Vancouver – Measured and indicated resources at newly-named Silvercorp Metals‘ (SVM-V) Ying project in China’s Hennan province have boosted the contained silver and zinc by over 200%, and lead by over 300%. Meanwhile the contained metals in the inferred resource category are down by 47% for silver, while lead is down 53% and zinc 23%, largely because the majority of the inferred resource was raised to the higher resource categories.
Silvercorp was previously known as SKN Resources.
The shrinkage in tonnage in the new independent NI43-101 compliant resource estimate is offset by higher average grades which have resulted in higher contained metals for the project.
U.S.-certified geologist, Chris Broili calculated the resource as part of a technical report following up his initial report a year ago.
Broili bases his estimate on five of the seven recently explored and developed veins at Ying. The five veins are 0.42 metre in average width and range from 0.27 to 0.46 metre.
The veins host measured and indicated resources of 420,453 tonnes averaging 1,393 grams silver per tonne, 32.76% lead, and 9.99% zinc, for contained metals of 18.8 million oz. silver, 137,730 tonnes lead, and 42,004 tonnes zinc. This equates to 43.9 million oz. of silver at the US$6.50 per oz. silver, US40 lead and US45 per pound zinc prices he uses to determine the silver equivalent.
An upper cutoff of 1,250 grams silver equivalent over a minimum 0.1-metre thickness was used. The S14 and S16W veins were cut to 3,682 grams and 2,880 grams silver, respectively.
The same five veins carry another 495,205 tonnes that grade 1,539 grams silver 35.01% lead, 9.56% zinc on average and contain 24.5 million oz. silver, 173,394 tonnes lead, and 47,323 tonnes zinc in the inferred category (55.2 million oz. silver-equivalent).
Although the S7 and S8 veins were included in last year’s resource estimate, Broili doesn’t include them this year citing insufficient work. The veins which are 3,500 metres and 4,200 metres long, contain massive galena sheets similar in style to the mineralization found in the other veins.
Broili believes that tunneling and underground drilling on these veins will result in additional lead-zinc-silver resources.
Exploration on the Ying project is carried out through the company’s Sino-foreign joint venture partner, Henan Found Mining Co., from which Silvercorp is earning a 77.5% interest.
Found has completed 3,550 metres of drifting, declines, and raises and 1,500 metres of underground drilling primarily focused on veins S2, S6, S14, S16E and S16W since last August. Found also widened two main access tunnels.
Broili estimates the per tonne costs at US$9.70 for mining, US$17 for milling, US$5 for shipping and another US$4 for administration.
He recommends a US$5-million Phase 2 exploration and development program to focus on resource expansion.Silvercorp is applying for a mining permit to mine and process the high-grade material at a rate of 100,000 tonnes per year.
The company is also conducting regional exploration on another 33 veins on the project.
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