SilverCrest Metals Inc. is pleased to announce that it has started rehabilitation of several historic silver-gold mines at its Las Chispas Project located in Sonora, Mexico. Las Chispas is in a prolific mining area which includes current precious metal producers Santa Elena Mine (operated by First Majestic Silver Corp.) and Mercedes Mine (operated by Yamana Gold Inc.). The Company is currently exploring the Las Chispas area to assess the potential for new economic discoveries. All amounts are in Canadian dollars. Please refer to the Company’s website at www.silvercrestmetals.com for further information.  

N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, President & CEO stated, “Las Chispas is a very exciting brownfields exploration story. The project area consists of a district size target with multiple historic surface and underground mines that reportedly produced an estimated 100 million ounces of silver and 200 thousand ounces of gold between 1880 and 1930. Reported average production grades from limited public information were approximately 15 grams per tonne (gpt) gold and 1,700 grams per tonne (gpt) silver over widths of 1 to 5 metres.  Our initial underground channel sampling of exposed mineralization has shown grades up to 15.1 gpt Au and 1,340 gpt Ag over 1.3 metres. To our knowledge, all mineralized zones in the district, which include multiple epithermal veins, have not been previously drilled. The underground rehabilitation program will help further assess the potential for near surface deposits and deeper extensions of mineralization. A majority of the underground workings have been inaccessible for over 80 years, and historic records suggest several previously developed areas were not mined due to closure around 1930. The Company is well financed with over $6.5 million and the 2016 exploration expenditures are expected to be in the range of $1 to $1.2 million.” 

In 2016, the Company plans on accessing and evaluating most of the estimated six kilometres of historic workings at Las Chispas. Currently, about two kilometres of these workings are easily accessible with good ground conditions. Initial rehabilitation will take several months to complete and will consist of cleaning and securing all underground areas, removing historic backfill and stockpiling for possible future processing, building a ladder system to access multiple levels, detailed mapping and sampling of accessed workings, and implementation of overall safety protocols.  Estimated cost of this initial program is $150,000 to $200,000.

In conjunction with underground rehabilitation, a surface drilling program of approximately 3,000 metres is planned to begin in March 2016, followed by a 2,000 metre underground drilling program later in the year. This initial drilling will test; 1) near surface targets, 2) underground lateral extensions of previously mined areas, and 3) deeper extensional targets of potential mineralization below the historical workings. Estimated all-in cost for this initial drilling is $1 million.

Initial sampling (134 samples) by the Company of current accessible underground mineralization suggests high grade potential (uncut, undiluted), with the most significant results to date including:

Initial sampling is selective with widths of samples limited to current underground openings (average 1.5 metres) and not by potential actual widths of zones. Historically, some mineralized zones were over 5 metres wide. Underground exposure of the Las Chispas Vein shows an area with multiple veins and stockwork up to 7 metres wide. Detailed continuous channel sampling of this area is underway to determine average continuous grades over wider intervals.

All assays where completed by ALS Chemex in Hermosillo, Mexico and North Vancouver, BC.

Las Chispas consists of multiple mineralized zones containing epithermal quartz veins, quartz and calcite stockwork, and breccias associated with rhyolitic to andesitic dikes in Tertiary volcanic tuffs. Defined mineralized zones are based on available historical data and current accessible workings;

1. Las Chispas Vein: estimated 1.5 kilometres long, 300 metre depth and 1.5 metres wide,
2. Guillermo (William) Tell Vein: estimated 1 kilometre long, 200 metre depth and 1.5 metres wide,
3. Varela 1 & 2 Veins: each estimated at 200 to 300 metres long, 200 metre projected depth and 1.5 metres wide, and
4. Babicanora Vein: estimated 1 kilometre long, 200 metre projected depth and 2 to 3 metres wide.

Except for the Babicanora Vein, all other veins listed above are parallel and near vertical within a 500 metre wide Northwest-Southeast trend. Several mineralized zones noted in historic data and currently exposed on surface or underground were not previously mined and are targeted for exploration.

Huasabas Project Update

As previously planned, drilling was completed at the Company’s 100% owned Huasabas property located in Sonora, Mexico. Approximately 1,091 metres of drilling was completed in 5 core holes. Drill results indicate the presence of a large epithermal system with up to 225 metres of drill intercepted breccias, stockwork veining and banded veins in Tertiary volcanics. Geochemical assay results show that the near surface mineralization is close to the top of the epithermal system with strong Au-Ag-Ba-Sb-As-Hg anomalies. Drill results for the first 5 holes showed multiple intercepts from 5 to 10 metres wide grading 0.1 to 0.3 gpt Au and 5 to 15 gpt Ag. Having established the presence of a large epithermal system, the Company’s next steps will be to test the system’s extensions to determine the presence of potential economic mineralization. Given the results and the minimal holding cost for the project, the Company’s current plan is to maintain the property for future work and currently focus on its Las Chispas Project.

ABOUT SILVERCREST METALS INC.

SilverCrest is a Canadian precious metals exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, that is focused on new discoveries, value-added acquisitions and targeting production in Mexico’s historic precious metal districts. The Company is led by a proven management team in all aspects of the precious metal mining sector, including the pioneering of a responsible “phased approach” business model taking projects through discovery, finance, on time and on budget construction, and production with subsequent increased value to shareholders.