Exhibit 99.30

DATE AND SIGNATURE PAGE

This report entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report, Feasibility Study, Porco Mining Operations, Antonio Quijarro Province, Bolivia effective as of January 1, 2024 was prepared and signed by the following authors:

Original document signed and sealed by:

Original document signed and sealed by:

Original document signed and sealed by:

NOTICE

JDS Energy & Mining, Inc. prepared this National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report, in accordance with Form 43-101F1, for Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. The quality of information, conclusions and estimates contained herein is based on: (i) information available at the time of preparation; (ii) data supplied by outside sources, and (iii) the assumptions, conditions, and qualifications set forth in this report.

Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. filed this Technical Report with the Canadian Securities Regulatory Authorities pursuant to provincial securities legislation. Except for the purposes legislated under provincial securities law, any other use of this report by any third party is at that party’s sole risk.

Table of Contents

List of Tables

JDS Energy & Mining Inc. (JDS) was commissioned by Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (Santacruz) to prepare a Technical Report in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43-101 and Form 43-101F1, collectively referred to as National Instrument (NI) 43-101 for the Porco Project (Porco or the Project or the Mine) located in the Porco Municipality of the Antonio Quijarro Province, Bolivia.

The Porco Mine has been active for nearly 500 years and is currently producing Zinc/Silver and Lead/Silver concentrates. The complex consists of an underground mine, concentrator plant, maintenance workshop, tailing storage facility, water treatment plant, supplies warehouse, main office, two hospitals and Yancaviri Camp. Located 50 km southwest of Potosí City in Antonio Quijarro province, the mine is comprised of two underground mining sectors: Central and Hundimiento.

This report is the first declaration of resources and reserves, for the Porco base metals underground mining operation since its acquisition by Santacruz. The mine is fully operational at the time of this report’s preparation. The effective date of both the resource and the reserve is January 1, 2023, which is approximately 18 months before the report date. Production data for the calendar year 2023 has been included in Section 24 Other Relevant Data and information to show the depletion and typical replenishment of resources and reserves over a calendar year.

On October 11, 2021, Santacruz entered into the Definitive Agreement with Glencore whereby Santacruz agreed to acquire a portfolio of Bolivian silver assets from Glencore, including the following: (a) a 45% interest in the Bolivar Mine and the Porco Mine, held through an unincorporated joint venture between Glencore’s wholly-owned subsidiary Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. (Illapa) and COMIBOL, a Bolivian state-owned entity; (b) a 100% interest in the Sinchi Wayra S.A. (Sinchi Wayra) business, which includes the producing Caballo Blanco mining complex; (c) the Soracaya exploration project; and (d) the San Lucas ore sourcing and trading business.

On March 18, 2022, Santacruz completed this purchase, including Glencore’s interest in the Porco Mine.

Santacruz thus owns 100% of the two Bolivian operating companies Illapa and Sinchi Wayra, which in turn own 45% of the Bolivar Mine, 45% of the Porco Mine, and 100% of the Caballo Blanco mining complex.

Sinchi Wayra is the operating company for all three active mining operations, including the Porco mine.

This report is the first declaration of resources and reserves, for the Porco base metals underground (UG) mining operation since its acquisition by Santacruz.

Porco Mine is located in Bolivia, Potosi Department, Antonio Quijarro province, 50 km southwest of Potosí City. The mine is 150 km via paved National Highway 5 from a commercial airport at Uyuni and 581 km to the capital, La Paz. A 5 km gravel access road to the mine site goes through the communities of Agua de Castilla and Porco.

Evidence of silver mining at Porco goes back to pre-Columbian times. Porco was a silver source for the Inca, later the Spanish, and others through the late 19^th century. As the world silver market began to collapse in the 1880’s and early 1890’s, a major shift to tin mining began to meet the increased demand of the industrialized world. Wealthy tin barons in Bolivia held much influence in national politics until they were marginalized by the nationalization of the three largest tin mining companies following the 1952 revolution. Bolivian miners played a critical part in the country’s organized labor movement from the 1940s to the 1980s and continue to be an important stakeholder.

Porco became a resource of newly formed Bolivian Mining Corporation (COMIBOL), under whose management it operated until leased to private “Iris Mines” through subsidiary Compania Minera del Sur (COMSUR) in 1962. Emergency economic measures by the government in response to the international tin market crash in 1985 included massive layoffs of miners.

Porco Mine operates under the management of Sinchi Wayra S.A. (formerly COMSUR S.A.), under a joint venture agreement with the Bolivian government (COMIBOL) named Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. (Illapa) and (COMIBOL) entered this Joint Venture Agreement (the Illapa JV) on December 4, 2014, by virtue of Public Deed N° 1356/2014. The duration of the Illapa JV is 15 years, with the possibility of extending the term for the same duration. Under the Illapa JV, ownership is 55% COMIBOL and 45% Illapa. In the event of any disagreement, the Illapa JV has an arbitration clause with seat in La Paz, Bolivia, under UNCITRAL Rules.

On October 11, 2021, Santacruz entered into the Definitive Agreement with Glencore whereby Santacruz agreed to acquire a portfolio of Bolivian silver assets from Glencore. The Assets include: (a) Glencore’s 45% interest in the Bolivar Mine and the Porco Mine, held through an unincorporated joint venture between Glencore’s wholly-owned subsidiary Illapa and COMIBOL, a Bolivian state-owned entity; (b) a 100% interest in the Sinchi Wayra business, which includes the producing Caballo Blanco mining complex; (c) the Soracaya exploration project; and (d) the San Lucas ore sourcing and trading business.

