New Pacific Metals drills 123 g/t silver over 205.6 metres at Carangas, Bolivia

New Pacific Metals Corp. [NUAG-TSX; NEWP-NYSE American] reported assay results for the first 21 drill holes from its first quarter 2023 drill program at the Carangas silver-gold project, Oruro department, Bolivia.

The Q1 2023 drilling was a continuation of the 2022 drilling campaign at the Carangas Project. It was originally budgeted as 15,000 metres of diamond core drilling, infilling areas drilled in 2021-2022 and stepping out beyond these previously drilled areas. This drilling program started on schedule in January 2023 and was expanded based on encouraging results and is now complete. A total of 17,623 metes in 39 holes was drilled up to the end of April 2023. Each of the 39 holes intersected mineralization. To date, assay results of the first 21 holes have been received with the remaining holes pending.

Highlights of drill results: DCAr0171 intersected a wide interval of silver mineralization measuring 205.6 metres (76.8 m to 282.4 m) grading 123 g/t silver, 0.44% lead and 0.84% zinc, including 77.6 metres (126.1 m to 203.7 m) grading 242 g/t silver, 0.71% lead and 1.30% zinc. This step-out hole was drilled through fluvial sediment cover to the southwest of the South Dome and implies that shallow silver mineralization remains open to the southwest, beyond the previously drilled West Dome-Central Valley-East Dome corridor.

DCAr0170 was drilled at the western limit of the Central Valley near the West Dome and intersected a wide interval of silver mineralization measuring 292.8 m starting near surface (9.2 m to 302 m) grading 58 g/t Ag, 0.39% Pb and 0.84% Zn, including 80.39 m (9.2 m to 89.59 m) grading 173 g/t Ag, 0.77% Pb and 1.08% Zn.

DCAr0154 intersected an interval of silver mineralization measuring 93.7 m (69.5 m to 163.2 m) grading 50 g/t Ag, 0.20% Pb and 0.53% Zn, including 13.05 m (72.4 m to 84.45 m) grading 280 g/t Ag, 0.36% Pb and 0.83% Zn. To depth, multiple intervals of gold mineralization were intersected, represented by 233.66 m (500.24 m to 733.9 m) grading 0.65 g/t Au and 107.1 m (774.24 m to 881.34 m) grading 0.84 g/t Au. This hole was drilled to test the eastern extension of gold mineralization at depth and the gold intervals in this hole indicate that gold mineralization remains open to the east.

DCAr0151 intersected an interval of silver mineralization measuring 66.76 m starting near surface (6.14 m to 72.9 m) grading 55 g/t Ag and 0.31% Pb, and a second silver interval of 3.63 m (266.13 m to 269.76 m) grading 215 g/t Ag, 0.45% Pb and 0.54% Zn. This hole was drilled in the upper portion of the East Dome.

The company engaged consulting firm RPMGlobal Canada Limited for technical services regarding a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate report for the Carangas Project. The resource estimation will commence once assay results of all drill holes are available and the completed resource estimate is expected in the third quarter of 2023.

The project technical team is currently conducting detailed surface geological mapping and sampling to refine drill targets over the induced polarization (IP) chargeability anomalies beyond the previously drilled areas. This mapping program is planned for the interim period before the expected resumption of drilling activities in the second half of 2023. These IP chargeability anomalies demonstrate a geophysical signature similar to the one observed in the drilled-off area of the Central Valley which hosts the bulk silver-gold mineralization discovered at the Carangas Project.

New Pacific’s flagship project, the Silver Sand Silver Project, has released its inaugural preliminary economic assessment results in January 2023. The PEA study shows a post-tax NPV (5% discount) of US$726 million with an IRR of 39%, underpinned by a total silver production of 171 million ounces over 14 years of mine life. At the recently discovered Carangas Silver-Gold Project, a resource drilling program of more than 50,000 metres was completed in 2021-2022. The third project, the Silverstrike Silver-Gold Project, had a 6,000-metre discovery drill program in June 2022.