Property Size: 3,160 ha (7,808.5 Acres)
Location: 150 kilometers northeast of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
Status: Commercial Production - Anticipated that the 2,500 tonnes per day open pit heap leach facility will produce 33,000 ounces of gold and 535,000 ounces of silver in 2012.
On July 13, 2011 the Company announced the Santa Elena Mine had reached Commercial Production. The mine is a high-grade, epithermal gold and silver producer, with an estimated life of mine cash cost of US$8 per ounce of silver equivalent (55:1 Ag: Au). SilverCrest anticipates that the 2,500 tonnes per day open pit heap leach facility at the Santa Elena mine should recover approximately 625,000 ounces of silver and 33,000 ounces of gold in 2013. An expansion plan is well underway to nearly double the annual metals production in 2014 at the Santa Elena Mine (open pit and underground).
| Santa Elena Mine Operating Highlights | Q1 2013 | Q4 2012 | YTD 2012 |
| Silver ounces produced | 153,481 | 153,863 | 579,609 |
| Gold ounces produced (3) | 7,225 | 7,831 | 33,004 |
| Silver equivalent ounces produced (1) | 556,667 | 588,948 | 2,371,755 |
| Silver ounces sold | 157,088 | 171,714 | 588,312 |
| Gold ounces sold | 7,370 | 8,444 | 34,834 |
| Silver equivalent ounces sold (1) | 568,380 | 640,856 | 2,477,623 |
| Tonnes ore mined | 257,726 | 301,295 | 1,092,305 |
| Tonnes waste mined | 1,100,362 | 924,927 | 4,640,700 |
| Waste / ore ratio | 4.27 | 3.07 | 4.25 |
| Ore tonnes crushed | 252,830 | 308,693 | 1,157,226 |
| Average ore tonnes crushed per day | 2,809 | 3,355 | 3,162 |
| Average silver ore grade (gpt) loaded on pad | 62.09 | 59.59 | 47.95 |
| Average gold ore grade (gpt) loaded on pad | 1.54 | 1.42 | 1.43 |
| Silver ounces delivered to pad | 504,711 | 591,441 | 1,784,118 |
| Gold ounces delivered to pad | 12,536 | 14,089 | 53,296 |
| Ag: Au Ratio (2) | 55.8:1 | 55.6:1 | 54.3:1 |
(1) Silver equivalence is a weighted volume average based on market spot prices per ounces of gold and silver at the quarter end dates.
(2) (1) Silver equivalence is based on market spot prices per ounce of silver and gold at the quarter end dates. All numbers are rounded
(3) Sandstorm Agreement: 20% gold stream at $350/oz
The updated Probable Reserves (underground, open pit and leach pad) are estimated at 8.2 million tonnes grading 74.9 gpt Ag and 1.24 gpt Au containing 19.7 million ounces of silver and 327,430 ounces of gold, representing a 103% increase in contained silver and 50% increase in contained gold over previous Probable Reserves stated below. Updated Indicated Resources (exclusive of Probable Reserves) are estimated at 2.1 million tonnes grading 114.9 gpt Ag and 1.69 gpt Au containing 7.9 million ounce of silver and 116,000 ounces of gold, representing a 127% increase in contained silver and 99% increase in contained gold over previous Indicated Resources stated below. Details of the updated Reserves and Resources are summarized in the following tables and will be included in the Santa Elena Expansion Pre-Feasibility Study (Technical Report) to be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this release.