On March 18, 2022, Santacruz completed this purchase, including Glencore’s interest in the Caballo Blanco mining complex. The Caballo Blanco mining complex has continued to operate since that date under the management of Santacruz.

Sale of concentrates are subject to an Off-Take Agreement with Glencore International AG as buyer, under Contract N°180-13-14212-P, and Contract N°062-13-14190-P, both entered into in 2013, with all their addendums and amendments. These agreements are “evergreen” meaning that they are in effect through the life of mine.

Figure 1-1: Project History

Source: Glencore (2021)

The Bolivar, Porco and Caballo Blanco deposits are located in the central part of the Eastern Cordillera, a thick sequence of Paleozoic marine siliciclastic and argillaceous sedimentary rocks deposited on the western margin of Gondwana and deformed in a fold-thrust belt. There were two major tectonic cycles in the Paleozoic: The Lower Paleozoic Famatinian cycle (the Tacsarian and Cordilleran cycles of Bolivia), and the Upper Paleozoic Gondwana cycle (Subandean cycle of Bolivia).

The Porco silver-zinc-tin deposit is located 35 km southwest of the Cerro Rico de Potosí deposit on the southeastern edge of the Los Frailes volcanic field. It was the first silver deposit discovered in Bolivia, with exploitation dating to pre-colonial times. The geology has been described by Sugaki et al. (1983), Cunningham et al. (1993, 1994a, b) and Jiménez et al. (1998).

The deposit is hosted by a north-south-elongated caldera that is 5.0 km x 3.0 km and formed at 12.0 ± 0.4 Ma with the eruption of the crystal-rich dacitic Porco Tuff. Well-defined topographic walls of the caldera cut Ordovician phyllites and Cretaceous sandstones. The 12.1 ± 0.4 Ma Apo Porco stock (4,886 masl) occurs on the southern margin of the caldera. Mineralization is associated with the younger 8.6 ± 0.3 Ma Huayna Porco stock (4,528 masl) in the center of the caldera. Radial dykes, alteration and metals are zoned around the stock. To the north, the Porco Tuff is overlain by the ignimbrites of the Los Frailes Formation dated at 6 to 9 Ma.

Mineralization occurs in NNE to NE-trending veins that cut the Porco Tuff about 1 km east of the Huayna Porco stock. The deposit is zoned around the stock with cassiterite proximal to the stock and base metals, mainly sphalerite and galena, further away. The upper parts of the veins are silver-rich with pyrargyrite, acanthite and stephanite. The main structure is the San Antonio vein which strikes N10º - 30ºE and dips between 70º and 85º to the east. It is 300 m in vertical extent and 1.2 m to 2.0 m in width. To the south, the vein branches into the Oriente, Misericordia, and Santos veins, whose lengths vary between 500 m to 1,500 m. The main ore minerals are pyrite, sphalerite, galena, argentiferous galena, native silver, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite in a gangue of quartz. Other important structures are the Muestra Grande vein on Huayna Porco Hill, where the grade reached 2,300 g/t Ag (Sugaki et al., 1983), and the Rajo Zúñiga vein, which strikes N30ºE and dips 75º-80ºE. The latter vein, with widths between 1.0 m and 1.5 m, was exploited in a 100 m x 20 m open pit. This altered dacite-hosted vein is accompanied by associated veinlets and disseminations in the wall rock and consists of cassiterite, wolframite, galena, silver sulphosalts, and pyrite.

The processing plant at the Porco Mine has been operating since 1992. The recoveries used in this report are derived from the results of the plant operation over the period of August 2020 to July 2021. Porco mill: a lead concentrate and a zinc concentrate. While both concentrates pay for the metal they are named for and for silver, a lead concentrate does not pay for zinc contained and the zinc concentrate does not pay for lead contained, so these recoveries are not included when summarizing the total recoveries.

The results from this analysis can be found in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1: Recovery and Concentrate Grade Estimates

The Porco Mine is an “advanced property” and is a well-established, active mining operation. Glencore and subsequently Santacruz Silver has performed exploration and resource expansion drilling of 203 surface and underground drillholes at the Porco project since 2000 totalling 55,804.3 m. The 205 drillholes and 30,348 underground channels in the database were supplied in electronic format by Santacruz. This included collars, downhole surveys, lithology data and assay data (i.e., Ag g/t, Pb%, Zn%, Fe%).

Verification of the Porco drillhole and underground sample assay databases are primarily focused on silver, lead and zinc in addition to iron, arsenic, sulphur and tin. Sample databases were supplied in Excel^TM format and in LeapFrog^TM. Checks against source data and assay certificates showed agreement. Statistical analyses used to investigate and identify errors were performed and resulted in minor issues. These have been corrected and it is recommended that a continued program of random “spot checking” the database against assay certificates be employed.

During the 2023 site visit, an extensive independent sampling verification plan was implemented with a total of 80 samples collected across from the Bolivar, Porco and Caballo Blanco operations. The Don Diego laboratory is an NB/ISO/IEC 17025:2018 accredited laboratory which performs all assay analyses for the mining and processing operations for Sinchi Wayra including Porco. The Don Diego laboratory in owned and operated by the Issuer, Santacruz.

Results of the verification samples indicates that the regression predictions perfectly fit the data meaning that the check sampling program successfully verified and validated the data and although, these results are not a complete audit of the laboratory, they do verify that the assay results are suitable for resource estimation purposes.

The geological and lithological solid domain models were supplied by Santacruz in both Datamine^TM and LeapFrog^TM which are both industry-leading software systems. The QP imported the multiple vein domains into a similar system called MineSight^TM to verify solids volumes and ensure matching of the solids domains against the drillhole and sample database. Results confirmed location and extent of volumes are appropriate to resource estimation purposes.

