Silvercorp Metals Inc. (TSX: SVM) (NYSE American: SVM) is pleased to report results from its exploration programs at the GC silver-lead-zinc mine, Guangdong Province, China. Extensive drilling and tunneling are ongoing at the GC mine with seven rigs currently drilling.

From October 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, 72,878 metres from a total of 704 underground diamond drill holes were completed at the GC mine, including 27,527 m from 268 holes completed in the first six months of 2021.  Assay results for all the holes have been received, with 577 holes intercepting mineralization.

The diamond drilling program at the GC mine targeted: (1) blocks of known silver-lead-zinc veins in and above the production area; and (2) exploration drilling at higher elevations in the north and south sides of the resource areas.

Drilling Intersected Thick and High-Grade Veins In and Above the Production Areas

Detailed drilling of blocks of known silver-lead-zinc veins in and above the GC mine production areas intersected high-grade veins. These mineralized occurrences were previously missed due to limited drilling and tunneling, changes in the strikes and dips, and/or pinch-swelling of the pay-zones in the veins.

The high-grade intercepts from this period are associated with parallel silver-lead-zinc veins V2-2, V2-3, V2-4, V2-4E, V2-7, V2E, V2E1, V2E6, V2W, V2W-4, V2W-9, V5-7, V5-9, V7, V7-1, V7-1E, V7-3, V9-4, V9-5, V9W-2N, V9W-5, V10, V10-1, V10-20, NV10, V19, V19-8, V25, V25-1, and V25-4. Other veins include V11, V16, and NV28.  There are 24 new vein structures discovered in and above the production areas, including V2E4, V2E-4E, V2E-8, V7-2, V7-5, V7S, V8-2, V8-5, V10-10, V10-11, C10-17, V10-1S, V10W, V18-2, V18-3, V18-4, V19-2, V19-7, and V19-8. The Company is currently working on a technical report on the GC mine to update the resources and reserves as of December 31, 2020. It is expected that mineralization in these structures can be converted quickly into reserves and mined with existing underground workings.

Highlights of high-grade intercepts at the GC mine production area:

• Hole 20CK24A02 intersected a 6.13 m interval (6.01 m true width) of vein V2E1 grading 258 grams per tonne  silver, 7.05% lead, and 7.05% zinc at the -211 m elevation, which includes a 1.10 m interval (1.08 m true width) grading 462 g/t Ag, 25.57% Pb, and 5.21% Zn at the -211 m elevation;
• Hole 20CK2609 intersected a 7.60 m interval (7.32 m true width) of vein V2E1 grading 284 g/t Ag, 5.80% Pb, and 4.48% Zn at the -229 m elevation, which includes a 1.18 m interval (1.14 m true width) grading 788 g/t Ag, 23.33% Pb, and 7.54% Zn at the -229 m elevation;
• Hole 20CK3025 intersected a 2.93 m interval (2.79 m true width) of vein NV28 grading 417 g/t Ag, 19.22% Pb, and 1.72% Zn at the -11 m elevation, which includes a 1.48 m interval (1.34 m true width) grading 815 g/t Ag, 37.47% Pb, and 2.12% Zn at the -11 m elevation;
• Hole 19CK11308 intersected a 2.11 m interval (1.88 m true width) of vein V9W-5 grading 454 g/t Ag, 11.00% Pb, and 2.76% Zn at the 150 m elevation, which includes a 0.84 m interval (0.65 m true width) grading 1,066 g/t Ag, 25.31% Pb, and 4.85% Zn at the 150 m elevation;
• Hole 19CK10707 intersected a 2.59 m interval (2.07 m true width) of vein V10-1 grading 345 g/t Ag, 1.36% Pb, and 14.87% Zn at the 156 m elevation, which includes a 1.59 m interval (1.27 m true width) grading 550 g/t Ag, 2.14% Pb, and 23.45% Zn at the 156 m elevation;
• Hole 20CK4608 intersected a 1.75 m interval (1.21 m true width) of vein V33 grading 308 g/t Ag, 2.08% Pb, and 16.28% Zn at the -4 m elevation; and
• Hole 20CK11805 intersected a 0.74 m interval (0.74 m true width) of newly discovered vein V18-3 grading 557 g/t Ag, 1.21% Pb, and 14.82% Zn at the -11 m elevation.

Drilling Intersected Newly-Discovered High-Grade Veins at Higher Elevations to the North and South of the Existing Resource Area

Exploratory underground drilling discovered high-grade Ag-Pb-Zn veins V33-1, V33-2, V35, V52-2, V52-3, and V59 in the south and veins NV2, NV3 and NV6 in the north of the existing resource area at the GC mine.  These discoveries confirm the potential to expand the resource area outwards and extend the mine life at the GC mine.

