New Pacific Metals Corp. (TSX-V: NUAG) (OTCQX: NUPMF) is pleased to announce the assay results from the first eight drill holes from its wholly-owned Silver Sand Project located in the Department of Potosí, Bolivia.  Drilling is on-going and the Company currently has three drill rigs on site.

The 2019 drilling program at Silver Sand commenced in late April and is expected continue throughout rest of the year.  These first eight holes were part of the infill drilling program to bring drill hole density to approximately 25 metre by 25 metre spacing and to produce a mineral resource estimate in accordance with NI 43-101 at the end of 2019.  These holes were approximately oriented at azimuths of 60 degrees and dips of -45 degrees.

These first eight infill holes have intercepted significant silver mineralization similar to those reported from the 2018 drilling program, and adequately confirms the continuity of mineralization within the drilled extents.

Highlights of significant drill intersections are summarized as follows (for a detailed list, please refer to Table-1 – Composited Drill Intersections of Mineralization below):

• Drill hole DSS522501, 2m @ 169g/t Ag from 65.22m to 209.44m,
                                          incl. 73.21m @ 243g/t Ag from 65.22m to 138.43m;
• Drill hole DSS522502, 28m @ 98g/t Ag from 48.07m to 158.35m,
                                          incl. 9.05m @ 609g/t Ag from 149.3m to 158.35m;
• Drill hole DSS525014, 32m @ 150g/t Ag from 48.7m to 125.02m, and
                                                 12.66m @ 99g/t Ag from 171.19m to 183.85m;
• Drill hole DSS6404, 18m @ 103g/t Ag from 10.22m to 129.4m,
                                          incl. 3.17m @ 1653g/t Ag from 61.56m to 64.93m;
• Drill hole DSS642501, 23m @ 117g/t Ag from 23.15m to 137.38m,
                                          incl. 8.28m @ 265g/t Ag from 23.15m to 31.43m, and
                                            incl. 6.89m @ 313g/t Ag from 46.20m to 53.09m, and
                                            incl. 3.17m @ 1105g/t Ag from 103.83m to 107.0m, and
                                                   7.0m @ 106g/t Ag from 235.5m to 242.5m.

(True width of the mineralization is unknown, but based on the current understanding of the relationship between drill hole direction and the mineralized structures, it is estimated that true width will approximate 80% of the down hole interval length.  Please refer to Table-1 – Composited Drill Intersections of Mineralization below for details.)

Based on the multi-element analysis results of grab samples taken from surface mining dumps and chip samples from surface outcrops as well as underground mining faces, it came to the Company’s attention that silver mineralization at Silver Sand locally contains significant amounts of indium (In) and gallium (Ga).  This mineral association is also common in other prospects with similar characteristics of mineralization in the same district and other deposits in the same metallogenic belt.  The assay results of indium and gallium, along with silver, lead and zinc are reported in Table-1 of Composited Drill Intersections of Mineralization at the end of this release.

In additional to the infill drilling targets, the 2019 drilling program will also include the following targets: 1) prospects with good silver grades from historical artisanal mining dumps to expand the mineralization zones at the Silver Sand; 2) prospects surrounding Silver Sand showing similar silver mineralization as revealed by historical artisanal mining, and 3) drilling for samples for further metallurgical test work. 

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

HQ-size drill core samples from altered and mineralized intervals were split into halves by diamond saw, with an average sample length of between one to one and half metres at the Company’s core processing facility located in Betanzos, a small town 20 kilometres from the project site.  Half core samples are stored in a secure core storage facility in Betanzos for future reference, and the other half core samples were shipped in securely sealed bags to ALS Global in Oruro, Bolivia for preparation, and ALS Global in Lima, Peru for geochemical analysis.  All samples are first analyzed by a multi-element ICP package (ALS code ME-MS41) with ore grade overlimits for silver, lead and zinc further analyzed using ALS code OG46.  Further silver overlimits are analyzed by gravimetric analysis (ALS code of GRA21).

A standard quality assurance and quality control protocol was employed to monitor the quality of sample preparation and analysis.  Standards of certified reference materials and blanks were inserted in normal core sample sequences prior to shipment to lab at a ratio of 20:1, i.e., every twenty samples contain at least one standard sample and one blank sample.  Duplicate samples of coarse rejects at a ratio of 20:1 will be sent to a second internationally accredited lab for check analysis.  The assay results of QAQC samples of standards and blanks did not show any significant bias of analysis or contamination during sample preparation.

Technical information contained in this news release with respect to New Pacific 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.

ABOUT NEW PACIFIC

New Pacific is a Canadian exploration and development company which owns the Silver Sand Project in Potosí Department of Bolivia, the Tagish Lake gold project in Yukon, Canada, and the RZY Project in Qinghai Province, China.  Its largest shareholders are Silvercorp Metals Inc. (TSX/NYSE American: SVM) and Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX/NASDAQ: PAAS), one of the world’s largest primary silver producers, which operates ten mines, including the San Vicente mine located in the Potosí Department of Bolivia.