Resource block models were supplied in Datamine^TM format which is an industry recognized software system used for resource estimation. These models were then imported to MineSight^TM for verification of the resource estimation. In addition, independent estimations were run using the verified sample data and vein domains employing inverse distance estimations to ensure reasonableness and verify the resources independently. Results illustrated good agreement between the original and verification models. Verification of the SG regression analysis was also performed by comparing measured versus calculated density values.

The mineral resources were estimated in conformity with CIM’s “Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines” (December 2019) and are reported in accordance with NI 43-101 guidelines. The Qualified Person evaluated the resource in order to ensure that it meets the condition of “reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction” as suggested under NI 43-101. The criteria considered were confidence, continuity and economic cut-off. The resource listed below is considered to have “reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction”.

Table 1-2 shows the Mineral Resource Statement for the Porco deposit. This table illustrates the mineral resources defined within the Hundimiento and Central areas.

Table 1-2: Base-Case Total Mineral Resources at 11.2% ZnEq Cut-off

Notes:

The January 1, 2023 reserve estimate represents the validation of Santacruz’s internally- generated mineral reserve estimate by QP Goodwin. All work on the reserve by the Santacruz mine design team and the validation exercises were done in DeswikTM. The following process was used for this work:

The QP is satisfied that this exercise resulted in a valid reserve determination. The Mineral Reserve Estimate for Porco Mine is shown in Table 1-3.

Table 1-3: Mineral Reserve Estimate for Porco Mine (January 1, 2023)

The active production originates from two main areas; Hundimiento and Central zones. Each mineralized zone employs one of two mining methods based on vein and surrounding ground characteristics. The Porco deposit consists of multiple, relatively thin high-grade veins. The mining methods used vary according to the continuity, dip, and width of these veins. Current mining methods employed include sublevel longhole stoping with backfill, shrinkage stoping.

Currently each mining area provides roughly 50% of the total mine production.

Then Long hole method of stoping which is used in the Hundimiento zone uses mechanized and trackless equipment to prepare each stoping block (Figure 1-2). It begins with driving two main levels 45 m vertically apart with a section of 3.0 m x 3.5 m with their respective counter galleries and entrances every 40 m (section 3.0 m x 3.0 m).

Figure 1-2: Typical Sublevel Stoping Layout

Source: Sinchi Wayra (2022)

Shrinkage is stoping method used in the Central zone with smaller stope dimensions to allow rapid mining of smaller stopes and less mineral inventory stored in the stope (Figure 1-3). Dimensions of each panel are 15 m long and 20 m high.

Figure 1-3: Typical Long Section of Shrinkage Stope

Source: Sinchi Wayra (2022)

Shrinkage is used in veins with dips greater than 45° and with widths less than one meter and geomechanical characteristics of the rock mass of regular quality in relation to the hanging and footwalls of the vein.

The mine employs the following mining equipment:

Total Mine Production in 2022 is shown in Table 1-4.

Table 1-4: Total Mine Production in 2022

Source: Santacruz (2023)

Total Manpower at the mine site including Mine, Plant, Maintenance, Services, and General and administrative in 2022 totaled 618 people consisting of 358 direct employees and 260 contractors. In the breakout table below, the contractors fill mostly the services roles.

Table 1-5: List of Mine Personnel

Source: Santacruz (2023)

Mining in the upper areas, and adjacent to active mining operations, is carried out by “Cooperativas”. These groups are independent miners with which Illapa has informal agreements allowing them to mine certain areas of the deposit. Ore mined under this agreement is processed at the Porco plant on a toll basis. In 2013, it was agreed that Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. would exploit the levels lower than elevations 4,213 and 4,225, in the central zone. However, members of the Cooperatives regularly violate the agreement and access active mining areas below these agreed boundaries, which is both a safety and production issue. As well, environmental licenses and controls are not in place for Cooperatives and little or nothing is done to regulate the environment in their work areas.

The production from cooperative mined areas is separate from that planned and exploited by Illapa. The Cooperative system is one method to reduce illegal activity and have some positive influence on operating standards and control over areas being mined, however the impacts of blocked mine access, unauthorized entry, and activities in active mining areas remain significant.

The Porco Mill, which has two sources of feed (company feed and toll feed), has been in production since 1992. The mill processes the company and toll feeds separately.

The mill uses a crushing, grinding, and flotation flowsheet to recover a lead concentrate and a zinc concentrate. Both concentrates are sold to Glencore by overseas shipment through Antafagasta Chile. The zinc concentrate is shipped as a bulk product. The lead concentrate, due to local laws, is bagged prior to shipping.

The mill generally separates company and toll feed into different days, but there are a few days where the feed is processed on the same day, with a shutdown in between to separate them.

The feed grades for the company feed are measured as is typical for a processing plant, by taking samples from the process at the cyclone overflow and performing a reconciliation each month based on concentrate produced and tailings samples. The toll ore has extra sampling as part of the contract with the local minors. The ore is received by San Lucas, often in 1-2 t lots, where it is weighed and sampled. The ore is combined on a toll feed stockpile to be fed to the mill. The toll feed follows the same sampling and reconciliation procedure as the company ore.

The plant flowsheet for the Porco mill, which can be seen in Figure 1-4, is a typical differential flotation circuit to produce lead and zinc concentrates.

The ore is crushed in preparation for feed to the grinding circuit. The grinding circuit utilizes a SAG/Ball mill combination to grind the feed to a P80 of 100 µm.