J. Scott Drever, President commented: “We are extremely pleased with the results of our updated Reserve and Resource estimates for the underground, open pit and heap leach pad definition and resource expansion drill program. The significant increase in Reserves has clearly defined processing feed for our planned 3,000 tonne per day processing facility (Milling & CCD leaching) for an additional 8 years. What is even more exciting is that we have yet to define the limits of the Main Mineralized Zone and have only begun to explore the newly discovered high grade El Cholugo and El Cholugo Dos zones. We look forward to a banner year in 2014 with the commissioning of the new processing facility in Q1 2014 and the expansion of our annual metals production to an estimated 3.5 to 4.0 million ounces of silver equivalent (55:1 Ag:Au). ”
SANTA ELENA UPDATED RESERVES AND RESOURCES (April 30, 2013)
Classification1 |
Tonnes |
Au gpt |
Ag gpt |
Au oz |
Ag oz |
SANTA ELENA UNDERGROUND DILUTED AND RECOVERABLE RESERVES2 |
|||||
PROBABLE |
3,920,510 |
1.57 |
108.1 |
198,170 |
13,624,640 |
SANTA ELENA OPEN PIT RESERVES3 |
|||||
PROBABLE |
1,426,710 |
1.52 |
66.8 |
69,830 |
3,062,200 |
SANTA ELENA LEACH PAD RESERVES4 |
|||||
PROBABLE |
2,844,530 |
0.65 |
33.3 |
59,420 |
3,048,200 |
TOTAL RESERVES |
8,191,760 |
1.24 |
74.9 |
327,430 |
19,735,050 |
SANTA ELENA UNDERGROUND RESOURCES5 |
|||||
INDICATED |
2,142,820 |
1.69 |
114.9 |
116,000 |
7,919,000 |
INFERRED |
1,489,750 |
1.50 |
155.6 |
72,000 |
7,453,000 |
Note: All numbers are rounded. Underground and Leach Pad Reserves and Resources are based on 3 year historic metal price trends of US$28/oz silver, US$1450/oz gold and metallurgical recoveries of 92% Au and 67.5% Ag with a metal ratio of Ag:Au at 70:1 used for grade cutoff determination . All Mineral Resources and Reserves conform to NI 43-101, 43-101CP, and CIM definitions for Resources and Reserves. Inferred Resources have been estimated from geological evidence and limited sampling and must be treated with a lower level of confidence than Indicated Resources.
1 Open Pit and Leach Pad Probable Reserves were classified by SilverCrest. Underground Reserves and Resources were classified by EBA, a Tetra Tech Company.
2 Underground Probable Reserve is based on a cutoff grade of 1.47 gpt AuEq with an average 10% dilution and 90% mine recovery. Average true thickness of the designed stopes is 13.4 metres.
3 Open Pit Reserve is based on a cutoff grade of 0.20 gpt AuEq in a constrained pit shell with applied capping of 8 gpt Au and 300 gpt Ag.
4 Leach Pad Reserve based on production and drill hole data for volumetrics and grade model using a cutoff grade of 0.5 gpt AuEq. No capping was applied.
5 Underground Resources are exclusive of Probable Reserves and based on 1 gpt AuEq grade shell, a cutoff grade of 1.4 gpt AuEq, and applied capping of 12 gpt Au and 600 gpt Ag.
SANTA ELENA “PREVIOUS” RESERVES AND RESOURCES (January 2012) for comparative purposes;
Classification |
Tonnes |
Au gpt |
Ag gpt |
Au oz |
Ag oz |
SANTA ELENA OPEN PIT RESERVES1 |
|||||
PROBABLE |
3,459,200 |
1.96 |
87.3 |
217,800 |
9,713,600 |
SANTA ELENA UNDERGROUND RESOURCES2 |
|||||
INDICATED |
991,100 |
1.83 |
109.1 |
58,330 |
3,476,960 |
INFERRED |
1,879,000 |
1.53 |
86.9 |
92,470 |
5,250,190 |
Note: All numbers are rounded.
1 based on $1,000/oz of gold and $18/oz of silver, cut-off grade of 0.38 gpt gold equivalent with applied metallurgical recoveries
2 based on $1,000/oz of gold and $18/oz of silver, cut-off grade is 1.77 gpt gold equivalent with applied metallurgical recoveries.
Before production commenced, the Santa Elena open pit defined a mine life of approximately 6.5 years (including ramp up) having a Reserve of 5.1 million tonnes grading 1.72 gpt Au and 73.4 gpt Ag (refer to Technical Report dated April 1, 2011). In April 2011, the open pit Reserve was depleted by approximately 6 months of production and optimized with a remaining 4.79 million tonnes grading 1.81 gpt Au and 75.9 gpt Ag (refer to Technical Report dated April 1, 2011). By January 2012, the open pit was depleted from 2011 production and re-optimized with a resultant Reserve of 3.45 million tonnes grading 1.96 gpt Au and 87.3 gpt Ag showing lesser tonnes and higher grade. Re-optimization of the open pit between April 2011 and April 2013 has reclassified approximately 880,000 tonnes of open pit Reserve to underground Resources which was converted mostly (excluding stope pillars) to the new underground Reserves. The main purpose for re-optimization was to avoid a higher open pit strip ratio at higher cost in future years in the mine life but still be able to mine the displaced Reserves from underground.
