New Pacific Metals Corp. (TSX: NUAG) (NYSE American: NEWP), together with its local Bolivian partner, reports assay results of the last 29 drill holes from the 2022 drill program at its Carangas Silver-Gold Project, Oruro Department, Bolivia. To date, assay results of all 115 drill holes drilled in 2022 have been received and released. Detailed results and drill hole specifications are listed in Tables 1 and 2, as well as in Figure 1.

Of the 29 holes, ten are deep holes which were drilled in different directions towards the Central Valley to define the limit of the gold mineralization system at depth. Drill results (refer to the Company’s news release dated February 20, 2023) indicate the gold system is open to the north and north-east directions with these targets currently being drill tested as part of the Company’s Q1 2023 drill program.

The remaining 19 holes are shallow and were drilled to define the near surface silver mineralization. All nineteen holes intersected silver mineralization.

In addition to the drilling activities, results of an expanded 3D Bipole-Dipole IP-MT survey program completed in January 2023 have been received, showing multiple chargeability anomalies outside the current area of drilling (Figure 2). These new chargeability anomalies display a similar geophysical signature to those of the known silver-gold system and will be drill tested in future drilling campaigns.

Highlights of drill results for DEEP holes

DCAr0112 intersected a gold mineralization interval of 306.95 m at depth from 359.55 m to 666.5 m, grading 1.2 g/t Au and 26 g/t Ag, including 31.78 m (411.65 m to 443.43 m) grading 122 g/t Ag, 4.11 g/t Au and 0.15% Cu, and near surface silver mineralization intervals of 41.03 m (55.97 m to 97 m) grading 54 g/t Ag, 0.25% Pb and 0.57% Zn, and 75.1 m (108.7 m to 183.8 m) grading 27 g/t Ag, 0.24%Pb and 0.65% Zn.

DCAr0104 intersected a gold mineralization interval of 328.3 m (233.75 m to 562.05 m) grading, 1.07 g/t Au, 20 g/t Ag ,0.14% Pb, 0.25% Zn and 0.14% copper (“Cu”), and a near surface silver-lead-zinc mineralization interval of 228.25 m (5.5 m to 233.75 m) grading 21 g/t silver (“Ag”), 0.54% lead (“Pb”) and 1.23% zinc (“Zn”), immediately followed by. Two more gold mineralization intervals intersected at further depth, 15.77 m (652.17 m to 667.94 m) grading 0.44 g/t Au and 0.12% Cu, and 252 m (693 m to 945 m) grading 0.45 g/t Au and 0.13% Cu.

DCAr0105 intersected a gold mineralization interval of 476.3 m (324.7 m to 801 m) grading 0.75g/t Au including 43.62 m (510.38 m to 554 m) grading 3.19 g/t Au, and a near surface silver-lead-zinc mineralization interval of 293.94 m (5.16 m to 299.1 m) grading 37 g/t Ag, 0.57% lead (“Pb”) and 1.3% zinc (“Zn”), including 38.99 m (5.16 m to 44.15 m) grading 134 g/t Ag, 1.48% Pb and 2.51% Zn.

Highlights of drill results for shallow holes

DCAr0141 intersected a near surface silver-lead-zinc mineralization interval of 110.15 m (5.85 m to 116 m) grading 136 g/t Ag and 0.96% Pb, including 6.92 m (30.73 m to 37.65 m) grading 693 g/t Ag and 1.71% Pb, and 24.63 m (59.87 m to 84.5 m) grading 197 g/t Ag and 2.14% Pb. Multiple historical underground mining voids for a total length of 16.39 m were intersected in this hole.

DCAr0128 intersected a near surface silver-lead-zinc mineralization interval of 78.3 m (7.7 m to 86 m) grading 104 g/t Ag, 0.74% Pb and 0.59% Zn including 33 m (30.5 m to 60.5 m) grading 226 g/t Ag, 1.47% Pb and 0.93% Zn. In addition, further down the hole to the end of hole, multiple shorter silver-lead-zinc mineralization intervals were intercepted.

