Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM) Reports High-Grade Results from Extensive Drilling Program at HPG Mine in Ying Mining District

Location of the HPG mine within the Ying mining district. Source: Silvercorp Metals Inc

Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM) has recently reported the results of its extensive diamond drilling program at the HPG mine, located in China’s Ying Mining District. The company’s operations, conducted from the beginning of 2022 through mid-November 2023, encompassed a comprehensive exploration initiative.

The drilling program extended over a period of almost two years, during which the company drilled a total of 45,046 meters across 297 diamond drill holes. This intensive effort included 215 underground and 82 surface holes. As of now, the assay results for 270 of these holes have been received, with 139 holes encountering mineralized zones. To continue this exploration, eight drilling rigs are currently operational at the HPG mine site.

Silvercorp’s drilling initiative at the HPG mine concentrated on three primary areas. The first area, known as the upper zone (U), involved drilling near the surface for gold, silver, lead, and zinc vein structures within the resource area. This part of the mine had seen limited exploration in the past. The second focus area, termed the production zone (P), comprised infill drilling above or beneath previously mined stopes. The stopes had been abandoned earlier due to unexpected variability in ore grades, vein thicknesses, and orientations. The third area, identified as the breccia zone (B), involved testing the mineralization potential within a rhyolitic breccia dyke located within the existing underground mining infrastructure.

In the upper zone, the drilling targeted the strike and downdip extent of known vein structures, particularly above the 600 meters above mean sea level elevation. The results from this drilling revealed high-grade gold, silver, lead, and zinc vein structures at higher elevations. The significant findings in this zone included intercepts from various series, such as H13, H15, H16, H17, H32, H42, and others.

Location of drill holes and target areas at HPG mine applicable to the reporting period. Source: Silvercorp Metals Inc

The production zone drilling focused on areas previously underexplored due to variability in ore shoot grades and vein trends below the 600-meter elevation. This drilling campaign led to the discovery and expansion of high-grade resources in several vein series, enhancing the understanding of the mine’s potential.

The breccia zone drilling aimed to assess the extent of mineralization within a rhyolitic breccia dyke, specifically in the B8 area. This zone, characterized by disseminated gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper mineralization, measured approximately 50 meters in length, 30 meters in height, and 20 meters in width. The B8 orebody, discovered during this exploration phase, has been mined since October 2023 using long-hole stoping techniques.

Furthermore, additional drilling was conducted to explore the down-dip extension of major vein structures, including the H15, H16, and H17 series, below the 300-meter elevation in the Deep Zone (zone D). This exploration confirmed the continuation of mineralization along these structures, expanding the potential for further resource development.

Silvercorp Metals’ extensive and methodical exploration program at the HPG mine reflects a significant commitment to understanding and developing the mine’s resources. The results from this program are likely to influence the company’s future mining strategies and operational decisions in the Ying Mining District.

Highlights from the results are as follows:

  • Surface hole ZK1645 intersected an 8.24 metre (“m”) interval of vein H4 grading 4.31 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”), 15 g/t silver (“Ag”), and 2.10% lead (“Pb”), from 56.28 m depth, at an elevation of 819 m;
  • Underground hole ZK02N36 intersected a 0.61 m interval of vein H5E grading 3.86 g/t Au, 6,132 g/t Ag, 6.45% Pb, 8.47% zinc (“Zn”), and 0.33% copper (“Cu”) from 72.36 m depth, at an elevation of 331 m;
  • Surface hole ZK3421 intersected a 0.63 m interval of vein H17_1 grading 23.80 g/t Au and 14 g/t Ag, from 71.95 m depth, at an elevation of 761 m;
  • Underground hole ZKH12N21 intersected a 4.60 m interval of vein H17 grading 1.23 g/t Au, 193 g/t Ag, 7.56% Pb, 3.79% Zn, and 0.38% Cu from 68.67 m depth, at an elevation of 329 m;
  • Underground hole ZK21N11 intersected a 2.05 m interval of vein H16_3 grading 3.75 g/t Au, 128 g/t Ag, 2.26% Pb, and 1.05% Zn, from 148.72 m depth, at an elevation of 381 m;
  • Underground hole ZKH21N20 intersected a 2.69 m interval of vein H16_3 grading 2.72 g/t Au, 269 g/t Ag, 1.02% Pb, 0.69% Zn, and 0.80% Cu from 147.79 m depth, at an elevation of 338 m;
  • Underground hole ZKH27N03 intersected a 1.70 m interval of vein H14a grading 10.49 g/t Au, 18 g/t Ag, 1.02% Pb, and 0.75% Zn, from 181.11 m depth, at an elevation of 440 m;
  • Underground hole ZKH21N22 intersected a 0.95 m interval of vein H16_3 grading 6.62 g/t Au, 507 g/t Ag, 1.77% Pb, 1.35% Zn, and 0.97% Cu from 151.45 m depth, at an elevation of 350 m;
  • Underground hole ZK19N15 intersected a 0.45 m interval of vein H10_1 grading 25.80 g/t Au and 216 g/t Ag, from 148.64 m depth, at an elevation of 599 m;
  • Underground hole ZK04N14 intersected a 1.01 m interval of vein H13 grading 0.62 g/t Au, 930 g/t Ag, 25.93% Pb, 0.30% Zn, and 1.24% Cu from 63.67 m depth, at an elevation of 683 m;

Table 1: Selected intercepts from the drilling programs at the U zone of the HPG mine

Hole ID

From
(m)

To
(m)

Elevation
(m)

interval
(m)

Au
(g/t)

Ag
(g/t)

Pb
(%)

Zn
(%)

Cu
(%)