SANTA ELENA UPDATED RESERVE AND RESOURCE DATABASES
Based on available data, the current dominant silver-gold mineralization at the Santa Elena Mine is hosted within the Main Mineralized Zone (MMZ) which is a low-sulfidation calcium-rich epithermal deposit that strikes nearly east-west for an estimated distance of 1.3 kilometres with an average true width of approximately 15 metres. The continuous mineralized zone has been drill-tested to a minimum depth of 500 metres from surface and open in most directions. The near-parallel El Cholugo and El Cholugo Dos zones are located approximately 20 to 50 metres below the footwall of the MMZ. These two new discoveries appear to be splays off the MMZ with similar silver-gold mineralization.
The updated underground Reserves and Resources have been independently estimated by EBA, a Tetra Tech Company, utilizing 2012 and 2013 drilling results along with previous independently-validated data (see SEDAR for previous NI 43-101 compliant Technical Reports). Drilling in 2012 and early 2013 was focused on conversion and expansion of underground Resources to Reserves with an average drill hole spacing of approximately 35 metres. Drilling data from 2012 and 2013 used for underground Resource estimate included 138 holes (45,011 metres) and 96 previous holes (14,865 metres). A total of 2,941 composite samples were used as the basis for the block model.
The updated open pit Reserves and Resources have been estimated by SilverCrest utilizing Company extensive production data (blastholes), exploration drilling data and computer modelling. All Indicated Resources in the currently operating open pit have been converted to Reserves as of April 30, 2013.
The Leach Pad Reserves (spent ore) have been estimated by the Company utilizing crusher composite samples, drill data from verification holes on the pad, bottle roll tests to process design specifications and SilverCrest production leach curves. In early May 2013, the Company completed 25 large diameter drill holes (355 metres) on the pad to obtain additional information for the purposes of validation of production data. All spent ore material on the leach pad will be reprocessed through the new processing facility once operational. Only the material currently on the pad and leached (300 day cycle completed or estimated full cycle) has been declared as Reserves. Approximately 750,000 tonnes of open pit material is planned to be placed on the pad during the remainder of 2013 and will undergo only partial leaching before being reprocessed through the new facility. Once this material is placed on the pad and leaching has been discontinued, it will be declared as leach pad Reserves for processing and metal recovery in late 2014 and beyond.
Extensive metallurgical test work including ongoing operations data show that all declared Reserves are amenable to conventional leaching either by heap leach technology or standard CCD milling with a Merrill Crowe recovery system for dore bar production. Estimated recovery grades are stated below in Reserves Criteria table.
SANTA ELENA UPDATED RESERVE AND RESOURCE MODELLING
The Santa Elena underground, open pit and leach pad Mineral Resource estimates were completed using Gemcom GEMS modelling software and are compliant with National Instrument 43-101 and conform to guidelines and definitions established by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CIM). Using CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, Mineral Resources have been classified as being either Indicated or Inferred based on the number of samples used for estimation relative to the block location and the overall search distance confidence derived from the variogram analysis. Inferred Resources should not be used as the basis for evaluation of economic viability of the project. Details of these criteria will be presented in the Technical Report to be filed on SEDAR.
The Underground Mineral Resource estimates are based on verified information from historical and recent Company sources, up to and including drill hole SE-13-145. The block model includes the Main Mineralized Zone, El Cholugo and El Cholugo Dos. Solid boundaries for the mineralization were interpreted within a geological vein solid and constrained using a minimum 1 gpt AuEq cut-off from raw drill hole assay intervals. The Main Mineralized Zone grade shell was segmented into three major domains to accommodate flexures and structural orientation changes. The raw assay data was composited to 1 metre within the grade shell and was interpolated into a 5 metre x 5 metre x 5 metre block size model using Ordinary Kriging. Grade caps of 12 gpt Au and 600 gpt Ag were determined from log-probability and histogram analysis and applied after compositing. The search ellipse ranges were based on geological field observation, semi-variogram analysis and iterative interpolation. Grade interpolation within the vein hosted mineralization utilized two passes with anisotropic search ellipses oriented along the interpreted domain trend with major axes ranges of 90 and 117 metres, and semi-major ranges of 69 and 89 metres, respectively. A minimum of 2 composites, to a maximum of 15, were required to interpolate block grades with no more than 5 composites reporting from any one drill hole. Based on limited laboratory and in situ specific gravity testing, a value of 2.60 g/cm3 was applied as a specific gravity for all vein hosted mineralized material in the model.