The flotation circuit recovers both lead and zinc to a bulk concentrate. The bulk concentrate then undergoes cleaner flotation to remove a lead concentrate. The tailings from the lead cleaning circuit becomes the zinc concentrate. Both of the concentrates are filtered for shipping to the smelter. The lead concentrate is bagged for shipping, while the zinc concentrate is shipped bulk in trucks.

Figure 1-4: Porco Mill Flowsheet

Source: Glencore (2021)

The industrial complex for the Porco operation comprises both mine portals, the processing plant, and all services to support mining and processing, as detailed on Figure 1-5. This includes:

The industrial site is gated and has a security force.

Figure 1-5: Industrial Complex of the Porco Mining Operation

Source: Santacruz (2023)

The Yancaviri camp area is located approximately 5 km from the industrial area of the Porco Mine operation and approximately 2 km from the town of Agua de Castilla (Figure 1-6).

The camp provides housing for technical staff of the operation and visitors. It is equipped with a cookhouse and dining hall, gymnasium and basketball court (Figure 1-7).

The camp site also houses the concentrate storage facility and the railway loadout for concentrate shipment.

The Yancaviri is also gated with a security force.

Figure 1-6: Yancaviri Camp Site, Porco, and Agua de Castilla Townsites.

Source: Santacruz (2023)

Figure 1-7: Details of Yancaviri Camp Facilities

Source: Santacruz (2023)

Responsible environmental management is a critical part of Santacruz’s license to operate and our responsible, compliant operation of Bolivian assets has continued for the last 30 years. Environmental Compliance with national laws and regulations is the basis of Santacruz’s environmental management system and is governed by a framework of oversight by the relevant Environmental Authority. Its environmental commitments are reported to the authorities annually in an Environmental Monitoring Report, which summarizes environmental management of its operations under applicable laws and regulations.

Waste management is an important part of Santacruz’s Comprehensive Environmental Management, which includes a waste management plan to classify, handle, and store waste separately for proper disposal or treatment. Waste management complies with Environmental Law No. 1333, its Regulations on Solid Waste Management, and its supplementary regulations, focusing primarily on the sectoral requirements of the Environmental Regulation for Mining Activities for waste rock and tailings.

There are a total of 9 tailings dams at the Porco mine. Eight of the tailings dams have been decommissioned. All of the tailings facilities are inspected regularly and maintained to the standards set out by the Canadian Dam Association guidelines. Dams are under the supervision of engineers from AMEC (now Wood Engineering) and regular external audits are conducted by a third-party engineering firm.

The active Tailings Storage Facility (dam “D”) began operations on March 3, 1998. Initially designed by AGRA Earth & Environmental Ltda. For the first two phases., and AMEC for the current active expansion. The facility meets current international standards. The impoundment is of downstream construction and the dam lined with 60 mil HDPE. A system of well and piezometers are in place to monitor the facility’s performance. Construction of Phase VI begun in 2018 was completed in 2019 and included recommended work to reinforce areas of the foundation. Another expansion was completed in 2021, and construction of the next expansion is planned for Q3 2024.

Tailings are discharged along the inside face of the dam at 25-29% solids, forming a tailings beach for additional support, and keeping the water away from the dam. The water reclaim system consists of a barge mounted pump system to form a closed loop with the process plant. The site is zero discharge. There exists capacity to contain all tailings to be generated by processing the stated reserves.

Water management has been identified as the most critical environmental area. Water is a shared resource of high social, environmental, and economic value, which is also a critical component of Santacruz’s mining and metallurgical activities. Mining operations are located in the Bolivian Highlands, in areas with low precipitation, high evapotranspiration, and threats of drought.

Porco Mine is a zero-discharge operation. The mine produces about 35 liters/s excess water, which combined with that precipitation captured in the Tailings Storage Facility makes up 85% of the fresh water supply and is the major source for Industrial make-up water. Treated discharge is reused for drilling and dust suppression water underground and the process plant uses mine water combined with reclaim from the Tailings Storage Facility. Porco Mine has permits in place for maximum water needed, however limits the use of fresh makeup water from the Jalsuri spring to potable needs at campsite and offices, and to prepare certain reagents.

Figure 1-8: Porco Mine Water Balance

Source: Sustainability Report, Sinchi Wayra (2022)

Santacruz Silver operates the Porco mine as a joint venture with the Bolivian Government (COMIBOL) The structure of the contract with COMIBOL is a “Partnership Contract governing Bolivar and Porco Mines (CA-MBP), and its purpose is to develop and implement a mining operation for the treatment of the existing mineralogical reserves and resources in the Bolívar and Porco Mines, by the exploitation, preparation, beneficiation and sale of mineral concentrates. Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. is authorized as operator and responsible of executing on behalf of COMIBOL, all the operations and activities of the association contract. The shares of CA-MBP are 55% for COMIBOL and 45% for Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A.” This renewable agreement expires in 2028.

Mining Contracts that grant the right to the subsoil mining resource are granted by the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM) over the ATE mining areas, and a contract is granted for each area or contiguous group of areas. Recent changes to the laws and government personnel have pushed Santacruz contract updates into a transitionary period waiting for final signatures and approvals. Santacruz holds Special Transitory Authorizations for each contract area which are officially designated “Mining Administrative Contracts for Adaptation”. As of the effective date, approximately half of the applications have been transitioned, and the remainder fall under Article 187 of Law No. 535 on Mining and Metallurgy, which states:

ARTICLE 187. (CONTINUITY OF MINING ACTIVITIES). Holders of Special Transitory Authorizations to be adapted or in the process of adaptation will continue their mining activities, with all the effects of their acquired or pre- constituted rights until the conclusion of the adaptation procedure.

Santacruz has fully complied with this administrative procedure and is waiting for the Mining Administrative Authority to issue the relevant documents. It should be noted that this public entity has a considerable delay in the issuance of these documents.