Vein

ZK02N05

53.62

54.45

661

0.83

0.19

227

21.15

0.14

0.19

H32

ZK04N10

56.67

57.10

687

0.43

0.05

114

9.94

0.08

0.19

H32

ZK04N14

63.67

64.68

683

1.01

0.62

930

25.93

0.30

1.24

H13

ZK04N15

58.89

59.52

666

0.63

0.21

88

7.09

0.12

0.13

H32

ZK04W02

59.54

60.08

729

0.54

0.94

178

15.28

0.02

0.03

H15

ZK06N13

67.49

69.55

682

2.06

0.31

184

10.59

0.09

0.25

H13

ZK06S03

124.59

125.82

717

1.23

0.20

57

8.92

0.05

0.06

H13

ZK06S04

128.02

129.58

724

1.56

0.10

69

1.84

0.57

0.03

H15_2

ZK08N13

84.64

86.04

680

1.40

0.37

441

11.75

0.42

0.25

H13

ZK08N14

101.76

102.11

678

0.35

0.72

261

0.93

0.49

0.20

H13

ZK08S01

90.55

91.36

760

0.81

0.37

72

17.30

0.08

0.11

H13

ZK08S05

87.75

89.40

774

1.65

0.15

17

4.01

0.03

0.01

H15_2

ZK11004

105.13

105.60

605

0.47

0.04

592

0.94

0.37

0.01

H41W_1

ZK11205

103.81

105.45

614

1.64

3.31

1

0.01

0.01

0.01

H42a

ZK14N23

80.61

81.11

705

0.50

0.97

110

13.55

0.53

0.80

H15W

ZK14N25

89.92

90.75

676

0.83

0.81

41

4.37

0.02

0.04

H15W

ZK14S22

36.91

37.94

731

1.03

0.07

42

3.40

0.11

0.01

H15

ZK1644

190.15

190.73

689

0.58

4.71

152

15.71

1.73

0.54

H32a

ZK1645

56.28

64.52

819

8.24

4.31

15

2.10

0.01

0.02

H4

ZK1645

210.11

210.59

671

0.48

0.61

27

9.36

0.04

0.01

H32a

ZK1646

66.45

67.61

809

1.16

2.48

13

2.48

0.02

0.01

H4

ZK1646

204.79

206.45

675

1.66

0.05

23

5.14

3.02

0.05

H4a

ZK1646

218.66

219.85

662

1.19

0.39

32

4.71

0.12

0.06

H32a

ZK1647

222.14

224.11

663

1.97

1.72

103

3.72

0.67

0.55

H32a

ZK17N05

100.28

100.75

625

0.47

0.16

78

4.91

0.28

0.01

H9

ZK21N41

47.21

47.76

600

0.55

1.74

76

5.97

1.73

0.01

H39_2

ZK2346

113.21

114.22

716

1.01

2.59

8

0.20

0.53

0.01

H42

ZK2346

123.36

123.91

710

0.55

5.21

8

1.70

1.49

0.03

H15

ZK2347

106.66

107.46

740

0.80

1.48

19

1.61

0.48

0.02

H16_3

ZK2348

56.19

56.85

776

0.66

2.13

8

0.41

0.97

0.02

H14

ZK2348

64.67

66.39

771

1.72

3.16

4

0.12

0.43

0.01

H14a

ZK2348

132.58

133.26

733

0.68

2.00

4

0.19

0.20

0.01

H15

ZK23S03

107.58

108.43

790

0.85

0.68

132

0.78

0.60

0.07

H16

ZK2412

172.03

173.06

720

1.03

1.98

6

0.01

0.02

0.01

H17

ZK24S01

199.44

200.03

721

0.59

0.34

95

14.67

0.88

0.01

H32a

ZK29S02

211.70

212.20

684

0.50

0.16

89

17.02

4.86

0.04

H29

ZK3421

71.95

72.58

761

0.63

23.80

14

0.03

0.03

0.01

H17_1

ZK3638

37.58

37.96

804

0.38

1.10

197

0.19

0.08

0.03

H17_1

ZKH00N42

48.80

50.96

635

2.16

0.68

140

1.08

0.14

0.05

H5

ZKH04S01

50.64

51.27

656

0.63

0.15

659

0.31

2.29

0.14

H17

ZKH06N01

64.39

64.71

618

0.32

0.16

309

0.60

0.10

0.49

H32E1

ZKH06N02

50.40

51.01

615

0.61

5.10

28

0.48

0.12

0.01

H32E1

ZKH06S01

99.64

101.43

606

1.79

1.03

76

2.14

0.09

0.69

H15

ZKH06S01

102.56

109.99

605

7.43

0.61

89

7.08

0.19

0.36

H17

ZKH06S09

17.36

18.28

633

0.92

0.16

115

0.53

1.91

0.03

H13

ZKH12S52

45.57

47.28

718

1.71

0.11

33

3.33

0.04

0.08

H15

ZKH12S52

163.31

164.40

670

1.09

0.29

133

2.02

1.40

0.06

H18

ZKH130C01

92.85

93.96

712

1.11

4.04

3

0.02

0.01

0.01

H15

ZKH14S31

38.31

39.37

730

1.06

0.05

45

3.75

0.04

0.05

H15

ZKH14S31

153.43

154.53

712

1.10

2.56

41

1.32

0.82

0.02

H18

ZKH16S51

85.99

87.16

676

1.17

0.16

177

0.34

0.01

0.86

H15E

ZKH16S51

168.41

169.33

619

0.92

0.45

128

3.23

1.25

0.04

H18

ZKH16S52

35.85

40.22

733

4.37

0.08

28

4.13

0.03

0.03

H15

ZKH16S52

171.30

172.25

719

0.95

0.12

211

1.21

0.63

0.06

H18

ZKH18N01

147.22

147.86

756

0.64

0.04

10

4.44

0.99

0.01

H6

ZKH24S05

157.87

159.05

741

1.18

0.17

22

5.65

0.81

0.03

H32a

ZKH33N10

28.61

29.06

627

0.45

5.42

4

0.08

0.16

0.01

H12E1

Table 2: Selected intercepts from the drilling programs at the P zone of the HPG mine

Hole ID

From
(m)

To
(m)