• Hole 21CK4235 intersected a 2.71 m interval (2.19 m true width) of newly discovered vein V52-2 grading 264 g/t Ag, 0.25% Pb, and 17.02% Zn at the -3 m elevation;
• Hole 21CK4820 intersected a 2.16 m interval (1.30 m true width) of newly discovered vein V35 grading 539 g/t Ag, 8.06% Pb, and 3.23% Zn at the 140 m elevation;
• Hole 20CK46A01 intersected a 0.87 m interval (0.46 m true width) of newly discovered vein V33-2 grading 994 g/t Ag, 5.18% Pb, and 5.52% Zn at the 149 m elevation; and
• Hole 21CK42A35 intersected a 0.94 m interval (0.72 m true width) of newly discovered vein V52-2, grading 78 g/t Ag, 0.08% Pb, and 25.07% Zn at the -1 m elevation.

Table 1: Selected intercepts from the 2019-2021 exploration programs at the GC mine

Tunneling Programs at the GC Mine

In addition to the drilling program, 16,070 m of exploration drift tunneling were developed at the GC mine during this period. The exploration tunneling, comprised of drifting, cross-cutting and raising, was driven along and across major mineralized vein structures to upgrade the drill-defined mineral resources and test for new parallel and splay structures. The results of the exploration tunneling are summarized in the following table.

Highlights of selected mineralized zones exposed in the drift tunnels:

• Drift Tunnel V5-9-(-50)-30NEYM exposed mineralization 60 m long and 1.09 m wide (true width) grading 357 g/t Ag, 4.72% Pb, and 10.08% Zn within vein V5-9 at the -50 m elevation;
• Drift Tunnel V19-(-75)-42WYM exposed mineralization 28 m long and 0.91 m wide (true width) grading 234 g/t Ag, 13.56% Pb, and 6.42% Zn within vein V19 at the -100 m elevation;
• Drift Tunnel V19-(-50)-48ANEYM exposed mineralization 65 m long and 1.20 m wide (true width) grading 161 g/t Ag, 2.28% Pb, and 12.18% Zn within vein V19 at the -50 m elevation;
• Drift Tunnel V52-150-119NEYM exposed mineralization 50 m long and 0.86 m wide (true width) grading 454 g/t Ag, 3.88% Pb, and 7.39% Zn within vein V52 at the 150 m elevation; and
• Drift Tunnel V10-1-150-38ANEYM exposed mineralization 135 m long and 0.60 m wide (true width) grading 288 g/t Ag, 0.77% Pb, and 12.61% Zn within vein V10-1 at the 150 m elevation.

Table 2: Selected mineralized zones exposed by drift tunneling at the GC mine

Quality Control

Drill cores are NQ size. Drill core samples, limited by apparent mineralization contacts or shear/alteration contacts, were split into halves by saw cutting. The half cores are stored in the Company’s core shacks for future reference and checks, and the other half core samples are shipped in securely sealed bags to the on-site laboratory (Laboratory of Guangdong Found).

Channel samples are collected along sample lines perpendicular to the mineralized vein structure in exploration tunnels. Spacing between sampling lines is typically 5 m along strike. Both the mineralized vein and the altered wall rocks are cut by continuous chisel chipping. Sample length ranges from 0.2 m to more than 1 m, depending on the width of the mineralized vein and the mineralization type. Channel samples are shipped in securely sealed bags to the on-site laboratory.

For analysis, the sample is dried and crushed to minus 1 mm and then split to a 200-300 g subsample which is further pulverized to minus 200 mesh. Two subsamples are prepared from the pulverized sample. One is digested with two-acids for analysis of silver, lead, zinc and copper with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and the other is retained as pulp reject at the lab for future reference.

A routine quality assurance/quality control procedure is adopted to monitor the analytical quality at each lab. Certified reference materials (CRMs), pulp duplicates and blanks are inserted into each batch of lab samples. QA/QC data at the lab are attached to the assay certificates for each batch of samples.

The Company maintains its own comprehensive QA/QC program to ensure best practices in sample preparation and analysis of the exploration samples. Project geologists regularly insert CRMs, field duplicates and blanks to each batch of 30 core samples to monitor the sample preparation and analysis procedures at the labs. The analytical quality of the labs is further evaluated with external checks by sending approximately 3-5% of the pulp samples to higher level labs to check for lab bias.  Data from both the Company’s and the labs’ QA/QC programs are reviewed on a timely basis by project geologists.

Guoliang Ma, P. Geo., Manager of Exploration and Resource of the Company, is the Qualified Person for Silvercorp under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and given consent to the technical information contained in this news release.

About Silvercorp

Silvercorp is a profitable Canadian mining company producing silver, lead and zinc metals in concentrates from mines in China. The Company’s goal is to continuously create healthy returns to shareholders through efficient management, organic growth and the acquisition of profitable projects. Silvercorp balances profitability, social and environmental relationships, employees’ wellbeing, and sustainable development.