Near Surface Silver Mineralization Intercepted in 94 out of 98 holes;
Numerous Significant Intercepts include 76.63 metres grading 383 g/t
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – January 22, 2019 -- New Pacific Metals Corp. (TSX-V: NUAG) (OTCQX: NUPMF) (“New Pacific” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the first batch of drill results from its wholly-owned Silver Sand Project in Potosí Department, Bolivia.
The drilling program commenced in mid-October 2017. A total of 55,010 metres in 195 HQ size diamond core drill holes had been completed by mid-December 2018. The drill program covers an area of approximately 1,600 m long in the north-south direction and up to 800 m wide in the east-west direction. The holes were drilled along northeast 60 degree oriented sections with a 50 m spacing between the sections. Most drill holes are drilled at dip angle of 45 degrees to penetrate the principal trend of the mineralized structure zones with an average hole length of approximately 285 m. To date, assay results of drill core samples of 98 holes have been received and analyzed, of which 94 holes intercepted silver mineralization.
Highlights of significant drill intersections are summarized as follows (for a detailed list, please refer to Table-1 – Composited Drill Intersections of Mineralization below):
· Drill hole DSS525001, 135.72m @ 240 g/t Ag from 50.8m to 186.52m,
incl. 76.63m @ 383g/t Ag from 50.8m to 127.43m, and
incl. 7.64m @ 406g/t Ag from 178.88m to 186.52m;
· Drill hole DSS525002, 273.94m @ 84g/t Ag from 0.92m to 274.86m,
incl. 13.44m @ 205g/t Ag from 86.3m to 99.74m, and
incl. 56.3m @ 216g/t Ag from 148.5m to 204.8m;
· Drill hole DSS5803, 172m @ 110g/t Ag from 18.0m to 190.0m,
incl. 83.5m @ 192g/t Ag from 18.0m to 101.5m;
· Drill hole DSS525009, 178.99m @ 96g/t Ag from 59.9m to 238.89m,
incl. 18.03m @ 362g/t Ag from 126.49m to 144.52m;
· Drill hole DSS525010, 106.4m @ 154g/t Ag from 12.0m to 118.4m,
incl. 38.75m @ 165g/t Ag from 12.0m to 50.75m, and
incl. 4.03m @ 2,366g/t Ag from 92.43m to 96.46m;
· Drill hole DSS5407, 76.03m @ 205g/t Ag from 64.07m to 140.10m,
incl. 60.89m @ 251g/t Ag from 64.07m to 124.96m;
· Drill hole DSS665001, 89.77m @ 115g/t Ag from 44.23m to 134.1m,
incl. 4.45m @ 394g/t Ag from 44.23m to 48.68m,
incl. 37.15m @ 149g/t Ag from 58.0m to 95.15m, and
3.52m @ 430g/t Ag from 213.82m to 217.34m;
· Drill hole DSS6603A, 65.25m @ 181g/t Ag from 7.9m to 73.15m,
incl. 32.0m @ 304g/t Ag from 7.9m to 39.9m;
· Drill hole DSS6402, 157.68m @ 66g/t Ag from 18.1m to 175.78m,
incl. 26.16m @ 252g/t Ag from 74.22m to 100.38m;
· Drill hole DSS645001, 85.54m @ 119g/t Ag from 27.46m to 113.0m,
incl. 26.04m @ 189g/t Ag from 27.46m to 53.5m, and
incl. 31.16m @ 156g/t Ag from 81.84m to 113.0m;
· Drill hole DSS5806, 146.69m @ 63g/t Ag from 13.96m to 160.65m,
incl. 9.34m @ 208g/t Ag from 13.96m to 23.3m;
· Drill hole DSS5404, 106.5m @ 86g/t Ag from 87.0m to 193.5m,
incl. 28.5m @ 220g/t Ag from 87.0m to 115.5m;
· Drill hole DSS525003, 102m @ 82g/t Ag from 47.3m to 149.3m,
incl. 13.36m @ 475g/t Ag from 100.5m to 113.86m;
