinc Veins and a New Gold Structure at the East Side of the Resource Area

At the east side of the resource area, drilling intersected high-grade silver-lead-zinc vein LM41E and the parallel silver-lead-zinc veins LM41E1 and LM41E1Wa with true widths up to 2.40 m.

While drilling these LM41 series high grade silver-lead-zinc veins, a new gently dipping gold vein has been discovered with three drill holes, ZKX10944, ZKX10735, and ZKX10739 intercepting high grade gold, which are approximately 450 m east of those intercepts on the LM50 gold structure.

Highlights of the high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization at the northwest and east sides of the LMW mine:

• Hole ZKX1166 intersected a 1.36 m interval (1.23 m true width) of vein LM41E grading 2,415 g/t Ag, 2.61% Pb, 0.40% Zn, 0.05 g/t Au, and 0.90% Cu at the 778 m elevation; an
• Hole ZKX1143 intersected a 3.11 m interval (2.40 m true width) of vein LM41E grading 993 g/t Ag, 1.35% Pb, 0.54% Zn, 0.05 g/t Au, and 0.12% Cu at the 754 m elevation
• Hole ZKX09X033 intersected a 1.3 m interval (0.88 m true width) of vein LM41EWa grading 1976 g/t Ag, 1.74% Pb, 0.45% Zn, 0.79 g/t Au, and 0.23% Cu at the 706 m elevation
• Hole ZKX10944 intersected a 2.13 m interval (2.0 m true width) of a new gently dipping gold vein grading 478 g/t Ag, 2.14% Pb, 0.9% Zn, and 5.97 g/t Au, at the 763 m elevatio
• Hole ZKX10735 intersected a 1.18 m interval (1.18 m true width) of the new gently dipping gold vein grading 5.37 g/t Au at the 760 m elevatio
• Hole ZKX10739 intersected a 0.95 m interval (0.95 m true width) of the new gently dipping gold vein grading 5.65 g/t Au at the 754 m elevation

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

Tunneling Programs at the LMW Mine              

A total of 3,566 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.