Mr. Eric Fier reports

SILVERCREST ANNOUNCES INCREASED METALLURGICAL RECOVERIES FOR LAS CHISPAS FEASIBILITY STUDY

Silvercrest Metals Inc. has released metallurgical test results with increased precious metal recoveries and enhanced process design changes for the continuing feasibility study at the Las Chispas property located in Sonora, Mexico. After nine months of extensive further metallurgical test work involving all veins in the current resource and multiple metallurgical domains, the results show an increase of recoveries to 96.1 per cent gold and 93.9 per cent silver, or 95 per cent silver equivalent, based on a ratio of 75 (Ag) to one (Au), with average metallurgical recoveries of 95 per cent Au and 90 per cent Ag. These results represent an increased recovery of 3.4 per cent AgEq over the previous metallurgical test results, as presented in the technical report and preliminary economic assessment for the Las Chispas property, Sonora, Mexico, dated effective May 15, 2019, as amended July 19, 2019, of 94.4 per cent Au and 89.9 per cent Ag, or 91.6 per cent AgEq.

Pierre Beaudoin, chief operating officer, noted: "We are pleased that the 95 per cent AgEq precious metal recoveries reported in our comprehensive test work has allowed us to address one of the optimization opportunities outlined in the PEA. This effort has contributed to the further de-risking of the conceptual operational profile of Las Chispas. The metallurgical samples represented over 1.4 tonnes of mineralized material from surface to depth with applied knowledge on geo-metallurgy with respect to low to high grades, structural domains, geochemistry and oxide to sulphide mineralization. With these results and design in hand, we have initiated the basic engineering for the process plant. Details of this metallurgical work and process design will be included in the FS now anticipated in the summer of 2020."

The feasibility metallurgical test results in the included table were completed and provided by SGS Canada Inc., located in Lakefield, Ont., in co-operation with Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., an independent consulting firm, responsible for the processing plant design for the continuing feasibility study.

 
May, 2019, PEA design criteria and precious metal                       March, 2020, FS design criteria and precious
recoveries                                                                                          metal recoveries
                                                                                                                  
Three-stage crushing                                                                           Single-stage crushing
                                                                  SAG mill (single stage), nominal P80 of 95 microns 
Ball mill (single stage), nominal P80 of 100 microns                                   (accounting for clay content)
Gravity mass yield at 1.4 per cent, Reground to P80             Gravity mass yield at 4 per cent, reground P90 of 30 
of 60 microns                                                                                                microns 
Gravity recovery of 30 to 40 per cent precious metals          Gravity recovery of 40 to 50 per cent precious metals
Leach recovery for gravity con at 90 per cent Au and 90       Leach recovery for gravity con at 98.7 per cent Au and 
per cent Ag (capped). Batch in intensive leach reactor.           98.6 per cent Ag. Dedicated 96-hour leach circuit. 
Leach recovery for gravity tails at 90.7 per cent Au and    Leach recovery for gravity tails at 94.4 per cent Au and
85.6 per cent Ag (calculated). Combined 90 hours leach.           91.3 per cent Ag. Dedicated 96-hour leach circuit.
Net total recoveries of 94.4 per cent Au and              Net total recoveries of 96.1 per cent Au and 93.9 per cent
89.9 per cent Ag or 91.6 per cent AgEq                                                        Ag or 95 per cent AgEq

Test work was completed on approximately 1.4 tonnes of mineralized material covering the current mineral resources (refer to the PEA) focusing on the first three years of conceptual mine life with processing feed coming from the Babicanora area veins at Las Chispas. The samples were selected from diamond drill hole assay rejects for all veins in the resource, as well as material from in-vein drifting for the Babicanora vein, Area 51 zone. Historic stockpiles were also included in the test program. A total of 148 leach tests were completed and covered grades from one to 16 grams per tonne Au, and 90 to 1,822 g/t Ag, or 165 to 3,022 g/t AgEq. The program was designed to provide design criteria for hardness/abrasion, variability (geo-metallurgy) results for leaching, sedimentation, filtration, settling and environmental characteristics. At this stage, the geo-metallurgical program is still progressing with the addition of newly discovered Area 118 and Area 200 (see news release dated Nov. 21, 2019, and Feb. 18, 2020) as well as the Babi Vista vein, and has also identified further opportunities to improve leach conditions on individual veins. METSIM software was used to model the metallurgical balance inclusive of countercurrent decantation (CCD), Merrill-Crowe and filtration process. The CCD/plant tailings will be detoxified and subjected to filtration to create environmentally preferred dry stack tailings. Considerations will be made for potential use of tailings for underground backfill material.

Recovery results will be incorporated in the continuing feasibility study and have assisted with the optimization of the conceptual process flow sheet to account for anticipated daily mill head grades of 2,000 to 2,500 g/t AgEq. It is expected that designing the plant with capacity to process higher mill head grade will reduce the requirement for blending and increase the mine flexibility.

Recent in-vein mining of the Babicanora vein, Area 51 zone, has identified a continuous mineralized shear zone with clay content not previously defined from core drilling. With the addition of shear-zone material and increased anticipated grades for conceptual production, the proposed feasibility study plant design will incorporate SAG (semi-autogenous grinding) milling, dedicated leach trains and larger units of operation for CCD, Merrill-Crowe, and filtration. Also, gravity circuit with regrinding has been optimized for increased precious metal recoveries. When compared with the PEA, the front end of the processing circuit will be simplified with the removal of conveyors and multistage crushers, but the tail end is expected to increase in size due to newly defined mineralized shear zone with clays and increased precious metal recoveries. As a result of these continuing design changes, Ausenco is still completing the feasibility work, the overall initial capital cost is currently expected to be slightly higher. Basic engineering for the processing plant has been granted to Ausenco and will run in tandem to feasibility work.

The qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is N. Eric Fier, CPG, PEng and chief executive officer for Silvercrest, who has reviewed and approved its contents.

About Silvercrest Metals Inc.

Silvercrest is a Canadian precious metals exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., that is focused on new discoveries, value-added acquisitions and targeting production in Mexico's historic precious metal districts. The company's current focus is on the high-grade, historic Las Chispas mining district in Sonora, Mexico. The Las Chispas project consists of 28 100-per-cent-owned mineral concessions where all of the resources are located. Silvercrest is the first company to successfully drill test the historic Las Chispas project, resulting in numerous discoveries that are being evaluated for economic viability and potential production in the future.

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