The Open Pit Mineral Resource estimates are based on verified information from historical and recent Company sources. Solid boundaries for the mineralization were constrained at 0.20 gpt AuEq cut off and the open pit limits defines the mineralized material dated as December 31, 2012. All open pit Mineral Resources are declared as Reserves. Open pit production from January 1 to April 30, 2013 was subtracted from the December 2012 Resource estimation. The Resource estimation was completed using Gemcom GEMS software applying Ordinary Kriging. Raw data (blast holes, core and RC samples) were composited to a 5 metre length for blast holes and 2 metre length for in-pit core and RC samples. These composites were assessed for spatial and geostatistical purposes. A capping of 8 gpt Au and 300 gpt Ag was applied to core and RC data only. The composite data was interpolated into a 5 metre x 5 metre x 5 metre block size model using Ordinary Kriging in two passes. The first one using only blast hole data with an average spacing of 4 metres and interpolating grades to a maximum distance of 15 metres from the sample location. The second pass used only core and RC drilling data spaced on average 50 metres to interpolate 5 metre x 5 metre x 5 metre blocks located in distances beyond 15 metres from the sample location. The blasthole resource model was compared against the production data for verification purposes.
The Leach Pad Reserves (spent ore) have been estimated by the Company utilizing daily production, grade and mass records obtained at the crushing plant when conveying mineralized material to the pad. These records represent a complete production dataset since start up of the operations at Santa Elena. A detailed leach pad survey was completed in April 2013 to provide volumes of material placed on the pad. This volume was compared with weightometer data collected on the crushing plant to validate tonnes on the pad using well known specific gravity on the leach pad of 1.85 g/cm3. SilverCrest has completed 25 large diameter Becker Hammer, Tandem Mounted hydraulic drill holes (355 metres- drill holes spaced on a 25 metre by 25 metre grid) on the pad to obtain additional information for the purposes of validation of production data. Raw assay data were interpolated into a 100 metre x 100 metre x 6 metre block size model. An inverse distance squared methodology was used with a single domain and search ellipse. The search ellipse ranges were based on drill hole spacing, field observation, geostatistical analysis and iterative interpolation. No grade capping was applied. Grade interpolation within the two surfaces utilized an anisotropic ellipse oriented along the interpreted zone with major and semi-major axis ranges of 200 metres and a minor axis range of 200 metres. A minimum of 2 composites, to a maximum of 12, were required to interpolate block grades with no more than 3 composites reporting from any one drill hole in multi stage search radiuses to populate all blocks. The validation results support the estimation by the Company utilizing daily production data.
SANTA ELENA RESERVE CRITERIA
The Santa Elena Reserve estimates as stated above were completed using GEMS resource models for defining open pit, underground and leach pad Reserves along with criteria as presented in the following table.
| Base Case Metal Prices1 |
All US$ |
|||
| Gold | $1,450.00 |
|||
| Silver | $28.00 |
|||
| Mining Method | Open Pit |
Open Pit |
Underground |
Leach Pad |
| Process Method | Heap Leach |
CCD Mill |
CCD Mill |
CCD Mill |
| Mining Cost/T ore | $2.42 |
$2.50 |
$21 to 482 |
$0.25 to 0.75 |
| Mining Cost/T waste | $1.52 |
$2.00 |
NA |
NA |
| Processing Cost/T3 | $6.65 |
$20.50 |
$20.50 |
$18.50 |
| General & Administration4 | $3.30 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
$3.00 |
| Metal Recoveries5 | ||||
| Gold | 63% |
92% |
92% |
92% |
| Silver | 40% |
67.5% |
67.5% |
67.5% |
| Pit walls - North Wall overall angle | 55.0 |
55.0 |
NA |
NA |
| Pit walls - South Wall overall angle | 45.0 |
45.0 |
NA |
NA |
| Ramp Width (metres) | 10 to 15 |
10 to 15 |
4.5 |
NA |
| Average Dilution | 5% |
5% |
10%2 |
NA |
| Ave. Mining Recovery | 95% |
95% |
90%2 |
100% |
1 Based on 3 year historic metal price trends
2 Underground mining costs, dilution and mine recovery are based on stope type, either long hole (68% of design stopes) or cut and fill (32% of designed stopes) mining method.
