El Picacho

Property Overview

El Picacho Property is located approximately 85 road kilometres (mostly paved) northeast of the Company’s Las Chispas Project and is comprised of 11 mining concessions totalling approximately 7,060 hectares. Mineralization is hosted within multiple low-sulphidation epithermal veins (currently seven main veins) which include banded quartz, quartz-calcite breccia, quartz and calcite stockwork, and structures with pyrite, argentite and sphalerite being the predominant sulphide minerals. Approximately 13.6 kilometres of vein strike length is currently known.

There are seven (7) low-sulfidation epithermal main veins on the concessions, with numerous near parallel hanging and footwall veins. The main veins have a known cumulative strike length of over 10 kilometres with widths ranging from 0.5 to 15 metres. The El Picacho Vein is the most prominently explored vein on the Property and has several historic estimated resources. A historic resource completed before 2012 using historic drilling and underground work, suggests an estimated 360,000 tonnes grading 8.50 gpt Au and 40.0 gpt Ag, or 677 gpt AgEq* totalling 7.8 million ounces AgEq (see Historic Qualification below).

The Property was a historic gold and silver producer, with the first noted production in late 1800s with grades greater than 15 gpt gold (Bird, 1904). Several companies have explored the Property over the past 30 years; most notably Yamana Gold Inc. (“Yamana”) in 2012 which completed a total of 67 drill holes for 10,789 metres (37% reverse circulation and 63% core), including 24 holes for a total of an estimated 4,871 metres in El Picacho Vein. Over 1.7 kilometres of near surface historic underground workings are present in El Picacho Vein that are partially accessible by a 4 metre by 4 metre decline that exposes the mineralized vein.

Past Exploration

In 2017, SilverCrest completed underground channel sampling as part of a due diligence exercise. Results from 10 underground bulk channel (back or roof of ramp) samples, over an estimated strike length of 50 metres, showed an average true width of 6.0 metres and grade of 13.66 gpt Au and 50.8 gpt Ag, or 1,075 gpt AgEq*. Two initial standard bottle rolls for metallurgical test work on these samples, completed by SGS de Mexico, S.A.de C.V., showed composite recoveries of greater than 90% for both gold and silver.  

Recent exploration

New Release dated February 24, 2021 represent 42 drill holes totalling an estimated 11,420 metres. Twenty-one (21) of these 42 holes intercepted El Picacho Vein with a cutoff grade of 150 gpt AgEq and minimum ETW of 0.50 metres. The program has successfully intercepted precious metal mineralization within El Picacho Vein across an area of approximately 500 metres along vein strike and 300 metres down vein dip from surface. This mineralized footprint is an expansion of the previous historic unverified resource area. All access rights and necessary drill permits (5-year license) are in place for continued drilling. 

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*AgEq based on 75 (Ag):1 (Au) calculated using long-term silver and gold prices of US$20 per ounce silver and US$1,500 per ounce gold. Insufficient metallurgical test work has been completed at Picacho to formulate accurate recoveries.