CHINA - Vancouver-based SILVERCORP METALS reports finding more extremely high-grade massive galena sheets at its Ying silver project in Henan Province. Tunnelling on S16W at the 570-m elevation produced samples that assayed (hold onto your hat) 9,278 g/t Ag, 33.5% Pb and 4.91% Zn over 0.9 m. The same level averaged 2,022 g/t Ag, 29.8% Pb and 6.39% Zn from the 1.02-m-wide galena sheet.
So far, the company has completed 1,269.7 m of drifts along the S16W vein on the 570-m and 534-m levels. Of this length, about 656 m comprised sections of massive galena sheets exceeding a 1,250 g/t AgEq (equivalent) grade cut-off, yielding a 52% rate of mineralization. On the S16E vein, a total of 643.1 m of drifting was completed on the two elevations and assaying confirms a 57% rate of mineralization based on a total of 368.86 m of massive galena sheets encountered which exceed the cut off grade.
Silvercorp continues to advance the underground development of the Ying mine with additional tunnelling and drilling plus sinking three shafts. To finance the work, it sold 457 tonnes of direct-to-smelter silver-lead ores (valued at about $1000/t) and 12 tonnes of direct-to-smelter zinc ores during the first quarter of 2005. The ores were recovered manually as byproduct ores of the exploration and development tunnels and were sold to a nearby smelter. A further 327 tonnes of silver-lead concentrates (valued at about $1,400/t) and 45 tonnes of zinc concentrates were produced from diluted, lower-grade byproduct ores which were custom milled off-site.
Tunnel maps and complete assay results are posted at www.Silvercorp.ca.
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