3 Processing includes crushing, milling, site refining and dry stack tailings disposal.
4 Estimated based on current operations and may vary on an annual basis.
5 Recoveries for leach pad based on 2009 Metcon test work and recent Company production leach cycles for life of pad. During the period from 2010 through 2012 (solution ramp up), an average recovery of 57% Au and 30% Ag was achieved. Refer to Technical Report dated May 11, 2011 on SEDAR. Leach pad CCD mill recoveries are based on in-situ remaining ounces on the pad.
Pre-Feasibility level results including Santa Elena economic analysis is expected to be announced within 45 days of this news release. The extended mine life with updated Reserves is anticipated to be 8 more years at the proposed 3,000 tonne per day milling rate.
The Santa Elena Mine has good potential for additional Resources with the deposit open in most directions. Further infill and expansion drilling is recommended to potentially increase Resources and convert to Reserves.
The Qualified Persons for the Santa Elena Resource and Reserve estimations are N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng. and Chief Operating Officer for the Company, James Barr., P.Geo. and Mike Tansey, P.Eng. from the consulting firm of EBA, a Tetra Tech Company, and John Fox, P.Eng. of Laurion Consulting Inc. SilverCrest is now classified as a “producing issuer” as defined in NI 43-101, as a result of which the Technical Report is not required to be prepared by or under the supervision of an Independent Qualified Person. The Santa Elena Expansion Pre-Feasibility Study (Technical Report) in compliance with NI 43-101 is currently being prepared by the Qualified Persons and will be filed on SEDAR by mid July 2013.
SilverCrest has embarked on a 3-year Expansion Project that contemplates the installation of a conventional CCD processing mill at the Santa Elena mine with throughput capacity of 3,000 - 3,500 tonnes per day - a capacity capable of processing mill feed from the Santa Elena open pit (Phase I), ore from future Santa Elena underground operations (Phase II), retreatment of the material on the heap leach pads which are estimated to hold 5 million residual equivalent ounces of silver (Phase IV), and process ore from the nearby Cruz de Mayo silver deposit (Phase III).
Production at Santa Elena would then ramp up significantly and could potentially double annual production to about 5 million ounces of silver equivalent. The underground decline has been commenced and is progressing to its initial target length of approx. 1500 metres.
Develop Underground Resource (2012 to 2022)
Cruz de Mayo Development (2011 to 2017)
Reprocess Leach Pad Material (2014 to 2022)
Since mid 2012, 132 drill holes have been completed to further expand underground resources and reserves (see attached Figure). This drill program continues to be extremely successful with the most recent holes identifying additional bonanza grades (as defined below) and providing further intercepts in the El Cholugo Zone. To date, resources at Santa Elena have been delineated along a strike length of over 1,200 metres and to a depth of 600 metres.
In this reported series, core hole SE-13-126 intercepted further Bonanza grades (greater than 34 gpt Au or greater than 1,000 gpt Ag) with 0.60 metres grading 5.2 gpt Au and 1,840 gpt Ag These high grades are included in a broader interval of 21.6 metres grading 1.46 gpt Au and 169.1 gpt Ag (see tables below).
Assay values in this series of holes range from 0.1 gpt to 22.0 gpt gold and 34.8 gpt to 1,840.0 gpt silver. Mineralized intervals range from 0.6 metres to 22.7 metres. All mineralized drill intercepts are near true thicknesses. The most significant assay results in this series of holes are shown in the following tables.
