- Total indicated underground mineral resources of 3.17 million tonnes at Camp and Los Cuyes deposits, containing 0.37 million gold equivalent ounces at a cutoff grade of 2.2 g/t AuEq.
- Total inferred underground mineral resources of 12.1 Mt at Camp and Los Cuyes deposits, containing 1.50 million gold equivalent ounces at a cutoff grade of 2.2 g/t AuEq. Ongoing 3,500-metre drill program set to expand known mineralization zones.
- Preliminary Economic Assessment for underground operation expected by year-end 2025.
- El Domo Project development on track with detailed cost breakdown and construction timeline targeting 2026 production.
Silvercorp Metals (NYSE-A: SVM) (TSX: SVM), a Canadian mining company producing silver, gold, lead, and zinc with a long history of profitability, has announced an updated mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) for its Condor Project, located in Ecuador’s Zamora-Chinchipe Province.
The new estimate, effective as of Feb. 28, 2025, was prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 standards, and marks the first step in Silvercorp’s effort to reposition Condor as a high-grade underground gold project (https://ibn.fm/J4HYK). An updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) is expected later this year. The project was previously envisioned as a low-grade, bulk-tonnage open pit, which would have been costly to develop and challenging to permit.
The update centers on the Camp and Los Cuyes deposits. At a cut-off grade of 2.2 g/t AuEq, indicated resources included 3.17 million tonnes at an average grade of 3.58 g/t AuEq, totaling 0.37 million ounces. Additionally, inferred resources included 12.1 million tonnes grading 3.84 g/t AuEq, totalling 1.50 million ounces AuEq.
Metallurgical testing yielded favorable gold recoveries: up to 96% at Camp and 88% at Los Cuyes based on cyanide leaching.
Although the underground strategy dominates the current outlook, Silvercorp also reported open-pit constrained resources at the Soledad and Enma deposits. These include 0.15 million ounces AuEq in the indicated category and 0.38 million in the inferred category, at cut-off grades of 0.5 g/t for Soledad and 0.6 g/t for Enma.
The Condor Project is located in a volcanic complex that intrudes older granodiorite rocks, where gold and silver mineralization is consistent with a low to intermediate sulphidation epithermal system. Mineralization styles vary across the deposits, including sub-vertical sulfide-bearing veins and wider zones of disseminated mineralization.
Gold is primarily associated with pyrite and sphalerite, with smaller amounts of galena and chalcopyrite. These characteristics shape the company’s ongoing exploration targets and development scenarios.
To advance the project, Silvercorp has launched a 3,500-metre (10 holes) surface drilling campaign in May 2025, testing areas where the company sees exploration potential. Drilling will focus on:
- Broad zones of sub-horizontal disseminated gold mineralization in rhyolitic tuffs at Los Cuyes.
- Contact zones between rhyolite domes and batholith granodiorite at Camp for wide mineralization.
- Gap areas between Camp, Soledad, Los Cuyes, and Enma deposits, testing for potential connection and strike extension of mineralized structures.
In parallel, Silvercorp is advancing a PEA for an underground operation at Condor, expected by the end of 2025. The company is also working to secure the permits and community agreements required to develop underground exploration tunnels which it is planning to build in 2H 2026.
The Condor update follows Silvercorp’s recent construction budget announcement for the El Domo Project, also in Ecuador. The company expects to bring El Domo into production by the end of 2026 at a revised cost of $240.5 million, below the 2021 feasibility estimate of $247.6 million (https://ibn.fm/bd01V).
The development has been divided into several stages, each with its own budget and timeline:
- Package #1: Site Preparation and Infrastructure – $47.5 million: Earthworks began earlier this year, with full site readiness targeted by Q4 2025.
- Package #2: Open Pit Mining and Stripping – $39 million: This stage will begin in August 2025. It involves producing 43,000 tonnes of ore by end-2026 and creating a ready-to-mine inventory of 550,000 cubic metres of ore to support three years of production.
- Package #3: Processing Plant and Equipment – $33 million: Engineering and equipment selection is being led by China’s Jinpeng Group, with construction slated to begin in September 2025.
Additionally, Silvercorp has signed a power line agreement with Ecuador’s state utility CNEL EP. Construction is set to begin in the summer of 2025, with an estimated completion time of 13–17 months. Final costs and contractor selections are still pending. In response to Ecuador’s seasonal power supply instability, Silvercorp has sourced diesel power generators to provide backup electricity. These will be operational before the process plant comes online.
Silvercorp’s ongoing investment in Ecuador reflects its long-term strategy to generate shareholder value through high-quality assets, free cash flow from established operations, and disciplined project development. With a portfolio that includes multiple projects in Ecuador and China, the company has an 18-year track record of profitability and remains focused on ensuring organic growth through extensive drilling for discovery; ongoing merger and acquisition efforts; and an unwavering commitment to responsible mining and ESG.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.silvercorpmetals.com/welcome.
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