Elevation
(m)

interval
(m)

Au
(g/t)

Ag
(g/t)

Pb
(%)

Zn
(%)

Cu
(%)

Vein

ZK02N36

72.36

72.97

331

0.61

3.86

6,132

6.45

8.47

0.33

H5E

ZK04N06

124.59

125.01

515

0.42

0.04

27

8.36

0.65

0.03

H5

ZK04N07

165.80

166.26

467

0.46

0.47

416

40.18

0.35

0.13

H5E

ZK04N08

95.05

95.63

582

0.58

0.89

91

1.01

0.09

0.10

H5a

ZK04N09

100.28

101.00

581

0.72

0.07

284

0.09

0.02

0.03

H5a

ZK04N09

102.91

104.23

580

1.32

0.61

66

13.01

0.12

0.18

H5

ZK04N19

15.15

15.48

375

0.33

5.52

23

0.42

0.98

0.01

H5E

ZK05N11

118.87

119.53

371

0.66

2.86

15

0.05

0.03

0.01

H5

ZK07N21

101.34

103.31

332

1.97

0.26

123

3.50

3.42

0.08

H5

ZK07N22

56.03

57.57

346

1.54

2.00

14

0.03

0.01

0.01

H5E

ZK09N23

82.17

82.52

332

0.35

21.00

120

2.85

15.03

0.09

H5

ZK09N31

2.81

3.54

462

0.73

0.21

106

0.10

0.03

1.07

H5E

ZK09N31

80.42

81.30

415

0.88

0.34

300

1.24

0.92

0.06

H5

ZK11007

240.47

241.68

497

1.21

2.39

2

0.08

0.07

0.01

H12_1

ZK11008

225.13

225.59

518

0.46

7.44

17

0.39

0.50

0.04

H12_1

ZK11204

205.86

206.86

555

1.00

2.92

5

0.14

0.04

0.01

H20W

ZK11209

202.55

203.11

527

0.56

2.71

8

0.76

0.75

0.03

H20W1

ZK11211

82.05

82.40

591

0.35

4.42

26

1.79

0.05

0.01

H41W

ZK11614

44.23

44.80

446

0.57

11.90

45

3.39

0.49

0.19

H20W1

ZK11614

46.12

46.95

445

0.83

3.26

84

0.94

0.49

0.10

H20W

ZK14N18

13.94

14.58

380

0.64

1.55

58

2.54

9.79

0.21

H32E1

ZK14N19

28.10

28.52

377

0.42

7.00

10

0.31

0.25

0.01

H32E1

ZK19N15

148.64

149.09

599

0.45

25.80

216

0.04

0.01

0.01

H10_1

ZK19N20

8.53

9.40

462

0.87

0.97

108

16.84

0.33

0.26

H11

ZK19N20

208.43

208.94

369

0.51

3.25

5

0.40

0.14

0.01

H42

ZK21N11

148.72

150.77

381

2.05

3.75

128

2.26

1.05

0.20

H16_3

ZK21N37

131.58

132.30

435

0.72

7.51

15

0.10

0.18

0.01

H16_1

ZK21N39

126.31

128.05

432

1.74

2.10

56

2.71

1.25

0.08

H16_1

ZK21N41

114.86

117.14

559

2.28

0.25

49

5.17

0.06

0.01

H12_1

ZK21N42

55.06

55.50

589

0.44

1.01

164

2.23

0.85

0.01

H39_2

ZK21N42

131.24

131.92

533

0.68

1.35

94

0.65

0.26

0.01

H12_1

ZK22N01

99.79

100.94

588

1.15

4.59

23

0.94

0.07

0.11

H15

ZK23N05

141.55

142.62

381

1.07

1.63

16

1.13

0.62

0.01

H16_1

ZK23N32

54.49

54.93

429

0.44

3.36

43

0.15

0.10

0.35

H17_1W

ZK23N34

5.54

6.15

466

0.61

1.75

27

0.31

0.82

0.06

H11

ZK23N34

121.72

122.34

439

0.62

2.43

11

0.48

0.23

0.04

H16_1

ZK23N35

5.59

6.59

465

1.00

1.43

28

