VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian miner Sierra Metals announced on Thursday that its ongoing brownfield exploration at the producing Yauricocha mine, located in Yauyos province, Peru, has increased the resource statement's compliant measured and indicated resources by 68%, and its inferred resources by 77%.

The Toronto-based company reported that mineral resources at Yauricocha now total 13.21-million tonnes, averaging 62.3 g/t silver, 1.5% copper, 0.9% lead, 2.8% zinc and 0.6 g/t gold.

The new resource estimate is the result of a successful exploration drill programme completed at several zones within the mine, including Mina Central, Esperanza, Cachi-Cachi, Escondida and Cuye-Mascota, which now represent a material proportion of the mine's overall resources.  

“It is important to highlight the quality of the resources which are reflected in the higher silver, copper, zinc, lead and gold grades in this resource estimate. The company remains committed to growth through brownfield exploration and today's resource estimate confirms the presence of additional high-quality tonnage at the Yauricocha mine and will allow the company to look at potential production increases going forward,” president and CEO Igor Gonzales advised.

Total measured and indicated contained metal has significantly increased by 72% silver, 128% copper, 74% zinc, 64% lead and 61% gold, and the additions to the inferred category also reflected a 55% increase in silver, 59% copper, 105% zinc, 42% lead and 83% gold.

The combined measured and indicated resources now contain 443.6-million pounds of copper, 813.3-million pounds of zinc, 269.1-million pounds of lead and 274 000 oz of silver.

Total inferred resource for Yauricocha are now 6.63-million tonnes averaging 43 g/t silver, 1.2% copper, 0.5% lead, 2.2% zinc and 0.5 g/t gold.

Increases to the copper grade reflect the discovery and delineation of new copper-rich zones in Cuye, Mascota and Esperanza and a 14% increase in copper price assumption to $2.28/lb.

“We will continue our brownfield exploration programmes at the Yauricocha mine over the next year, with the aim of further mineral resource expansions,” Gonzales said.