Vancouver-based Silvercorp Metals will build a new 3,000 tonne-per-day mill and tailings storage facility in the Ying mining district in China.
Silvercorp will need additional milling capacity because of new resources discovered at the mining district.
The new mill will also process ore from the consolidation of existing projects as well as newly acquired projects, which include the Zhonghe silver project and the Kuanping silver-lead-zinc-gold project.
The projects are located north of the Ying mining district, which includes the SGX silver-lead-zinc property, the Haopinggou silver-gold-lead property, the TLP silver-lead mine, and the LM silver-lead mine.
The mine would cost approximately US$25 million to build, while the TSF would cost US$38 million. The mine and tailings storage would be built next to the existing No. 2 mill, while the No. 1 mill will be decommissioned.
The mill will be completed by the end of 2023, and will contribute to an overall milling capacity of approximately 5,000 tpd.
The new TSF may be built in two phases, with Phase 1 building 10.2 million cubic meters of capacity. Phase 2 will see the construction of total storage capacity of 19.1 million cubic meters. Phase 1 of the tailings facility will be completed by mid-2024.
Silvercorp plans to build a new facility for training and R&D at the site of the No. 1 mill.