Mr. John Lee reports
SILVER ELEPHANT TO START PACA APURADITA SILVER PRODUCTION IN MAY 2025
Silver Elephant Mining Corp. has provided an update on the sulphide mining operation at its Paca Apuradita silver project in the Potosi department of Bolivia, following its news release dated July 8, 2024. The Apuradita mining claim is registered under Silver Elephant's Bolivia subsidiary with the Bolivian Jurisdictional Administrative Mining Authority (AJAM). Apuradita is not within the area covered under the mining production contract dated Oct. 3, 2019, between the company and the Corporacion Minera de Bolivia (Comibol), which is the subject of continuing disputes.
In September, 2024, the company started Apuradita tunnel development to mine high-grade sulphide material located beneath the oxide layer. The planned 100-tonne-per-day underground mining operation extracts sulphide material. The mined materials will then be transported to third party toll mill processing plants.
To date, the company has dug 111 metres of the 160-metre planned tunnel to reach the sulphide mineralized zone. The company is continuing tunnel development at an approximate rate of 2.4 metres per day and expects to start silver production by May, 2025.
The essential infrastructure is in place to support sulphide mining activities:
- The underground transport rail system is fully installed and operational, with structural reinforcements added to ensure stability and prevent derailments.
- Logistics infrastructure including rail for the mine car dump truck loadout area and locomotive recharging station is complete.
- The air compressor system and water utility are fully functional, providing air and water services for drilling, ventilation and dust control.
- Civil works at the tunnel site, including secured storage lay-down areas and the truck haulage road, are complete.
In conjunction with tunnelling, the company is finalizing toll milling and concentrate sales agreements with concentrate production and sales anticipated to begin in May, 2025.
As outlined in the news release dated July 8, 2024, the tunnel will provide access to sulphide mineralized materials, which will be mined using the shrinkage stoping method. The two stopes are designed with approximate dimensions of 30 metres in length by 20 metres in height by 4 metres in width, with a targeted extraction rate of 100 to 150 tonnes per day. The calculated average grade of extracted and sorted sulphide materials is 412 grams per tonne silver, 1.09 per cent lead and 0.38 per cent zinc, based on diamond drill holes at Apuradita and an internally developed mine model.
Several examples of high-grade intercepts within the Apuradita mineralized zone include the following.
The full drill hole assay results have previously been released on SEDAR+.
The assumptions set out above are based on a resource estimate at Apuradita that is not reserve. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have not demonstrated economic viability and therefore should not be relied upon.
Potosi region
Potosi town district hosts the Cerro Rico silver deposit and is home to about 100 privately owned, small-sized processing facilities (ranging from 50- to 500-tonne-per-day capacity) that produce zinc and lead concentrates sold to many active commodity traders. Potosi department is one of the most active silver producing regions in the world. The majority of Bolivia's annual 40-million-ounce-silver production came from the Potosi department.
Qualified person
The technical contents of this news release have been prepared under the supervision of Carlos Zamora, who is an employee of the company and is not considered independent. Mr. Zamora is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Silver Elephant Mining Corp.
Silver Elephant is a mineral exploration company with gold and silver projects in Bolivia.
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