1.88

0.24

0.09

H11

ZK23N35

181.11

181.60

405

0.49

0.09

52

10.80

0.04

0.13

H17_1

ZK25N04

55.72

56.13

435

0.41

4.48

77

0.34

0.56

0.01

H13

ZK25N05

83.43

84.69

515

1.26

1.73

9

0.35

0.33

0.03

H16_1

ZK25N08

94.53

95.59

417

1.06

2.05

3

0.03

0.04

0.01

H16

ZK27N04

161.78

162.48

484

0.70

1.98

9

0.24

0.15

0.02

H16_1

ZK27N07

105.32

106.13

552

0.81

2.00

13

0.20

0.08

0.03

H16

ZK27N07

137.48

138.13

534

0.65

2.21

15

0.40

0.36

0.06

H40

ZK27N08

143.28

143.82

480

0.54

2.96

7

0.14

0.06

0.01

H16

ZK29N10

136.81

139.45

530

2.64

2.09

4

0.39

0.21

0.01

H16_1a

ZKH02N37

127.89

128.54

324

0.65

8.78

35

1.12

0.16

0.06

H5_2

ZKH02N38

116.61

117.60

328

0.99

9.21

8

0.08

0.14

0.09

H5_2W

ZKH02N38

141.53

142.38

324

0.85

0.34

73

1.56

0.42

0.07

H5_2

ZKH02N38

172.02

172.65

320

0.63

0.13

67

2.49

6.17

0.04

H5E

ZKH08N03

132.56

133.27

591

0.71

0.40

382

6.23

1.38

0.51

H15_2

ZKH12N21

67.10

67.77

330

0.67

1.17

172

3.23

12.97

0.22

H17_1

ZKH12N21

68.67

73.27

329

4.60

1.23

193

7.56

3.79

0.38

H17

ZKH12N22

28.43

28.88

361

0.45

0.28

76

4.92

0.13

0.01

H15

ZKH12N22

67.78

69.48

331

1.70

0.23

61

2.04

6.67

0.21

H17_1

ZKH12N22

71.25

73.94

328

2.69

0.53

86

4.33

2.61

0.18

H17

ZKH19N25

13.44

14.21

571

0.77

0.14

190

0.28

0.17

0.28

H39_1E

ZKH21N20

64.38

65.22

361

0.84

0.29

54

1.44

1.70

0.01

H13

ZKH21N20

68.18

69.13

360

0.95

0.68

382

0.54

0.57

0.02

H13a

ZKH21N20

141.43

142.15

339

0.72

1.62

13

1.30

1.00

0.03

H16_1

ZKH21N20

147.79

150.48

338

2.69

2.72

269

1.02

0.69

0.80

H16_3

ZKH21N20

160.42

161.02

334

0.60

5.66

7

0.24

0.08

0.02

H15Wa

ZKH21N20

168.74

169.82

332

1.08

0.41

21

5.00

0.11

0.05

H15

ZKH21N20

188.06

188.68

326

0.62

1.87

45

0.75

0.13

0.52

H17_1

ZKH21N22

51.71

52.66

369

0.95

2.53

3

0.03

0.05

0.01

H11Ea

ZKH21N22

68.83

69.73

366

0.90

0.99

84

0.28

0.61

0.01

H13

ZKH21N22

142.40

143.19

351

0.79

0.71

22

1.83

1.95

0.15

H16_1

ZKH21N22

151.45

152.40

350

0.95

6.62

507

1.77

1.35

0.97

H16_3

ZKH21N22

165.32

166.62

347

1.30

1.71

11

0.42

0.07

0.03

H15

ZKH27N02

16.60

18.68

535

2.08

2.10

74

0.31

0.12

0.28

H20W

ZKH27N03

15.14

15.86

531

0.72

5.97

15

0.43

0.37

0.04

H20W

ZKH27N03

120.16

122.82

473

2.66

1.27

23

1.27

0.10

0.02

H40

ZKH27N03

181.11

182.81

440

1.70

10.49

18

1.02

0.75

0.03

H14a

ZKH27N04

94.47

95.70

510

1.23

1.43

32

1.10

0.69

0.01

H16_1