Environmental Licenses have been formally granted to allow operation for all mining activity, by the Ministry of Environment and Water. The following table shows the licenses held by Santacruz:

Table 1-6: Environmental Licenses Held by Santacruz

Santacruz mining projects are mostly well-established operations with a long history and a developed infrastructure, which provide direct benefits to employees and supporting businesses. However, the mines are located in rural to semirural areas in which the surrounding mostly agricultural communities can benefit from each operation only indirectly or through company outreach. Santacruz supports these communities by addressing services that are lacking, and helping to create value with economic development programs, and other forms of support.

A key player connected with all Bolivian Mines and surrounding areas are the mining cooperatives which are organized independent mining entities, some quite capable and organized with their own equipment. Recognized by the government as a valid economic activity for local development, they conduct their activities in abandoned mines or expropriating active mines, which can pose risks to business. The relationship is not completely one-sided as the Cooperatives sell mineralized material to process their product, thus mechanisms are in place to face possible subjugations, protect mine employees and the communities.

The Porco operation has dealt and continues to deal with both mining cooperatives and illegal miners, particularly those working in and around the Santacruz operation. Some of these cooperatives are legitimate entities under agreement with Santacruz to exploit the near surface areas of the Porco deposit. Therefor cooperatives share mine access with Santacruz workers. From 2013, it was agreed that Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. would exploit the levels lower than levels 4,213 and 4,225, in the central area and Hundimiento zone, respectively. However, members of the cooperatives regularly violate the agreement and access active Santacruz areas, which at times can endanger the safety of Santacruz personnel and infrastructure.

Much effort has been spent to successfully control this risk, with agreements put in place with large cooperatives to purchase their mineral. However, the influx of illegal miners who are less likely to negotiate is a constant risk to safe and productive operations.

Porco is a completely self-contained industrial center which supports the two main processes of mineral exploitation and concentration. There also exist on site, management, maintenance, transportation and sales support. Porco has been a mining area since colonial times, and mining is its main source of income. It is inhabited by civilians with outside sources of income, cooperative miners, and Santacruz workers with their families. The company works closely with the local populations, the most important being Porco and Agua de Castilla, as well as other smaller, satellite communities. Two cooperatives also work at, and adjacent to, Santacruz operations.

Figure 1-9: Porco Surrounding Communities

Source: Sustainability Report, Sinchi Wayra (2022)

Figure 1-10: Porco Community Investment

Source: Sustainability Report, Sinchi Wayra (2022)

Closure Planning for Operations has social, economic, workforce, and environmental impacts, so conceptual closure plans are shared with communities. Santacruz’s goal is to recover areas by establishing a healthy ecosystem capable of sustaining productive land use, ensuring the best possible environmental conditions, including physical, chemical, biological, and ecosystem aspects, at closure. Environmental superintendents are responsible for monitoring the environmental closure planning, and periodic reviews of these plans are conducted, including surveys of areas and activities to adjust financial provisions for closure.

Land Use and Rehabilitation - environmental challenges related to biodiversity protection, soil restoration, and land use, are addressed through dialogue with stakeholders, including local communities and relevant authorities. Our comprehensive environmental management focuses on minimizing disturbed areas. In 2022, Santacruz managed a total of 6,600 hectares of land covered by Temporary Special Authorizations (ATEs) granted by the Mining Administrative Jurisdiction Authority (AJAM), under leasing contracts with the Government through COMIBOL. However, Santacruz’s processing activities, services, and related infrastructure (industrial area) currently occupy only 400.5 hectares of land, including areas of previous mining operations and other areas with environmental closure located within the properties Santacruz manage.

In 2022, Santacruz continued with the reforestation plan in the Queaqueani Dam area, in accordance with an agreement with the community of the same name, and significant progress was made in the progressive closure of the old tailings facilities at the Don Diego Concentrator Plant.

The Porco Mine has been in continuous operation for many years. There will be, as the reserve is expanded and developed, the need for step changes in mine access, production or haulage methods, that may require large capital outlays. These will be financially justified as needed. However, the capital needs for continued operation to exploit the remaining reserves is limited to Primary mine development, Capital equipment rebuilds and replacements, and Tailing Storage Facility expansions. Average annual capital has been and is projected to be in the 4 to 5 million USD range. The historic total capital requirement for all the Bolivian operations is shown in Table 1-7. Porco’s projected capital requirements for 2023 to 2027 is shown on Table 1-8.

Table 1-7: Actual Combined Capital Requirement for All Bolivian Operations, 2017 to 2022 ($M)

Table 1-8: Projected Capital Requirement for Porco Operations, 2023 to 2027 ($M)

Recurring exploration and primary development costs have been included in the COG calculations to better anticipate and account for total costs and make the COG more meaningful for reserve estimation and mine planning.

Costs used for Cut-off grade analysis were taken from actual costs for 2022. The actual cost of corporate G&A was allocated to each of the businesses.

Table 1-9: Unit Operating Costs ($/t)

Source: Santacruz (2023)

Mine operations include direct costs of mining, including labor, energy, materials, and services.

Mine Equipment Maintenance Costs includes maintenance to all equipment related to direct development, exploitation and haulage, as well as service equipment such as pumping, ventilation, winches, etc.

Indirect costs would include Site Management, Technical services, Site Administration, Environmental and Social, Safety and Security.

Plant costs include direct Beneficiation costs as well as plant maintenance, and indirect costs. Warehouse costs refer to Concentrate handling and storage.

General and Administration includes allocated Bolivian corporate costs.

