“After completing our PFS for the open pit portion of the El Tigre Project we commenced an underground drilling program from the end of our 400-meter-long rehabilitated haulage-way, and have received promising, multi-kilo results from the Sulfide Zone. Drilling will target the high-grade Veins, Sulfide and Shale Zones as close as 40 meters below the pre-existing haulage way, providing valuable assay and geotechnical insight for the Mineral Resource blocks near the completed haulage-way close to first development as we work to complete a PEA on the underground portion of the El Tigre project in the first half of 2025.”

– Glenn Jessome, President & CEO, Silver Tiger Metals

Silver Tiger Metals Inc. (TSX-V:SLVR) (OTCQX:SLVTF) has received the first assay results from the drilling campaign being conducted from underground drill pads targeting the high-grade Vein,  Sulfide and Shale Zones on its 100% owned, silver-gold El Tigre Project located in Sonora, Mexico.

Highlights from the drilling program include the following:

• Hole ET-24-627:  3.0 meters grading 1,526.3 g/t total silver equivalent from 297.5 meters to 300.5 meters, consisting of 833.5 g/t silver, 0.13 g/t gold, 0.87% copper, 6.22% lead and 13.24% zinc within 17.3 meters grading 309.0 g/t total silver equivalent from 297.5 meters to 314.8 meters consisting of 160.0 g/t silver, 0.12 g/t gold, 0.18% copper, 1.34% lead and 2.68% zinc in the Sulfide Zone (Figure 1 and 2).
  •    Hole ET-23-626:  4.8 meters grading 321.0 g/t total silver equivalent from 253.5 meters to 258.3 meters, consisting of 254.1 g/t silver, 0.10 g/t gold, 0.33% copper, 0.33% lead and 0.61% zinc within 17.1 meters grading 140.0 g/t total silver equivalent from 242.0 meters to 259.1 meters consisting of 95.4 g/t silver, 0.09 g/t gold, 0.13% copper, 0.29% lead and 0.54% zinc in the Sulfide Zone (Figure 1).

Table 1: Drill Hole Results

 Notes:

1. Not true width.
2. Silver Equivalent (“EqAg”) ratios are based on a silver to gold price ratio of 75:1 (Au:Ag). Copper, lead and zinc are converted using $3.66/lb copper, $0.90/lb lead, $1.26/lb zinc at 100% metal recoveries based on a silver price of $26.00/oz.

Glenn Jessome, President & CEO stated “After completing our PFS for the open pit portion of the El Tigre Project we commenced an underground drilling program from the end of our 400-meter-long rehabilitated haulage-way, and have received promising, multi-kilo results from the Sulfide Zone. Drilling will target the high-grade Veins, Sulfide and Shale Zones as close as 40 meters below the pre-existing haulage way, providing valuable assay and geotechnical insight for the Mineral Resource blocks near the completed haulage-way close to first development as we work to complete a PEA on the underground portion of the El Tigre project in the first half of 2025.”
Mr. Jessome further stated, “With the PFS for the open pit completed and ready-to-build, and the PEA for the underground nearing completion, we continue to develop El Tigre into a large, long life mining complex.”

High-Grade Mineralized Zones at El Tigre

The El Tigre Project underground drilling campaign is targeting the Veins, the Sulfide Zone and the Shale Zone with the first three holes targeting the Sulfide Zone. These high-grade zones form a crucial early component of the UG PEA as enumerated below (see Figure 3 for Zone numbering):

1.    Sulfide Zone – Hosted at the contact between a basement granite and younger volcanics, the currently defined Sulfide Zone is 750 meter along strike with 250 meters along dip and typically 2-20 meters thick. Mineralization consists of varying semi-massive proportions of zinc, iron, lead, copper, and silver sulfides with, for example, Drill Hole 434 grading 10.5 meters at 1,642.4 g/t total silver equivalent consisting of 914.0 g/t silver, 0.20 g/t gold, 1.68% copper, 5.92% lead and 12.42% zinc (see press release dated January 25, 2023).

2.    Shale Zone – Occurring at the intersection of Veins and a property-wide carbonate/shale layer, this silver and base metal-rich mineralization extends 20 meters in either direction from the vein, with thicknesses reaching upwards of 15 meters, and several kilometers along strike. Grades and widths are significant with, for example, Drill Hole 329 grading 9.1 meters at 809.7 g/t silver equivalent consisting of 429.5 g/t silver, 0.22 g/t gold, 0.22% copper, 4.82% lead and 6.89% zinc (see press release dated May 17, 2022).

