Silvercorp Reports 18% Increase in Measured and Indicated Silver Resources and 4% Increase in Proven and Probable Silver Reserves, on Top of 21 Million Ounces of Silver Produced between June 2016 and December 2019 at the Ying Silver-lead-zinc Mining District
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – August 31, 2020 – Silvercorp Metals Inc. (“Silvercorp” or the “Company”) (TSX / NYSE American: SVM) is pleased to report the results of an updated National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101 Technical Report with an effective date of July 31, 2020 (Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves effective December 31, 2019), prepared by AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd. (“AMC”) and covering the SGX, HZG, HPG, TLP, LME, and LMW underground mines on the Ying silver-lead-zinc property (“Ying Property”) in Henan Province, China (the “Ying 2020 Technical Report”).

The authors of the Ying 2020 Technical Report all qualify as independent Qualified Persons (“QPs”). Three of the authors have visited the Ying Property (latest visit in July 2016), with plans for a more recent visit postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The QPs have examined all aspects of the project, including drill core, underground workings, processing plant and surface infrastructure. The Ying 2020 Technical Report, with an effective date of July 31, 2020, will be made available for review on the SEDAR system and on the Company’s website at www.silvercorp.ca in due course.

Highlights of the Ying 2020 Technical Report

Estimated Mineral Resources of 20.1 million tonnes (inclusive of Mineral Reserves) in the Measured and Indicated categories grading 234 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag), 0.15 g/t gold (Au), 3.64% lead (Pb), and 1.28% zinc (Zn), containing 151 million ounces (oz) silver, 98 thousand oz gold, 732 thousand tonnes lead, and 257 thousand tonnes zinc.
In comparison with the 2017 Technical Report (Mineral Resources effective date of June 30, 2016), Measured and Indicated Resource tonnes have increased by 23%, and contained metal has increased by 18% for silver, 16% for lead, 20% for zinc, and 109% for gold.
In comparison with the 2017 Technical Report, Inferred Resource tonnes have increased by 78%, and contained metal has increased by 42% for silver, 38% for lead, 32% for zinc and 450% for gold.
Estimated Mineral Reserves of 12.0 million tonnes in the Proven and Probable categories grading 257 g/t silver, 0.13 g/t gold, 3.81% lead, and 1.41% zinc, containing 99 million oz silver, 50 thousand oz gold, 456 thousand tonnes lead, and 169 thousand tonnes zinc.
In comparison with the 2017 Technical Report (Mineral Reserves effective date of June 30, 2016), the changes in total contained Ying Mineral Reserves for silver, gold, lead and zinc are +4%, +85%, -1%% and +8% respectively. These Mineral Reserves are on top of 21 million ounces of silver produced between July 2016 and December 2019.
Based on Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves only, the Ying mine complex is a viable operation with a projected Life of Mine (LOM) through to 2040, assuming an average annual production rate of approximately 6 million ounces of silver between fiscal 2021 and 2027, 5 million ounces between 2028 and 2033, 4 million ounces between 2034 and 2036, and 2.5 million ounces between 2037 and 2040. There is also the potential to extend the LOM beyond 2040 via further exploration and development, particularly in areas with identified Inferred Resources.
The results of the 2017-2020 underground drilling program on the Ying Property show that most of the major mineralized vein structures are still open at depth and laterally.

Based on the LOM production forecast and the metal price and other assumptions shown under ‘Economic Analysis’ below, a base-case, pre-tax NPV of US$954M at a 5% discount rate is projected (US$713M post-tax). Over the LOM, 62% of the net revenue is projected to come from silver, 29% from lead, 6% from zinc, and 2% from gold.
Mineral Resources

The Mineral Resource estimates for the SGX, HPG, LMW, and LME deposits were carried out by independent Qualified Person, Rod Webster, MAusIMM, MAIG of AMC, who takes responsibility for these estimates.

The Mineral Resource estimates for the TLP, HZG and DCG deposits were carried out by independent Qualified Person, Simeon Robinson, P.Geo. of AMC, who takes responsibility for these estimates.

The December 2019 Mineral Resources were estimated using a block modelling approach and Datamine’s™ dynamic anisotropy application1. Except for DCG, all grade estimation was completed using ordinary kriging. DCG was estimated using inverse distance squared.

Resource estimates were made for a total of 311 mineralized vein structures for the six active Ying mines, and for the DCG Project that also is located on the Ying Property.

Additional geological sections in the Ying 2020 Technical Report were prepared by independent Qualified Person Dr. Adrienne Ross, P.Geo. of AMC, who takes responsibility for those sections.

The Mineral Resources are reported above cut-offs after applying a minimum practical extraction width of 0.3 m. Diluted grades were estimated for blocks with mineralization widths less than 0.3 m by adding a waste envelope with zero grade. Cut-off grades are based on in situ values in silver equivalent (AgEq) terms in grams per tonne and incorporate mining, processing and shipping costs, and metallurgical recoveries and payable values, provided by Silvercorp for each mine and reviewed by the QPs. AgEq formulae by mine are shown in the footnotes of the table below.

The estimated Mineral Resources and metal content for the Ying Property as of December 31, 2019 are detailed in Table 1 below.
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