History
Silvercorp grew from a China-focused silver miner into a multi-country group through acquisitions in Ecuador and Kyrgyzstan, backed by new shares, convertible notes, cash and a bank loan.
2010-2022: Raising money for China and Canada
The record opens in December 2010, when Silvercorp closed a bought-deal share offering (shares sold through underwriters). It issued 9,200,000 shares at US$12.70, raising US$116.84 million, or about US$111.0 million after fees. The money was meant to complete the purchase of the BYP gold-lead-zinc mine in China, develop the GC mine in China, develop the Silvertip property in British Columbia, and cover general costs. The disclosures do not say how the BYP and Silvertip plans turned out.
The record is then quiet until 2023. The share count stood at 167,029,556 in 2018 and rose only gradually to 177,105,799 by 2022.
2023-2024: A run of acquisitions
In May 2023 Silvercorp signed a non-binding term sheet to buy Celsius Resources, owner of the MCB copper-gold project in the Philippines, for about AUD$56 million, mostly in Silvercorp shares. The disclosures give no update after that.
In August 2023 it signed a binding deal to buy OreCorp, which holds 84% of the Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania, by a court-approved scheme. OreCorp holders would have owned 17.8% of Silvercorp afterwards. Silvercorp also agreed to take about 15% of OreCorp in a placement. On December 26, 2023 it dropped the scheme and made an off-market takeover offer instead, at A$0.19 cash plus 0.0967 of a Silvercorp share per OreCorp share. The OreCorp board recommended the offer, and Silvercorp held 15.74% of OreCorp. The disclosures do not give the outcome.
In April 2024 Silvercorp agreed to buy Adventus Mining, owner of 75% of the El Domo copper-gold project in Ecuador, for 0.1015 of a Silvercorp share per Adventus share. In July it said a Material Adverse Effect had arisen, because of litigation seeking to void the project's environmental licence. The deal still completed on July 31, 2024. Under the April terms, Adventus holders were to receive about 18.4% of Silvercorp. Construction at El Domo began, aiming for production in 2026.
Meanwhile, an August 2024 technical report on the seven Ying mines in Henan showed 12.76 Mt of reserves containing 89 Moz of silver, and a 14-year mine life. A separate report put GC's reserves at 5.0 Mt, with mine life to FY2038. The Yuelianggou licence covering the SGX and HZG mines was renewed to 2035.
2024-2025: Convertible notes and Ecuador
In November 2024 Silvercorp sold US$150 million of 4.75% convertible notes due December 2029. The buyers took the full extra US$20 million on offer. The notes convert at about US$4.63 per share, so they could add shares later. The money was meant for copper-gold mines outside China, other projects and working capital.
In May 2025 Silvercorp published its first resource estimate for Condor, a gold project in Ecuador. In August 2025 Ecuador's Constitutional Court rejected the last legal challenge to the El Domo environmental licence, though anti-mining groups kept up disruptive activity. In December 2025 a preliminary economic assessment for Condor showed an after-tax value of US$522 million at US$2,600 an ounce gold, on US$292 million of initial capital. It was preliminary and included inferred resources, which are too speculative to count as reserves.
2026: Kyrgyzstan and a bank loan
In January 2026 Silvercorp agreed to buy 70% of the Tulkubash and Kyzyltash gold projects in Kyrgyzstan for US$162 million cash, to be paid from cash on hand. It completed the first step on January 27, paying Chaarat US$92 million. In April it signed a three-year RMB1.5 billion (about US$220 million) term loan led by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong).
On May 20, 2026 Kyrgyzstan issued a new mining licence running to June 25, 2062, and the project became a joint venture, with Silvercorp holding 70% and operating, and Kyrgyzaltyn holding 30% free-carried. Silvercorp paid US$60 million to the government, with a further US$10 million due after milestones. Phase 1 development of Tulkubash was approved for 2026-2027. In June 2026 a new technical report on the Ying district was filed, though the new reserve totals were not visible.
As of the latest beat in June 2026, Silvercorp held mines in China, was building El Domo, had the Kyrgyz projects under way, and had two debt facilities. The outcomes of the OreCorp offer and the Celsius proposal were not in the record.
Written from the 22 story beats below (2010 to 22 June 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.