DCAr0134 intersected 111.85 m (114.4 m to 226.25 m) grading 52 g/t Ag, 0.25% Pb and 0.59% Zn including 17.94 m (198.96 m to 216.9 m) grading 197 g/t Ag, 0.49% Pb and 0.91% Zn.

Update on Q1 2023 Resource Drill Program

The Company’s 2023 15,000 m drill program at Carangas is close to being completed. The results from this drill program, together with the results from 2021 and 2022 drilling, will be used to estimate an inaugural mineral resource to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.

Expanded IP survey program

A pilot 3D Bipole-Dipole IP-MT survey program was completed in the drilled area of West Dome-Central Valley-East Dome in September 2022 (refer to the Company’s news release dated on November 14, 2022), revealing that the blind gold mineralization system at the Central Valley overlays the strongest chargeability anomaly under the young sediments of the Central Valley.

Encouraged by the success of the pilot 3D Bipole-Dipole IP-MT survey program, an expanded 3D Bipole-Dipole IP-MT survey program was carried out at Carangas by Southern Rock Geophysics S.A. of Chile from November 2022 to January 2023. This expanded IP program covers the entire Carangas Basin of 29 square kilometers, which is mostly covered by young sediments.

Multiple high chargeability anomalies with a similar signature to that of the Central Velley were identified in the expanded area outside of the drilled area (Figure 2). These new anomalies generally have weak or no chargeability response near surface, but high chargeability starts to show from 200 m depth to more than 800 m depth from surface. These deep high chargeability anomalies may be related to sulfide mineralization at depth, which may be related to rhyolite intrusive bodies, like those seen in the Central Valley.  These anomalies, such as those to the north of the Central Valley (Figure 2), will be drill targets in future exploration programs.

Figure 1 Simplified Geology and Drill Plan Map of the Carangas Project

Figure 2 Chargeability at altitude 3500 m level (400 m from surface) of the Carangas Project. The Central Valley anomaly perfectly overlays the gold mineralization system. All other anomalies are yet to be drill tested.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

The Company maintains tight sample security and QA/QC for all aspects of its exploration program at the Carangas Project. Drill core is logged, photographed and split on-site by the company and stored under secure conditions until being shipped in security-sealed bags by New Pacific staff in Company vehicles, directly from the project to ALS Global in Oruro, Bolivia for preparation, and ALS Global in Lima, Peru for geochemical analysis. ALS Global is an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory independent from New Pacific. All samples are first analyzed by a multi-element ICP package (ALS code ME-MS41) with ore grade specified limits for silver, lead, and zinc, further analyzed using ALS code OG46. Further silver samples over specified limits are analyzed by gravimetric analysis (ALS code of GRA21). Gold is assayed first by ICP and then by fire assay with AAS finish (ALS code of Au-AA25). Certified reference materials, various types of blank samples and duplicate samples are inserted into normal drill core sample sequences prior to delivery to the laboratory for preparation and analysis. The overall ratio of quality control samples in sample sequences is around twenty percent.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Alex Zhang, P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration, who is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). The Qualified Person has verified the information disclosed herein using standard verification processes, including the sampling, preparation, security and analytical procedures underlying such information, and is not aware of any significant risks and uncertainties or any limitations on the verification process that could be expected to affect the reliability or confidence in the information discussed herein.

ABOUT NEW PACIFIC

New Pacific is a Canadian exploration and development company with precious metal projects in Bolivia. The Company’s flagship Project, the Silver Sand Silver Project, has released its inaugural preliminary economic assessment (the “PEA”) results in January 2023. The PEA study shows a post-tax NPV (5% discount) of US$726 million with an IRR of 39%, underpinned by a total silver production of 171 million ounces over 14 years of mine life.  At the recently discovered Carangas Silver-Gold Project, a resource drilling program of more than 50,000 meters was completed in 2022. The third project, the Silverstrike Silver-Gold Project, had a 6,000 metre discovery drill program in June 2022.