The Reserve Estimate was generated using actual costs experienced during a stable production period following the change in management after the purchase of the mine by Santacruz Silver (2022 and beginning of 2023). Actual costs were used for mine operating, concentrate overland transport, port costs, and shipping as well as smelting fees, payment terms, and penalty charges. A simplified Cash flow model was built to model the costs and conditions used to generate the Reserve estimates stated in this report.

The Porco Mine is part of a multi-operation business. However, the Economic model treats it as a separate financial entity with Bolivian corporate costs allocated for the analysis. As well, the operation is subject to a partnership with the Bolivian Government (COMIBOL), but the financial modelling examines the value of the operation on a 100% basis to support the Reserve statement.

The Porco Mine has been in continuous operation for over 500 years and the deposit is a network of relatively narrow veins. These two aspects drive the normal exploitation process of the mine, where inferred resources are converted and exploited in the same budget year. Resources are generally proven-up by drifting and sampling instead of drilling. Therefor normal budgeting and mine planning includes resources outside of the Reserve estimate.

For the current exercise in this report, only Proven and Probable reserves are included in financial evaluation, so the production schedule represents the depletion of these reserves at average grade and current production rates. The context of the production schedule exploits the Proven and Probable reserves as part of a continuous operation and as such does not include the closure activities.

Table 1-10: Production Forecast – Mining and Processing

Metallurgical recoveries and concentrate qualities are actual for the times and head grades that were actually mined. These parameters will necessarily be conservative considering the higher grades in the production schedule.

Table 1-11: Production Forecast - Concentrate

Notes:

FMT = Fine Metric Tonnes; DMT = Dry Metric Tonnes; FOT = Fine Ounces Troy

That same logic follows to the net revenue generation (Table 1-12) which includes smelter charges and penalty fees.

Table 1-12: Revenue and Cost Projection ($M)

Depreciation is a product of previous operation and annual capital expenditure incurred for the exploitation of the reserve tonnage. Capital is limited to that required to support mining, processing, and tailing storage for the reserve. Corporate G&A is that part of the in-country costs allocated to the Porco mine.

Table 1-13: Cashflow Projection ($M)

Income Tax is 37.5% of the EBIT. As seen, the operations generate a positive cash flow after tax upon exploitation of the stated reserve at the metal prices used to generate the reserve.

A univariate sensitivity analysis was performed to examine which factors most affect the Project economics when acting independently of all other cost and revenue factors. Each variable evaluated was tested using the same percentage range of variation, from -20% to +20%, although some variables may experience significantly larger or smaller percentage fluctuations over the LOM. For instance, the metal prices were evaluated at a ±20% range to the base case, while the capex and all other variables remained constant. This may not be truly representative of market scenarios, as metal prices may not fluctuate in a similar trend. The variables examined in this analysis are those commonly considered in similar studies – their selection for examination does not reflect any particular uncertainty.

Notwithstanding the above noted limitations to the sensitivity analysis, which are common to studies of this sort, the analysis revealed that the Project is most sensitive to metal pricing. The Project showed the least sensitivity to capital costs. Figure 1-11 shows the results of the sensitivity analysis.

Figure 1-11: Univariate Sensitivities

The Porco Mine Project consists of two separate mining zones that essentially function as separate mines, the Hundimiento and Central, that feed ore to a single processing plant on site to produce zinc and lead concentrates. Sinchi Wayra S.A. owns and operates all facets of the Porco business, which is in turn owned by Santacruz.

The QPs found that Porco is a well-managed operation that should be capable of sustaining profitable operations for many years to come in the same fashion as it has operated for the past several years.

The reserves were found to be estimated correctly using industry-standard techniques and procedures and industry-standard software by diligent and competent professionals.

The mine has an ample provision of skilled workers. Typical and reasonable ore control systems were in place, but it is possible that the results could be improved with a closer attention to appropriate mining widths, minimizing them wherever possible to minimize dilution.

The single greatest challenge to the operation is the incessant trespassing of illegal miners into the active mining operations. This results in damage of mine equipment (often disrupting the ventilation system), disruption to scheduling, loss of revenue, and poses a real threat to the safety of the workers. How this situation can be ameliorated or prevented is beyond the scope of this document and the cultural awareness of the authors. However, it should be noted that this situation is ongoing and, as such, all production and economic results contained in this report are inclusive of this threat and impediment.

This threat also forces the mine to minimize its resources and reserves. Both require development for expansion, and while a typical mine provides adequate development ahead of production. A typical mine provides adequate development ahead of production for ore definition and proper scheduling. However, the Porco Mine minimizes open development to provide less opportunity for the illegal miners to access and illegally extract its ore. As a result, the operation runs very “hand to mouth” with respect to both access development and resources / reserves. This is demonstrated by the forward planning; 37% of the 2023 schedule was based on inferred resources.

It is difficult to estimate the ability of the mining fleet to execute the mine plan, as industry- standard availability and utilization factors are not tracked by unit or even unit type.

The processing facility at the Porco Mine appears to be well run and in good condition.

The following Risks were identified for the Project:

As the mines continues to expand to depth, the following aspects of mine operations will be challenged:

As the ore is conveyed by shaft for both mines, and most of the remaining reserve at depth, this could be very impactful on future operations. The shaft will ultimately require extension to depth or trackless equipment will be required to haul the ore to the shaft bottom.

Project opportunities include:

The primary opportunity to the mine is to somehow contain or eliminate the illegal miner situation. This would allow for more predictable scheduling and operations, the ability to expand the resources and reserves, reduce operating costs, and improve the safety of all personnel.

