SilverCrest hits 65.6 g/t silver equivalent over 127.4 metres at La Joya

SilverCrest Mines (CVE:SVL)(OTCQX:STVZF) Monday unveiled the results of a further 16 holes from its phase II drill program currently underway at the company's La Joya property in Durango, Mexico, expanding mineralization in several directions.
These 16 holes, the company said, have partially tested the eastern and western margins of the northern end of the site's main trend and have provided in-fill information within the resource area.
The company said silver values ranged from 2.6 grams per tonne (g/t) to 255.7 g/t and on a silver equivalent basis, values ranged from 24.0 g/t to 445.6 g/t silver equivalent. Mineralized intervals ranged from 3.5 metres to 127.4 metres.
Among the highlights, hole L J DD12-42 encountered 65.6 g/t silver equivalent over 127.4 metres and hole L J DD12-48 returned 90.2 g/t silver equivalent over 12 metres.
The company said the latter hole found additional mineralization in the northeast portion of the main trend, previously identified as the Esperanza target. Further drilling in this area is needed to better define near surface mineralization, SilverCrest noted.
"In January we announced an initial Inferred Resource in a portion of the trend of 57.9 million tonnes grading 28 g/t silver, 0.18 g/t gold and 0.21% copper and containing 101.9 million ounces silver equivalent," SilverCrest's president J. Scott Drever said.
"We have since drilled 23 holes as a part of the second phase of drilling that have successfully expanded mineralization in all lateral directions with the possible expansion of the resource along the trend.
"We have begun to drill the area to the southeast of the declared resource which, based on previous historic drilling and our surface sampling results, is expected to host the most attractive mineralized portion of the trend."
The phase II program comprises an estimated 80 holes totaling roughly 15,000 metres. Drilling to date has extended the Main Mineralized Trend an additional 500 metres to the northwest beyond the area of the current resource, which holds 101.9 million ounces silver equivalent, the company said.
New results show the trend expanding an additional 200 metres to the northeast, and 100 metres to the southwest, with the average width increasing from 500 to approximately 700 metres - along a strike length of 2,500 metres.
The company said holes L J DD12-40 and L J DD12-41 identified additional mineralization along the Contact Zone, which is exposed at surface and has a northwest-southeast strike approximately one and a half kilometre long.
This type of mineralization is similar to that of the nearby producing Penoles' Sabinas Mine, SilverCrest added.
Currently, the phase II program is drilling at hole L JDD12-53, located on the south central part of the trend.
Assays for the next series of holes will be reported upon receipt, the company said. Several holes contain anomalous molybdenum, tungsten, lead and zinc values over significant widths in the skarn.
The Phase II campaign is expected to test approximately 2.5 kilometres of the trend, with drilling already having started on the southern extension.
Based on company surface mapping, sampling and historic drill hole results, this area is thought to be potentially the highest grade area along the trend.
SilverCrest's flagship property is the 100%-owned Santa Elena Mine, which is located 150 kilometres northeast of Hermosillo, near Banamichi in Sonora, Mexico. The mine is a high-grade, epithermal gold and silver producer, with an estimated life of mine cash cost of US$8 per ounce of silver equivalent.
SilverCrest anticipates that the 2,500 tonnes per day facility should recover approximately 4.8 million ounces of silver and 179,000 ounces of gold over the 6.5 year life of the open pit phase of the Santa Elena Mine.
A three year expansion plan is underway to double metals production at Santa Elena and exploration programs are advancing the definition of a large polymetallic deposit at La Joya.
Full details of the latest La Joya drill results can be found at: http://www.silvercrestmines.com