SilverCrest Metals (TSXV: SIL; US-OTC: SVCMF) is drilling its Las Chispas silver property in Sonora, Mexico, to both expand the current inferred resource and upgrade it to the measured and indicated categories. It plans to table an updated resource and a preliminary economic assessment in 2019's first quarter.
The company has seven surface drills and one underground drill operating at Las Chispas. It will drill 15,000 to 20,000 metres at the property, including infill drilling to 25 metre spacing. To date, the company has drilled nearly 95,000 metres at Las Chispas across 351 core holes.
Highlights from the first seven holes of the current program include 14.4 grams per tonne gold and 2,132.4 grams silver over 9.9 metres from 200 metres downhole, as well as 33.06 grams gold and 2,092.1 grams silver over 3.5 metres from 307 metres downhole.
Those results come from the Babicanora vein's Area 51 zone. Results from the vein's central zone include 4.16 grams gold and 197.3 grams silver over 5.1 metres from 92 metres downhole, as well as 0.1 gram gold and 191.7 grams silver over 1.8 metres from 65 metres downhole.
These results were not a part of the updated resource SilverCrest tabled in late September. Las Chispas currently contains 4.3 million inferred tonnes grading 3.68 grams gold and 347 grams silver for 511,500 oz. gold and 48.2 million oz. silver, or 86.7 million oz. silver equivalent. It increased the project's maiden resource by more than 100,000 oz. gold and 10 million oz. silver.
Shares of SilverCrest are currently trading at $3.41 with a 52-week range of $1.05 to $3.80. The company has a $256 million market capitalization.