· Drill hole DSS645002, 173.34m @ 48g/t Ag from 23.21m to 196.55m,
incl. 54.49m @ 111g/t Ag from 23.21m to 77.7m;
· Drill hole DSS6608, 188.79m @ 43g/t Ag from 58.7m to 247.49m;
· Drill hole DSS6201, 69.67m @ 116g/t Ag from 119.93m to 189.6m;
· Drill hole DSS6403, 191.35m @ 42g/t Ag from 82.15m to 273.5m;
· Drill hole DSS525005, 102.65m @ 66g/t Ag from 28.35m to 131.0m,
incl. 5.2m @ 342g/t Ag from 93.92m to 99.12m;
· Drill hole DSS4603, 159.71m @ 41 g/t Ag from 41.59m to 201.3m,
incl. 6.23m @ 223g/t Ag from 97.77m to 104.0m, and
incl. 2.0m @ 522g/t Ag from 174.62m to 176.62m;
· Drill hole DSS4804, 23.1m @ 138g/t Ag from 123.9m to 147.0m,
incl. 1.06m @ 1,070g/t Ag from 145.94m to 147.0m, and
20.0m @ 164g/t Ag, 3.62% Pb from 249.5m to 269.5m;
· Drill hole DSS525004, 79.16m @ 78g/t Ag from 45.92m to 125.08m,
incl. 22.32m @ 118g/t Ag from 73.54m to 95.86m;
· Drill hole DSS5601, 62.87m @ 96g/t Ag from 85.43m to153.0m,
· Drill hole DSS545001, 62.6m @ 95g/t Ag from 63.83m to 126.43m,
incl. 14.71m @ 212g/t Ag from 97.16m to 111.87m;
· Drill hole DSS4802, 21.09m @ 269g/t Ag from 92.45m to 113.54m,
incl. 2.33m @ 1,099g/t Ag from 92.45m to 94.78m;
· Drill hole DSS6607, 122.72m @ 46g/t Ag from 28.4m to 151.12m, and
incl. 1.0m @ 2,530g/t Ag, 1.19% Pb, 1.05% Zn from 204.52m to 205.52m;
· Drill hole DSS4604, 5.06m @ 1,104g/t Ag from 107.07m to 112.13m;
· Drill hole DSS5003, 65.99m @ 83g/t Ag from 62.46m to 128.45m,
incl. 19.81m @ 175g/t Ag from 108.64m to 128.45m;
· Drill hole DSS6202, 64.26m @ 84g/t Ag from 306.14m to 370.4m,
incl. 17.43m @ 183g/t Ag from 323.57m to 341.0m;
· Drill hole DSS665003, 81.68m @ 65g/t Ag from 71.6m to 153.28m,
incl. 6.84m @ 229g/t Ag from 93.76m to 100.6m;
· Drill hole DSS6401, 84.79m @ 58g/t Ag from 12.32m to 97.11m,
· Drill hole DSS5202, 59.6m @ 82g/t Ag from 4.2m to 63.8m,
incl. 4.3m @ 311g/t Ag from 4.2m to 8.5m;
· Drill hole DSS525008, 63.1 m @ 75g/t Ag from 1.7m to 64.8m,
incl. 6.7m @ 213g/t Ag from 49.7m to 56.4m;
· Drill hole DSS7001, 60.32m @ 76g/t Ag from 70.03m to 130.35m,
incl. 32.77m @ 113g/t Ag from 90.36m to 123.13m;
· Drill hole DSS6603, 15.93m @ 265g/t Ag from 7.17m to 23.1m (hole failed in mineralization);
· Drill hole DSS6802, 69.06m @ 50g/t Ag from 86.17m to 156.3m,
incl. 7.64m @ 164g/t Ag from 86.17m to 93.81m;
· Drill hole DSS525013, 25.13m @ 136g/t Ag from 39.57m to 64.7m;
· Drill hole DSS525011, 54.3m @ 60g/t Ag from 144.0m to 198.3m,
incl. 3.5m @ 433g/t Ag from 169.6m to 173.1m;
· Drill hole DSS6604, 56.79m @ 56g/t Ag from 0.0m to 56.79m,
incl. 25.22m @ 113g/t Ag from 31.57m to 56.79m; and
incl. 3.0m @ 779g/t Ag from 50.0m to 53.0m;
· Drill hole DSS6801, 75.4m @ 42g/t Ag from 55.5m to 130.9m,
incl. 10.0m @ 130g/t Ag from 55.5m to 65.5m.
(True width of the mineralization is unknown, but based on the current understanding of the relationship between drill direction and the mineralized structures it is estimated that true width will approximate 80% of the down hole interval length. Please refer to Table-1 – Composited Drill Intersections of Mineralization below for details.)