The grade to the mill could be improved the grade to the mill by incorporating a mine dilution control program. As is typical with all narrow width mining, dilution is very sensitive to the mined widths of veins, which must be kept at minimum to accommodate equipment widths. Often, however, veins are over-mined to ensure complete recovery of the ore. This practice significantly increases dilution due to overbreak of the hangingwall and footwall.

To advance the Porco Mine and further evaluate the potential additional veins and increase resources thereby displacing depletion due to ongoing mining activities, the following is recommended:

Some surface or near surface targets along with underground drilling for resource delineation and extension. As is typical with all narrow width mining, dilution is very sensitive to the mined widths of veins. Often veins are over-mined to ensure complete recovery, but this practice comes with significantly increased dilution due to overbreak of the hangingwall and footwall. The operation should conduct a thorough test stoping experiment to ensure the most economic balance between incomplete recovery and excessive dilution.

Availability and utilization factors should be tracked, calculated, and reported for all mining equipment. This information should be used as a management tool to determine which units should be rebuilt or replaced and to avoid or minimize usage of the units with the highest operating costs.

The activities of both Cooperativas and illegal miners must continue to be monitored and action taken to understand and, to whatever extent is possible, control their activities to mitigate safety concerns for the workers reduction to the resources and/or reserves, to avoid disruption of the mine plan.

These recommendations have not been costed, as they represent changes to current practices that can be funded by existing operating budgets.

JDS Energy & Mining Inc. (JDS) was commissioned by Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (Santacruz) to prepare a Technical Report in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43-101 and Form 43-101F1, collectively referred to as National Instrument (NI) 43-101 for the Porco Project (Porco or the Project) located is located in the Porco Municipality of the Antonio Quijarro Province, Bolivia.

Santacruz is based in Vancouver, British Columbia and is engaged in the operation, acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Latin America, with a primary focus on silver and zinc. Santacruz was incorporated on January 24, 2011 under the laws of British Columbia and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol “SCZ”.

On October 11, 2021, Santacruz entered into the Definitive Agreement with Glencore whereby Santacruz agreed to acquire a portfolio of Bolivian silver assets from Glencore, including the following: (a) a 45% interest in the Bolivar Mine and the Porco Mine, held through an unincorporated joint venture between Glencore’s wholly-owned subsidiary Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. (Illapa) and COMIBOL, a Bolivian state-owned entity; (b) a 100% interest in the Sinchi Wayra S.A. (Sinchi Wayra) business, which includes the producing Caballo Blanco mining complex; (c) the Soracaya exploration project; and (d) the San Lucas ore sourcing and trading business.

On March 18, 2022, Santacruz completed this purchase, including Glencore’s interest in the Porco Mine.

Santacruz thus owns 100% of the two Bolivian operating companies Illapa and Sinchi Wayra, which in turn own 45% of the Bolivar Mine, 45% of the Proco Mine, and 100% of the Caballo Blanco mining complex.

Sinchi Wayra is the operating company for all three active mining operations, including the Porco mine.

This report is the first declaration of resources and reserves, for the Porco base metals underground mining operation since its acquisition by Santacruz. The mine is fully operational at the time of this report’s preparation. The effective date of both the resource and the reserve is January 1, 2023, which is approximately 18 months before the report date. Production data for the calendar year 2023 has been included in Section 24 Other Relevant Data and information to show the depletion and typical replenishment of resources and reserves over a calendar year.

The Qualified Persons (QPs) preparing this report are specialists in the fields of geology, exploration, mineral resource estimation, metallurgy and mining.

None of the QPs or any associates employed in the preparation of this report has any beneficial interest in Santacruz and neither are any insiders, associates, or affiliates. The results of this report are not dependent upon any prior agreements concerning the conclusions to be reached, nor are there any undisclosed understandings concerning any future business dealings between Santacruz and the QPs. The QPs are being paid a fee for their work in accordance with normal professional consulting practice.

The following individuals, by virtue of their education, experience and professional association, are considered QPs as defined in the NI 43-101, and are members in good standing of appropriate professional institutions / associations. The QPs are responsible for the specific report sections as listed in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1: QP Responsibilities

In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 guidelines, site visits are summarized in Table 2-2. Sinchi Wayra staff and management were cooperative and helpful during the course of each visit. Access to all requested information and physical sites was provided voluntarily.

Table 2-2: QP Site Visits

There has been one technical report published which was the subject of the Porco Project entitled “NI43-101 Technical Report, Porco Project, Potosi, Bolivia” dated December 21, 2021. This report was produced by JDS on behalf of Santacruz and authored by Kirkham and Crowie who are also QP’s for this Technical Report.

The units of measure used in this report are as per the International System of Units (SI) or metric, except for Imperial units that are commonly used in industry (e.g., ounces (oz.) and pounds (lb.) for the mass of precious and base metals).

All dollar figures quoted in this report refer to United States dollars (US$ or $) unless otherwise noted.

Frequently used abbreviations and acronyms can be found in Section 28. This report includes technical information that required subsequent calculations to derive subtotals, totals and weighted averages. Such calculations inherently involve a degree of rounding and consequently introduce a margin of error. Where these occur, the QPs do not consider them to be material.

This report may include technical information that requires subsequent calculations to derive sub- totals, totals and weighted averages. Such calculations inherently involve a degree of rounding and consequently introduce a margin of error. Where these occur, JDS does not consider them to be material.

The QP’s have relied on information provided by the Issuer on claims, ownership, property agreements, royalties, environmental liabilities, and permits as described in Section 4. The information appears reasonable but has not independently verified beyond the information that is publicly available.

