Announcement • Aug 20
Silvercorp Metals Inc Announces Main Zone Drill Results At Kyzyltash Sulfide Gold Project
Silvercorp Metals Inc. announced the first batch of drill results from the fully-permitted Tulkubash/Kyzyltash gold projects located within the ~7 square kilometre mining license. ZAAV, a 70%-owned Kyrgyzstan subsidiary of Silvercorp, launched a 50,000 to 60,000 metre drilling program, including both in-fill and step-out drilling to convert inferred resources into measured & indicated categories, and to make discoveries to expand the resource base at the Kyzyltash Sulfide Gold Project deposit, including the Contact Zone (CZ) and the Main Zone (MZ). The assay results in this news release come from 29 diamond drill holes along the strike direction of the Main Zone, ranging from Line 1480 (m) to Line 5120 (m) for a total strike length of 3,640 m of mineralized range. These initial drill holes mostly focused on step-out between different mineralized bodies and the east/west extension of the MZ, which is under drilling by ten rigs. Since July, the Company has changed to mostly in-fill drilling, with step-out holes in the down-dip direction. The assay drill results from the CZ are pending, where currently six rigs are drilling. Highlights of Main Zone Drilling Results from Kyzyltash Sulfide Gold Project (all intervals represent actual core lengths): Drill hole DH26M687 is drilled at a dip angle of -39 degrees in an azimuth direction of 318 degrees at Line 2520, perpendicular to the strike of the MZ mineralization zone. It is the most significant discovery hole as it extends beyond the previously-defined gold structures 1-2, and intercepted two new parallel structures 3-4: 29.5 m interval at 3.26 grams per tonne gold from 34.5 to 64.0 m (Structure 1), 42.5 m interval at 2.06 g/t gold from 77.5 to 120.0 m (Structure 2), 25.5 m interval at 3.05 g/t gold from 161.8 to 187.3 m (Structure 3), 33.0 m interval at 2.51 g/t gold from 205.3 to 238.3 m (Structure 4), and a combined 212.5 m interval at 1.68 g/t gold from 34.5 to 247.0 m. Drill hole DH26M686 is drilled at Line 2440, approximately 80 m southwest of hole DH26M687, at a dip angle of -72.5 degrees in an azimuth direction of 140 degrees, and intercepted six structures: 4.5 m interval at 3.23 g/t gold from 37.5 to 42.0 m (Structure 1), 4.5 m interval at 1.82 g/t gold from 63.0 to 67.5 m (Structure 2), 39.0 m interval at 4.79 g/t gold from 124.5 to 163.5 m, including 6.0 m interval at 22.23 g/t gold from 148.5 to 154.5 m, 6.0 m interval at 2.80 g/t gold from 187.5 to 193.5 m (Structure 4), 10.5 m interval at 1.03 g/t gold from 201.0 to 211.5 m (Structure 5), and 19.5 m interval at 3.09 g/t gold from 265.5 to 285 m (Structure 6). Drill hole DH26M818, a step-out hole, was drilled in the central area of the MZ, at Line 3440, approximately 920 m to the northeast of hole DH26M687, along the strike of the MZ. The drill hole also intercepted three parallel structures: 4.5 m interval at 13.65 g/t gold from 105.0 to 109.5 m, 3.0 m interval at 4.77 g/t gold from 121.5 to 124.5 m, 13.5 m interval at 8.04 g/t gold from 138.5 to 152.0 m, and a combined interval of 47.0 m at 3.95 g/t gold from 105.0 to 152.0 m. Drill hole DH26M675, a step-out hole, at the most western hole at Line 1480: a 30.0 m interval at 1.04 g/t gold from 60.0 to 90.0 m, including 9.0 m at 2.66 g/t gold from 76.5 to 85.8 m. Drill hole DH26M696, a step-out hole at Line 1840: 34.5 m interval at 2.41 g/t gold from 195.5 to 230.0 m. Drill hole DH26M679, an in-fill hole at Line 2000: a 25.5 m interval at 3.62 g/t gold from 93.0 to 118.5 m. Drill hole DH26M680, a step-out at Line 2080 intercepted 7 parallel structures: 61.5 m interval at 1.34 g/t gold from 32.0 to 93.5 m, and 34.0 m interval at 2.04 g/t gold from 236 to 270 m, including 19.0 m interval at 3.0 g/t gold from 236.0 to 255.0 m, 9.0 m interval at 2.04 g/t gold from 295.5 to 304.5 m, and 12.5 m interval at 2.0 g/t gold from 347.5 to 360.0 m. Drill hole DH26M685, an in-fill hole at Line 2320: a 39.0 m interval at 2.37 g/t gold from 166.0 to 205.0 m. Drill hole DH26M688, a step-out hole at Line 2600: a 50.0 m interval at 1.94 g/t gold from 95.0 to 145.0 m. Drill hole DH26M828, a step-out hole at Line 2840: a 45.0 m interval at 2.11 g/t gold from 105.0 to 150.0 m. Drill hole DH26M830, a step-out at Line 2920 intercepted 7 parallel structures, including: 22.5 m interval at 1.64 g/t gold from 117.0 to 139.5 m, 9.0 m interval at 3.58 g/t gold from 117.0 to 126 m, 6.0 m interval at 3.43 g/t gold from 180.0 to 186 m, 12.0 m interval at 2.15 g/t gold from 214.55 to 226.5 m, 25.5 m interval at 2.55 g/t gold from 285.0 to 310.5 m, and 20.5 m interval at 2.25 g/t gold from 330.0 to 350.5 m. Drill hole DH26M709, a step-out hole at Line 4840: a 49.5 m interval at 1.70 g/t gold from 136.3 to 185.8 m. Drill hole DH26M705, a step-out hole at Line 4920: a 12.0 m interval at 4.90 g/t gold from 378.0 to 390.0 m, including 4.5 m at 12.16 g/t gold from 384.0 to 388.50 m. Drill hole DH26M703, a step-out hole at Line 5040: a 4.5 m interval at 18.77 g/t gold from 240.0 to 244.5 m. Drill hole DH26M699, a step-out hole at Line 5120, at about 2,600 m to the northeast from hole DH26M687, also intercepted multiple parallel structures including a long intercept of 37.5 m interval at 3.94 g/t gold from 230.5 to 268.0 m. The project is located on the southeastern portion of the Sandalash mountain range, along the northwestern margin of the Sandalash River, in the Chatkal district, Jalal-Abad Oblast of western Kyrgyzstan, approximately 300 kilometres southwest of the capital of Bishkek. It sits within the Zaav's Mining License 3117AE (~7 km2). The Kyzyltash Sulfide Gold Project deposit represents a mesozonal orogenic gold system. Mineralization is hosted within a series of subvertical, northeast–southwest-trending shear zones controlled by the Sandalash Fault Zone. Movement along the Sandalash Fault Zone is predominantly sinistral strike-slip, generating extensional structures that acted as conduits for mineralization. Mineralization is characterized by pervasive sericite alteration and disseminated sulfides, with relatively limited quartz-carbonate veining, which typically comprises less than 5% of the mineralized volume.