Based on the drilling results, the drill holes usually penetrate first through an up to 50 m thick layer of reddish siltstone and mudstone units of Cretaceous Tarapaya Formation, then into massive altered white colour arenites or sandstones units of the Cretaceous La Puerta Formation, where silver mineralization occurs. At the contact of these two units, massive pyrite mineralization of less than two metres in thickness, typically occurs. Tin mineralization in the district is often associated with massive pyrite. At depth, many drill holes end at the reddish sandstones units of the Cretaceous La Puerta Formation. This Cretaceous Formations sit unconformably on a basement of tightly folded and faulted Paleozoic marine clastic sediments.
The mineralized sandstone and siltstone units of the Cretaceous Formations are shallow dipping or sub-horizontal, and gently folded into open synclines and anticlines with their hinges shallowly plunging to North-North-West (“NNW”) direction. To the north of Silver Sand, the Cretaceous sediments were intruded and cut by numerous porphyrytic dacitic sills and dykes of Miocene age, which are believed to be closely associated with silver mineralization in the district.
Silver mineralization is observed to be associated with fractures and alterations in the sandstones units, which were bleached white due to sericite alteration of original reddish sandstones, resulting in a sub-horizontal mineralizing zone of up to more than two hundred metres in thickness beneath the Tarapaya red siltstone and mudstone. The mineralized fractures generally extend NNW, sub-vertically and slightly dipping west. The mineralized bodies were detected by drilling within an area of up to 1,600 m long in north-south direction and 800 m wide in east-west direction within the Silver Sand property limit and remain open to both the north and the west. Mineralizing bodies were oxidized to various extents to depth.
Silver mineralization is characterized by sheeted veins, stockwork veinlets, crackle veins and breccia zones of sulfosalts and sulfides containing silver in altered sandstones. The most common silver-containing sulfosalt is freibergite, associated with a small amount of miargyrite, polybasite, bournonite, boulangerite, andorite and bismuthinite.
Using the section 60 as a dividing line, to its south, Tarapaya red siltstones and mudstones were mostly eroded away and massive whitish altered and fractured sandstones of the La Puerta Formation exposed at surface. Extensive mining remains of adits, drifts and stopes of colonial times exist at the steep slopes and cliffs that have more than 150 m relief with the workings extending into the mountain. Drilling in this area has hit many of these ancient underground workings. Silver mineralization to the south of section 60 was outlined by drilling an area of approximately 500 m long and 150 m wide the altered quartz sandstones of the La Puerta Formation, extending from surface to a depth of more than 300 m.
To the north of section 60, drilling covered an area of approximately 1,100 m long north-south and 800 m wide in the east-west direction. Drilling in this area intercepted mineralized fracture zones right beneath the Tarapaya reddish siltstones and mudstones. The mineralization could extend from near surface to a depth up to more than 250 m. In comparison to the south of section 60, only a few ancient underground mining workings were encountered during drilling. Mineralization remains open along strike and at depth in both the southern area and the northern area.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
HQ size drill core samples from altered and mineralized intervals were split into halves by diamond saw cutting with an average sample interval of one to one and half metres long at the Company’s core processing facility located in Betanzos, a local town 20 kilometres away from the project site. Half core samples are stored in secured core storages for future reference, and the other half core samples were shipped in security sealed bags to ALS Global in Oruro, Bolivia for preparation, and ALS Global in Lima, Peru for geochemical analysis with the code of OG46 for elements of silver, lead and zinc. Silver overlimits further go to gravimetric analysis with the code of GRA21.
A standard quality assurance and quality control (“QAQC”) protocol was employed to monitor the quality of sample preparation and analysis. Standards of certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates were inserted in normal core sample sequences prior to shipment to lab at a ratio of 20:1, i.e., every twenty samples contain at least one standard sample, one blank sample and one duplicate sample. The assay results of QAQC samples did not show any significant bias of analysis or contamination during sample preparation.
Technical information contained in this news release with respect to New Pacific has been reviewed and approved by Alex Zhang, P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration, who is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
ABOUT NEW PACIFIC
New Pacific is a Canadian exploration and development company which owns the Silver Sand Project in Potosí Department of Bolivia, the Tagish Lake gold project in Yukon, Canada and the RZY Project in Qinghai Province, China. Its largest shareholders are Silvercorp Metals Inc. (TSX/NYSE American: SVM) and Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX/NASDAQ: PAAS), one of the world's largest primary silver producers, which operates six mines, including the San Vicente mine located in the Potosí Department of Bolivia.
For further information, contact:
New Pacific Metals Corp.
Gordon Neal
President
Phone: (604) 633-1368
Fax: (604) 669-9387
info@newpacificmetals.com
www.newpacificmetals.com
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