3.    Veins – The high-grade epithermal veins dip steeply to the west, and are typically 0.5 m wide, and locally can be up to 5 m in width. Several exist on the property, with many reaching strike length of 3 kilometers or more. Vein mineralization consists of quartz and varying proportions of zinc, iron, lead, copper, and silver sulfides. These historically mined Veins have, for example Drill Hole ET-21-264, returned assays up to 82,827.3 g/t silver equivalent over 0.5 meters proximal to historically mining stopes, showing high-grade Vein mineralization continues at depth and along strike (see press release dated Nov 9, 2021).

Attached as illustrations are the Plan View – Underground Drilling, Sulfide Zone—Cross Section 4925N, El Tigre – Conceptual Cross Section, El Tigre—Conceptual Long Section, and El Tigre Long Section Showing Exploration Potential.

Figure 1 : Plan View – Underground Drilling 

Figure 2 : Sulfide Zone—Cross Section 4925N

Figure 3: El Tigre – Conceptual Cross Section Showing Mineralization Styles

Figure 4: El Tigre—Conceptual Long Section Showing Mineralization Styles

 Figure 5: El Tigre—Long Section Showing Exploration Potential

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

 “With the PFS for the open pit completed and ready-to-build, and the PEA for the underground nearing completion, we continue to develop El Tigre into a large, long life mining complex.”
– Glenn Jessome, President & CEO, Silver Tiger Metals

Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification 

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the Bureau Veritas facility in Hermosillo, Mexico. Bureau Veritas crushes the samples (Code PRP70-250) and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 200 mesh (Code PUL85). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay (Code FA430) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code FA530). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code MA200 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code FA530).

Quality assurance and quality control procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data.  All results stated in this announcement have passed Silver Tiger’s QA/QC protocols.

Qualified Persons

David R. Duncan, P. Geo., V.P. Exploration of the Corporation, is the Qualified Person for Silver Tiger as defined under National Instrument 43-101.  Mr. Duncan has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About the El Tigre Historic Mine District

Silver Tiger Metals Inc. is a Canadian company whose management has more than 25 years’ experience discovering, financing and building large hydrothermal silver projects in Mexico. Silver Tiger’s 100% owned 28,414 hectare Historic El Tigre Mining District is located in Sonora, Mexico.  Principled environmental, social and governance practices are core priorities at Silver Tiger.

The El Tigre historic mine district is located in Sonora, Mexico and lies at the northern end of the Sierra Madre silver and gold belt which hosts many epithermal silver and gold deposits, including Dolores, Santa Elena and Las Chispas at the northern end.  In 1896, gold was first discovered on the property in the Gold Hill area and mining started with the Brown Shaft in 1903.  The focus soon changed to mining high-grade silver veins in the area with production coming from 3 parallel veins the El Tigre Vein, the Seitz Kelley Vein and the Sooy Vein.  Underground mining on the middle El Tigre vein extended 1,450 meters along strike and was mined on 14 levels to a depth of approximately 450 meters.  The Seitz Kelley Vein was mined along strike for 1 kilometer to a depth of approximately 200 meters.  The Sooy Vein was only mined along strike for 250 meters to a depth of approximately 150 meters.  Mining abruptly stopped on all 3 of these veins when the price of silver collapsed to less than 20¢ per ounce with the onset of the Great Depression.  By the time the mine closed in 1930, it is reported to have produced a total of 353,000 ounces of gold and 67.4 million ounces of silver from 1.87 million tons (Craig, 2012).  The average grade mined during this period was over 2 kilograms silver equivalent per ton.

The El Tigre silver and gold deposit is related to a series of high-grade epithermal veins controlled by a north-south trending structure cutting across the andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs of the Sierra Madre Volcanic Complex within a broad silver and gold mineralized prophylitic alteration zone developed in the El Tigre Formation that can be up to 150 meters wide. The veins dip steeply to the west and are typically 0.5 meter wide but locally can be up to 5 meters in width. The veins, structures and mineralized zones outcrop on surface and have been traced for 5.3 kilometers along strike in our brownfield exploration area.  Historical mining and exploration activities focused on a 1.6 kilometer portion of the southern end of the deposits, principally on the El Tigre, Seitz Kelly and Sooy veins. The under explored Caleigh, Benjamin, Protectora and the Fundadora exposed veins continue north for more than 3 kilometers.  Silver Tiger has delivered its maiden 43-101 compliant resource estimate and is currently drilling to update its resource estimate and publish a PEA.