Santa Elena Main Mineralized Zone
| Hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | Interval (m) | Interval (ft) | Au gpt | Au opt | Ag gpt | Ag opt |
| SE-13-121 | 449.3 | 458.9 | 9.7 | 31.8 | 2.81 | 0.082 | 127.2 | 3.7 |
| incl. | 452.9 | 456.2 | 3.3 | 10.9 | 5.71 | 0.167 | 261.4 | 7.6 |
| SE-13-122 | 249.5 | 262.5 | 13.0 | 42.6 | 1.06 | 0.031 | 144.8 | 4.2 |
| incl. | 253.2 | 258.3 | 5.1 | 16.8 | 1.52 | 0.044 | 267.2 | 7.8 |
| SE-13-123 | 433.5 | 438.3 | 4.8 | 15.7 | 3.87 | 0.113 | 89.2 | 2.6 |
| incl. | 433.5 | 435.4 | 1.9 | 6.2 | 7.37 | 0.215 | 159.3 | 4.6 |
| SE-13-124 | 271.6 | 276.2 | 4.6 | 15.1 | 0.62 | 0.018 | 75.7 | 2.2 |
| 283.8 | 287.1 | 3.2 | 10.6 | 0.73 | 0.021 | 69.4 | 2.0 | |
| SE-13-125 | 474.8 | 487.1 | 12.3 | 40.2 | 0.96 | 0.028 | 117.0 | 3.4 |
| incl. | 481.3 | 485.4 | 4.1 | 13.5 | 1.52 | 0.044 | 183.9 | 5.4 |
| SE-13-126 | 446.3 | 467.9 | 21.6 | 70.7 | 1.46 | 0.043 | 169.1 | 4.9 |
| incl. | 463.2 | 463.7 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 5.20 | 0.152 | 1,840.0 | 53.7 |
| incl. | 463.2 | 467.0 | 3.8 | 12.5 | 2.72 | 0.079 | 632.1 | 18.4 |
| SE-13-127 | 169.8 | 192.6 | 22.7 | 74.6 | 1.76 | 0.051 | 93.6 | 2.7 |
| incl. | 177.1 | 179.9 | 2.8 | 9.3 | 8.65 | 0.252 | 200.1 | 5.8 |
| SE-13-128 | 469.7 | 478.0 | 8.3 | 27.2 | 0.10 | 0.002 | 138.9 | 4.1 |
| 516.2 | 529.3 | 13.1 | 43.0 | 1.38 | 0.040 | 165.8 | 4.8 | |
| incl. | 519.8 | 528.5 | 8.7 | 28.6 | 1.89 | 0.055 | 221.3 | 6.5 |
| SE-13-129 | 215.3 | 223.7 | 8.4 | 27.7 | 0.62 | 0.018 | 53.8 | 1.6 |
| SE-13-130 | 403.1 | 409.1 | 6.0 | 19.7 | 7.21 | 0.210 | 143.7 | 4.2 |
| incl. | 403.1 | 406.0 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 12.92 | 0.377 | 240.8 | 7.0 |
| SE-13-131 | 162.7 | 180.0 | 17.3 | 56.8 | 0.58 | 0.017 | 61.2 | 1.8 |
| SE-13-132 | 224.2 | 229.2 | 5.0 | 16.5 | 0.84 | 0.025 | 71.9 | 2.1 |
| SE-13-133 | 437.2 | 445.9 | 8.7 | 28.4 | 10.36 | 0.302 | 160.4 | 4.7 |
| incl. | 441.3 | 444.3 | 3.0 | 9.8 | 22.00 | 0.642 | 303.0 | 8.8 |
| SE-13-134 | 481.1 | 485.9 | 4.8 | 15.6 | 0.55 | 0.016 | 57.6 | 1.7 |
| 490.6 | 494.8 | 4.2 | 13.7 | 1.03 | 0.030 | 141.3 | 4.1 | |
| SE-13-135 | 265.1 | 266.7 | 1.6 | 5.2 | 0.34 | 0.010 | 53.6 | 1.6 |
| SE-13-136 | 458.5 | 478.1 | 19.6 | 64.2 | 1.08 | 0.032 | 84.4 | 2.5 |
| SE-13-137 | 235.6 | 240.1 | 4.5 | 14.7 | 0.55 | 0.016 | 90.1 | 2.6 |
| SE-13-138 | 464.4 | 473.2 | 8.8 | 28.8 | 0.49 | 0.014 | 76.0 | 2.2 |
| SE-13-139 | 253.1 | 263.9 | 10.8 | 35.3 | 0.69 | 0.020 | 34.8 | 1.0 |
| SE-13-140 | 215.3 | 234.1 | 18.8 | 61.7 | 0.77 | 0.022 | 125.5 | 3.7 |
| incl. | 230.6 | 234.1 | 3.5 | 11.6 | 1.27 | 0.037 | 342.2 | 10.0 |
| SE-13-141 | 448.4 | 457.4 | 9.1 | 29.8 | 4.16 | 0.121 | 189.1 | 5.5 |
Note: All numbers are weighted averages, uncut and rounded.