ZKH27N05

14.12

14.95

531

0.83

3.30

9

0.24

0.11

0.09

H20W

ZKH27N06

24.51

25.40

535

0.89

4.05

197

0.69

0.15

0.99

H17_1

ZKH27N06

26.90

28.91

535

2.01

0.14

240

0.68

1.37

0.41

H20W

ZKH27N06

114.53

115.25

522

0.72

1.65

293

2.09

0.47

0.54

H16

ZKH27N07

34.66

35.48

515

0.82

1.34

45

0.26

0.05

0.07

H20W

ZKH29N16

93.05

93.84

581

0.79

1.20

33

6.92

0.77

0.04

H41W

ZKH33N11

94.57

95.44

588

0.87

0.05

25

6.99

0.55

0.01

H12E

ZKH36N06

132.35

133.48

368

1.13

0.11

37

2.41

4.59

0.03

H15_1

ZKH36N07

135.56

136.22

354

0.66

0.18

61

7.00

3.04

0.03

H15_1

ZKH38N01

127.63

128.77

373

1.14

0.51

32

2.36

2.85

0.04

H17

Table 3: Selected intercepts from the drilling programs at the B zone of the HPG mine

Hole ID

From
(m)

To
(m)

Elevation
(m)

interval
(m)

Au
(g/t)

Ag
(g/t)

Pb
(%)

Zn
(%)

Cu
(%)

Vein

ZK09N23

61.99

63.77

345

1.78

1.56

63

0.21

0.05

0.11

B

ZK09N31

18.91

19.47

452

0.56

3.04

120

0.12

0.02

0.35

B

ZK1323

20.66

21.40

727

0.74

0.01

22

1.41

3.05

0.03

B07

ZK15N26

75.65

77.12

576

1.47

0.85

135

0.72

1.50

0.15

B08

ZK15N27

91.75

92.82

555

1.07

0.62

288

1.81

0.11

0.29

B08

ZK15N30

67.58

71.80

571

4.22

0.45

144

0.99

0.61

0.07

B08

ZK15N32

73.19

74.77

568

1.58

1.71

93

0.22

0.08

0.02

B08

ZKH07N12

48.07

48.81

346

0.74

1.88

17

0.03

0.02

0.01

B02

Table 4: Selected intercepts from the drilling programs at the D zone of the HPG mine

Hole ID

From
(m)

To
(m)

Elevation
(m)

interval
(m)

Au
(g/t)

Ag
(g/t)

Pb
(%)

Zn
(%)

Cu
(%)

Vein

ZK03N35

174.26

174.81

267

0.55

15.55

52

1.67

2.46

0.01

H5

ZK03N37

143.41

144.00

295

0.59

0.83

236

12.14

7.04

0.01

H5

ZK40N02

233.57

233.92

179

0.35

0.72

185

6.51

0.01

0.01

H17

ZKH00N39

255.51

256.21

119

0.70

0.18

22

1.85

5.23

0.08

H5E

ZKH06N34

106.37

107.11

-11

0.74

2.60

76

6.06

4.68

0.23

H15_1

ZKH06N34

159.08

159.74

-42

0.66

0.50

82

3.00

1.56

0.11

H17

ZKH4204

192.72

193.25

194

0.53

4.00

434

11.02

0.06

3.02

H15_1

ZKH4204

226.08

226.57

176

0.49

0.78

118

25.65

25.81

0.11

H15

 

 

 

 

The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.

By Matthew Evanoff

I specialize in the mining industry, focusing on top global mining stocks. My reporting covers the latest industry news, company/project developments, and profiles of key players. Beyond my professional pursuits, I have a keen interest in global business and a love for travel.

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