April 28, 2022, Toronto, Ontario – Discovery Silver Corp. (TSX-V: DSV, OTCQX: DSVSF) (“Discovery” or the “Company” - https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/discovery-metals-corp/) is pleased to announce its financial results for the fourth quarter (“Q4 2021”) and year ended December 31, 2021, and to provide a summary of key events for the quarter and subsequent to year-end. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars (“C$”) unless otherwise noted.
Discovery’s flagship project is our 100%-owned Cordero silver project (“Cordero” or the “Project”) located in Chihuahua State, Mexico. Following the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) in 2021 that demonstrated Cordero is a large-scale, high-margin asset with a long mine life, our focus now is the delivery of a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) on the Project in the fourth quarter of this year.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM Q4 2021 & SUBSEQUENT EVENTS:
LOOKING AHEAD:
Work on our Pre-Feasibility Study is advancing well and we remain on schedule to deliver the study in the fourth quarter of this year. Our metallurgical testwork on the sulphides, which is focused on reagent optimization and the testing of high-grade samples ranging from 100 – 200 g/t AgEq to confirm grade versus recovery variability is now more than 50% complete. Our reserve definition drilling will wrap up later this quarter while our engineering drilling will commence in the coming weeks. We expect the PFS will continue to incorporate staged expansions of the processing facility and we will look to optimize the mining rates early in the mine life as well as the timing and size of the oxides/heap leach project to maximise capital efficiency.
In parallel with these work plans our ESG program continues to be an important area of focus, with our 2021 ESG report scheduled for issuance in the summer and key government and international accreditation certifications planned for completion in the second half of 2022. We also remain committed to the growth potential of Cordero with more than 30,000 m of drilling planned this year on resource expansion targets and our first ever drilling of five highly prospective property targets within 10 km of Cordero.
Our balance sheet remains exceptionally strong with a current cash balance of approximately $60 million and no debt. This puts us in a very strong position to fund all our activities at Cordero in 2022, as well as all necessary work to advance Cordero to a construction decision through the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study currently scheduled for the second half of 2023.
SUMMARY OF Q4 2021 & SUBSEQUENT EVENTS:
Environment, Social, Governance:
Inaugural ESG Report / Sustainability website launch
In the fourth quarter we released our first Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) report and launched a brand-new Sustainability section of our website. Report highlights include:
- Completion of our PEA on Cordero that outlined a 16-year mine life with average annual production of 26 Moz AgEq at an AISC of $12.35/oz AgEq. The after-tax NPV5% was US$1.2 B and the IRR was 38% at base case metal prices of Ag - US$22.00/oz, Au - US$1,600/oz, Pb - US$1.00/lb and Zn - US$1.20/lb.
- The appointment of Tony Esplin as Chief Operating Officer; Mr. Esplin has more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry including over two decades of executive and senior management roles at Tier 1 operations with Newmont Corporation and Barrick Gold Corporation.
- The appointment of Tony Makuch to the Company’s Board of Directors; Mr. Makuch has over 35 years of mining industry experience and was most recently President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd up to its merger with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited in 1Q 2022.
- The release of our inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) report and launch of a brand-new Sustainability section on our website. These materials set out the Company’s current practices and future priorities, and provide details of our strategic pillars that form the foundation needed to advance the Cordero Project.
- Announcement of our work program for 2022 that includes the planned completion of our PFS in the fourth quarter of this year along with 55,000 m of drilling focused on reserve definition, resource growth and property wide exploration.
- As at December 31, 2021, we had a cash and cash equivalents and short term investment balance of $69.7 million.
- Over $1.7 million in goods and services purchased from local Mexican businesses;
- #BBD0E0 »