El Cholugo Zone
| Hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | Interval (m) | Interval (ft) | Au gpt | Au opt | Ag gpt | Ag opt |
| SE-13-122 | 270.7 | 276.4 | 5.7 | 18.8 | 1.06 | 0.031 | 63.6 | 1.9 |
| SE-13-123 | 293.4 | 295.1 | 1.7 | 5.4 | 0.97 | 0.028 | 68.3 | 2.0 |
| SE-13-129 | 236.0 | 239.5 | 3.5 | 11.4 | 0.96 | 0.028 | 78.2 | 2.3 |
| SE-13-131 | 269.7 | 274.9 | 5.1 | 16.9 | 4.29 | 0.125 | 157.4 | 4.6 |
| SE-13-139 | 287.3 | 292.9 | 5.7 | 18.6 | 0.83 | 0.024 | 44.1 | 1.3 |
| SE-13-140 | 286.5 | 288.9 | 2.4 | 7.9 | 1.90 | 0.055 | 117.0 | 3.4 |
Note: All numbers are weighted averages, uncut and rounded.
All sample analyses were completed by ALS Chemex in Hermosillo, Mexico and North Vancouver, BC.
The El Cholugo Zone continues to expand to the west and to depth with 6 new drill hole intercepts (above table). The dimensions of this newly discovered zone is now approximately 400 metres long by 150 metres high with widths ranging from 1.7 to 17.1 metres.
Several Holes reported above (Holes SE-13-121, 123, 128, and 141) extend the strong silver and gold mineralization along the Main Mineralized Zone to the east and to depth. These intercepts are up to 300 metres beyond the boundary of current resource estimates. Core holes SE-13-132, 135, 137, 139, 140 reported above further expand mineralization 300 metres to the west under the current operating pit. Further drilling is underway to help delineate theses area of continued expansion.
Approximately 48,000 metres of drilling have been completed to date in the 2012-2103 program to convert underground resources to reserves and expand total resources. Three drills are currently on site completing the extended program. Summary results for revised Santa Elena Resources and Reserves are expected in late May, 2013 with a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Pre-Feasibility Study of the Expansion Plan to be filed within 45 days following announcement.
Santa Elena is located in the Basin and Range Province, which is part of the Sonora Desert subprovince. The region is near the Proterozoic rifted continental margin of the North American plate, which was the site of deposition of a thick sequence of shallow marine shelf carbonate and siliclastic rocks. Subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate during Jurassic time resulted in continental volcanism. In late Jurassic time, a northwest-trending rift basin formed which was the site of sedimentation and felsic and intermediate volcanism.
Locally, the primary rock types are early Tertiary andesite and rhyolite flows which exhibit propylitic to silicic alteration. The main mineralized zone is a cross-cutting structure trending approximately east-west and dipping about 45° to the south. Alteration is widespread and pervasive with significant silicification, kaolinization and chloritization. Gangue minerals consist of quartz, calcite, chlorite and fluorite.
The Santa Elena deposit is considered to be high calcium, low-sulfidation type with replacements, stockworks and hydrothermal breccias similar to other high level low-sulfidation deposits found in Mexico, Chile and Nevada and Arizona in the United States.
Earliest records of work on the property are from the late 19th to early 20th century when an English company by the name of Consolidated Fields operated a mining operation at Santa Elena until the onset of the Mexican Revolution in 1910.
During the 1960’s, Industrias Peñoles S.A de C.V. drilled two or three holes on the property. During the early 1980’s, Tungsteno de Baviacora (Tungsteno) mined 45,000 tonnes grading 3.5 g/t gold and 60 g/t silver from an open cut at Santa Elena. Since 2003, Tungsteno has periodically surface mined high silica/low fluorine material from Santa Elena and shipped it to the Grupo Mexico smelter in El Tajo near Nacozari, approximately 60 km to the northeast.
In early 2004, Fronteer Development Group of Vancouver, B.C., completed an extensive surface and underground mapping and sampling program. A total of 145 channel samples (89 underground and 56 surfaces) were collected and analyzed. The property remained under control of Tungsteno. On December 8, 2005, SilverCrest, using its 100% owned subsidiary Nusantara, entered into an option agreement with Tungsteno to acquire a 100% interest in the Santa Elena property through staged option payments over 5 years. SilverCrest completed payments as per the terms of the agreement in August of 2009. SilverCrest has been extensively evaluating the property since 2005.
