VANCOUVER, April 16, 2014 /CNW/ – Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX:SMT)(BVL:SMT) (“Sierra Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that development is proceeding at the Monaco vein of its Santa Eduwiges mine in the Cusi district, Chihuahua, Mexico.  Levels 1, 3 and 4 and being prepared for stoping and a ramp is being driven to Level 5.

“The development of the Monaco shoot is only part of our plan to develop more production faces at the Santa Eduwiges mine”, stated Daniel Tellechea, President & CEO of Sierra Metals.  “The high silver and gold grades in this area will complement the higher silver grades being mined from other levels in the Santa Eduwiges and Promontorio mines.  As we develop our veins to the southwest of the San Nicolas fault we find that gold values increase markedly over those northeast of the fault.  Because we have thousands of meters of strike length of veins to the southwest to explore and develop, we expect to increase our gold resources significantly over time.”

Milagro Vein: The Monaco shoot of the Milagro vein (Figure 1) has been sampled on the surface, in an old drift (Milagro drift) and on four mine levels by geologists of the Company.  The results are shown in the table below:

Table 1: Grades of Gold and Silver from Various Levels of the Monaco Shoot

These results are from within the volume of the recently reported NI 43-101 resource for Cusi (see press release dated March 27, 2104) and do not significantly change the tonnage of the resource.  The denser spacing of samples from the mine levels will result in a higher amount of contained ounces but due to the limited volume of the area under development, the contained ounces are not materially increased.  These results, however, indicate that as development continues, more high-grade zones may be discovered.

Drifting continues on all four levels and the Monaco shoot is still open in both directions.  When the drifts reach the ends of the shoot, stoping will begin.  In addition, the miners have observed that the shoot becomes more coherent, wider and higher grade with depth.

A ramp is being driven from Level 4 to Level 5, and will be continued to greater depths to access the deeper portions of this shoot.

The Company has drifted only 250 meters along the Milagro vein to access the Monaco shoot and surface sampling demonstrates that another shoot occurs 180 meters to the southwest of Monaco.  Surface sampling of this shoot yielded the following results:

Table 2: Surface Sample Results from a Shoot on the Milagro Vein

The Milagro vein is a 1-kilometer-long vein that splays off the 3-kilometer-long La Gloria Vein (Figure 2), where surface sampling has also shown high grades of silver on the surface (see press release dated September 9, 2013). These veins extend from the San Nicolas structure in the northeast to a major bounding fault in the southwest.

There remains an additional 2,500 meters of strike length of the Milagro/La Gloria vein system to be explored by the Company.  More ore shoots are expected to be discovered as work progresses.  In addition, other veins such as the San Juan/Margaritas, San Ignacio, El Gallo and San Rafael veins are each exposed over several kilometers of strike length but have only been mapped and sampled on the surface.

The appearance of gold in veins southwest of the San Nicolas structure, such as Minerva and Milagro, indicates that mineralization in these veins is from higher levels in the epithermal precious metals zone.  The Company’s geologists infer that ore shoots with significant vertical extents will be discovered in these veins.

Santa Marina Vein: Development of the Santa Eduwiges mine has exposed over a 50 meter length the convergence of the Santa Marina vein and San Bartolo veins with Veins A, B & C (the alphabet veins of Santa Eduwiges).  Drifting continues along the 50-meter-long and 20-meter-wide zone of convergence to determine its complete length.  Figure 3 is a map of Level 10 that shows the current production areas.

The three alphabet veins are each 2 meters wide and separated by 2-meter-wide zones of country rock, yielding a 10-meter-wide mineralized zone that averages 250 g/t silver.  Mining of the 10-meter-wide zone will begin once the boundaries of the zone are determined.

Mexicana Vein: A ramp is being driven from Level 10 to Level 12 and is presently 20 meters under Level 10.  The ramp is now being driven through a zone that averages 90 g/t silver, 2% lead and 3% zinc.

Stoping from Level 10 will begin in June while mining from Level 11 will begin in December.  Level 12 is planned to be mined in 2015.

Method of Analysis

Samples were prepared at the Company’s lab facility at its Malpaso lab and analyzed by atomic absorption for Cu, Zn, Pb, Bi, Co, Mn, Sb, Cd and Fe.  Gold and silver are analyzed by fire assay method.  The Malpaso laboratory follows the quality control methodology recommended by CANMET of Canada, such as assaying of blanks, duplicate samples, and check assays by commercial laboratories such as Chemex.

Quality Assurance

The technical content of this news release has been approved by Thomas L. Robyn, Ph.D., CPG, RPG, and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals Inc. is a Canadian mining company focused on precious and base metals from its Yauricocha Mine in Peru, its Bolivar Mine and Cusi Mine in Mexico. In addition, Sierra Metals is exploring several precious and base metal targets in Peru and Mexico. Projects in Peru include Adrico (gold), Victoria (copper-silver) and Ipillo (polymetallic) at the Yauricocha Property in the province of Yauyos and the San Miguelito gold properties in Northern Peru. Projects in Mexico include Bacerac (silver) in the state of Sonora and La Verde (gold) at the Batopilas Property in the state of Chihuahua.

The Company’s shares trade on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “SMT”.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this press release may constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Other than statements of historical fact, all statements are “forward-looking statements”, which involve various known and unknown risk and uncertainties and other factors, including market conditions that may affect the Company’s ability to execute its current business plan.  Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the Company with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.