Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 25, 2026) - Silverco Mining Ltd. (TSXV: SICO) ("Silverco" or the "Company") is pleased to report that underground contractors have begun mobilization at its 100% owned Cusi Property ("Cusi") in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Silverco has engaged Mafrissa Transportes y Maquinaria S.A. de C.V ("Mafrissa") and Rencer Servicio a la Mineria, S.A. de C.V. ("Rencer") to provide development and production mining activities.
Mark Ayranto, CEO of Silverco, commented:
"Mobilization of contractors is an important milestone in our Cusi restart plan. The two contractors now active at Cusi are well-established and experienced local firms with extensive underground mining experience. With this work and the mill rehabilitation work underway, we remain on schedule to produce first concentrate in Q4 2026 and exit 2026 with two producing silver mines in Mexico. We look forward to providing additional updates from both Cusi and La Negra over the coming weeks with significant catalysts expected through H2 2026 relating to restart and productivity improvement activities at Cusi and La Negra respectively, and sizable exploration programs at both projects."
Underground development will begin at Cusi's two primary mining zones, managed separately by each contractor, Promontorio and San Miguel, with first ore from Promontorio expected in late Q3 2026. Promontorio was mined as recently as 2023 and has been completely dewatered and rehabilitated by Silverco with underground drilling now active and having recently intersected new mineralization within the footprint of planned mine development. San Miguel is one of the most prospective zones at Cusi, but has not seen modern mining, and as such a new portal and ramp will be developed, with first ore from this zone expected to ramp up over H1 2027.
Mafrissa is a Chihuahua based mining contractor that focuses on underground development, mining support services, heavy equipment rental, and material haulage, and has been contracted by numerous large-scale mining operations in Mexico. Mafrissa is headquartered in Cuauhtémoc, less than 20 kilometres from the Cusi Property.
Rencer is a local mining contractor based in Cuauhtémoc who was previously contracted at Cusi, allowing for a strong understanding of the mine.
Planned Cusi Restart
As outlined in an April 13, 2026 news release, the Cusi project offers compelling economics based on the results from the 2026 PEA1 which outlined a project with average annual silver equivalent production of approximately 2.5 Moz at site all-in-sustaining costs of US$26.75/oz payable AgEq from 2028 to 2032, once fully ramped up. At an average base case silver price of US$44.58/oz, the after-tax NPV of Cusi is US$104.1 M with an IRR of 94.8% and a payback period of 0.9 years, and at US$75.00/oz, the after-tax NPV is US$312.2 M with an IRR of 186.9% and a payback period of 0.5 years. With 90% of the revenue generated from silver and low upfront capital of US$19.2 million, Cusi represents a unique opportunity in the silver industry and for Silverco to advance its vision of becoming a 10 million ounce per year silver equivalent producer within three years.