Silvercorp Metals (TSX: SVM) produced 0.9 million ounces of silver in its fiscal second quarter, down 41% from a year earlier, as safety upgrades at the Ying Mining District cut deep into mill throughput.
Ying processed 213,320 tonnes of ore in the three months ended September 30, a 20% decline year over year. Output also included 1,371 ounces of gold, 7.6 million pounds of lead and 0.7 million pounds of zinc, while silver equivalent production came to 1.0 million ounces, down 42%. The decline lands within the 40% to 50% impact the company flagged at the end of June.
Grades softened as well. Silver-lead ore at Ying averaged 157 g/t silver and 2.0% lead, compared with 207 g/t silver and 2.6% lead a year ago, and gold ore graded 1.1 g/t gold against 1.4 g/t. Recoveries held up better, with silver at 94.1%, gold at 92.9% and lead at 90.4%, although zinc recovery slipped to 57.7% from 65.8%.
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By quarter end, Ying was back running at a 90% operating rate. The company completed tunnel enlargement, equipment upgrades and a full replacement of power cabling, spending US$13.4 million on the work during the quarter.
The GC Mine contributed next to nothing. Mining there has been suspended since late June pending an updated mine development design, and the operation processed just 477 tonnes of stockpiled ore. Silvercorp does not expect GC to resume production until November 2027, though the mine accounts for less than 10% of total revenue.
Revenue fell 13% to US$72.1 million. An 82% jump in the average realized silver price to US$61.83 per ounce, along with a realized gold price of US$3,955 per ounce, offset much of the lost volume.
Through the first half of fiscal 2027, the company has processed 600,250 tonnes and produced 2.4 million ounces of silver, 3,907 ounces of gold, 21.2 million pounds of lead and 5.2 million pounds of zinc. Full year guidance calls for 6.8 million to 7.1 million ounces of silver and 9,500 to 10,000 ounces of gold, putting Silvercorp at roughly 35% and 41% of the low end of those ranges at the halfway mark. That guidance was issued in April, before both the Ying disruption and the GC suspension, and the company has not revised it to reflect the changes.
Silvercorp is scheduled to release its second quarter financial results on November 5.
Silvercorp Metals last traded at $13.78 on the TSX.