The QPs have relied upon a legal opinion provided by Enrique Barrios of the firm Dentons Guevara & Gutierrez S.C., located in La Paz, Bolivia, in the documents “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on the Porco Mine”, “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on the Caballo Blanco Project”, “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on Empresa Minera San Lucas S.A.”, “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on Sociedad Minero Metalúrgica Reserva Ltda.”, “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A.”, “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on Sinchi Wayra S.A.”, and “Local Counsel Legal Opinion on the Illapa Joint Venture”, all dated March 18, 2022 with regards to the Property’s location, title, and environmental licenses described in Section 4 of this report.

The QPs have relied on information provided by Arturo Prestamo of Santacruz for the information contained in Section 20 and for the smelter agreements used for the determination of the resources, reserves, and economic model.

The Porco Mine and Plant is located in the Porco Municipality of the Antonio Quijarro Province, in the Potosí Department, Bolivia. UTM W-84 Coordinates: 7806780E; 188096N at an elevation of 4,174 masl. Figure 4-1).

Figure 4-1: Project Location Map 

The Porco Mine is owned by the Bolivian Government (COMIBOL) with exclusive mining rights held pursuant to an unincorporated joint venture (the “Illapa JV”) between private owner operator Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. (Illapa). Pursuant to the Illapa JV, Illapa holds a 45% interest in the Porco Project, and the Bolivian Government (COMIBOL) which holds a 55% interest in the Porco Project.

Illapa itself owns no mineral tenements in this district (Table 4-1 and Figure 4-2).

The Porco Mine produces Zinc/Silver and Lead/Silver concentrates. The complex consists of an underground mine, concentrator plant, maintenance workshop, tailing storage facility, water treatment plant, supplies warehouse, main office, two hospitals and Yancaviri Camp as shown in Figure 4-3.

Off-take Agreements with Glencore International are in place for the Porco Mine production: Contract No. 180-03-10309-P and Contract No. 062-03-10276-P, including all its addendums and amendments. These Off-Take Agreements are in effect through the life of the mine.

On March 18, 2022 Santacruz acquired 100% of the shares of Illapa, as more particularly described in Section 2. There was a 1.5% NSR royalty to Glencore, provided as part of the purchase price that Santacruz paid pursuant to the Definitive Agreement, however on March 28, 2024, Santacruz and Glencore entered into a binding term sheet (the Term Sheet) which, among other terms, extinguished the 1.5% NSR royalty to Glencore. The only known existing agreements that will bind Santacruz is that of the Illapa JV. Environmental liabilities observed consist mostly of historic tailing storage facilities and mine workings. Recent audits verify environmental legal compliance and associated closure plan costing.

Table 4-1: Mineral Tenements (Sinchi Wayra contribution)

Source: Glencore (2021)

Figure 4-2: Mineral Tenement Locations 

Figure 4-3: Porco Mine Site 

Santacruz Silver continues to manage its operations using a sophisticated management approach to sustainability consistent international standards. From the 2022 Sustainability Report:

We are: “A leading Business Group in the mining industry in Bolivia, sustainable, committed to the safety, health, and well-being of our Human Capital, and the preservation of the environment, with an entrepreneurial spirit, openness to change and innovation, and we strive to generate value and positive impact for society as a whole.”

This integrative approach is evident in the Porco operation. Areas addressed and monitored include:

Bolivia’s central statute governing environment protection is Law 1333, of 27 April 1992; specific regulations for which are set out in Regulation of Environmental Prevention and Control, December 8, 1995. Special Decree No. 24782 of 31 July 1997 sets out specific environmental requirements related to mining. Breaching environmental obligations can result in criminal liability under the Bolivian Constitution, in addition to other administrative penalties (such as a loss of mining rights).

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would be required for a project the scale of a mining and processing operation. As well, public consultation with any potentially affected indigenous communities and local populations may also be necessary. Granting of the operating permit allows the proponent to obtain the appropriate operating licenses, which must be updated with any relevant changes during the life of the operation.

Specialized environmental authorities control compliance. As required under the license, any impact on the environment must be reported to these authorities. Remediation measures and rehabilitation projects are compulsory, and financial reserve funds are maintained annually to cover closure costs. A final closing study on the effect on the environment will also be required, and restitution met.

On February 25, 2014, a Declaration of Environmental Adequacy Certificate was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water addressing the proper license updating procedure carried out by Sinchi Wayra S.A. during the transfer of the Porco Mine to Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa S.A. In the same manner, the updating of the Porco Mine License, was addressed and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Water, on February 21, 2014, in the transfer procedure from Sinchi Wayra to Illapa.

Illapa was granted the Mining Identification Number 02-0697-04, by the SENARECOM (National Service of Control and Registration of Minerals and Metals Commercialization, for its acronym in Spanish), which expires on September 25, 2022:

Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa SA, in compliance with the internal policy of caring for the health and wellbeing of its employees and mine resources, is implementing an Integrated Management System based on the ISO 14001 standard and the ISO 45001 Risk Prevention standard with the precepts of mitigating risks and improving business performance through a safer work environment and a healthier workforce.

In compliance with D.L. 16998 of Hygiene, Occupational Safety and Well-being, directives of the Industrial Safety and Occupational Health regulations are met with programs such as: unplanned and planned workplace Inspections, keeping company standards current, Occupational Health Monitoring (dust, noise, gases, heat stress, vibrations), meetings of the Joint Safety Committee, five-minute talks before the start of daily work, personal protective equipment, breathalyzer control, induction and training of personnel with safety issues, and Investigation of accidents.

New employees are trained on topics including workplace safety procedures, safe work environment, relations with communities, safety standards, and the use of the integrated management system for Occupational Health and Safety of Contrato de Asociación Sociedad Minera Illapa SA.

As per the Santacruz Sustainability program: