Avino Silver produces 770,004 oz AgEq in Q3
2015-10-13 08:27 ET - News Release
Mr. David Wolfin reports
AVINO THIRD QUARTER 2015 PRODUCTION UP 148 % COMPARED TO THE THIRD QUARTER 2014
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. has released its third quarter 2015 production results from its Avino property near Durango, Mexico.
Consolidated production highlights for third quarter 2015 (compared with third quarter 2014)
Silver equivalent production increased by 148 per cent to 770,004 ounces.
Silver production increased by 84 per cent to 399,836 ounces.
Gold production increased by 49 per cent to 1,644 ounces.
Copper production continued and 1,344,174 pounds were produced.
"Avino's excellent third quarter results underscore the growing strength and quality of our mining operation. We delivered strong operating results and are well positioned to meet management's production expectations going forward. Refinements in the mill are under way to reduce deleterious minerals and improve payables, exploration drilling has commenced at the San Gonzalo mine and deliveries to Samsung are under way. We have positioned the company for great success for the remainder of the year and years to come," said David Wolfin, president, chief executive officer and director, Avino Silver & Gold Mines.
CONSOLIDATED THIRD QUARTER 2015 PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS
Q3 2015 Q3 2014
Total silver produced (oz) calculated 399,836 217,024
Total gold produced (oz) calculated 1,644 1,105
Total copper produced (lb) calculated 1,344,174 76,983
Total AgEq produced (oz) calculated 770,004 310,880
"Although Avino is relatively small, it is quickly becoming recognized as one of the best-performing mining operations in Mexico. Our success has come as a result of teamwork; I would like to thank our fieldworkers, miners, office staff and contractors for their dedication and our families for their support. We are also very thankful for the vision and passion of our leadership in Vancouver whose enthusiasm inspires our entire organization," said Carlos Rodriguez, chief operating officer, Avino Silver & Gold Mines.
Avino mine third quarter 2015 production highlights
On Jan. 1, 2015, Avino began processing new material from the Avino mine using primarily mill circuit 3. The comparison below is for all production from the Avino mine between the third quarter 2015 and the second quarter 2015 since no comparative data exists from the third quarter of 2014 when circuit 3 was not yet operational
AVINO MINE THIRD QUARTER 2015 PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS
Q3 2015 Q2 2015 2015 YTD
Tonnes mined 105,674 94,323 269,796
Underground advancement (m) 1,477 1,161 3,617
Mill availability (%) 97 97 97
Total mill feed (dry tonnes) 106,589 95,494 278,989
Feed-grade silver (g/t) 65 61 63
Feed-grade gold (g/t) 0.23 0.27 0.28
Feed-grade copper (%) 0.65 0.67 0.64
Recovery silver (%) 88% 87% 88%
Recovery gold (%) 81% 76% 80%
Recovery copper (%) 87% 88% 88%
Copper concentrate (dry tonnes) 2,408 2,219 6,402
Copper concentrate-grade silver (kg/t) 2.53 2.27 2.42
Copper concentrate-grade gold (g/t) 8.19 8.74 9.61
Copper concentrate-grade copper (%) 25.3 25 24.5
Total silver produced (kg) 6,092 5,044 15,506
Total gold produced (g) 19,718 19,388 61,495
Total copper produced (kg) 609,708 560,923 1,566,564
Total silver produced (oz) calculated 195,862 162,159 498,538
Total gold produced (oz) calculated 634 623 1,977
Total copper produced (lb) calculated 1,344,174 1,236,62 3,453,678
Total silver equivalent produced
(oz) calculated 493,455 438,823 1,288,203
Third quarter 2015 highlights
There was a 12-per-cent increase in tonnes mined during the quarter, as well as a 27-per-cent increase in underground development metres. The improvements can be attributed to additional mining equipment acquired during 2015, including three new jumbos and 12 new 20-tonne capacity haulage trucks. Tonnage processed during the quarter increased by 12 per cent. The increase resulted from the use of circuit 2 to process Avino material in addition to circuit 3 during July and August. The increased throughput resulted in 9-per-cent-more concentrate produced, and accounted for an additional 21 per cent silver, 9 per cent copper and 2 per cent gold being produced. Silver feed grade increased by 6 per cent whereas the copper and gold grades decreased by 2 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, as a result of variability in the deposit. Copper and silver recoveries were stable with little or no change, whereas there was a 6-per-cent improvement in the gold recovery due to variability in the feed material. Silver grade in the concentrate increased by 11 per cent due to the higher silver feed grade, while gold in the concentrate decreased by 6 per cent on account of the lower feed grade. Copper in the concentrate was consistent with the previous quarter.
San Gonzalo mine third quarter 2015 production highlights
Comparative figures for the third quarter 2015 and the third quarter 2014 for the San Gonzalo mine are shown in the associated table.
SAN GONZALO MINE THIRD QUARTER 2015 PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS
Q2 2015 Q2 2014 2015 YTD
Tonnes mined 23,882 19,841 75,019
Underground advancement (m) 1,164 1,146 3,450
Mill availability (%) 84 97 92%
Total mill feed (dry tonnes) 23,901 19,726 95,157
Feed-grade silver (g/t) 323 330 278
Feed-grade gold (g/t) 1.81 1.78 1.42
Recovery silver (%) 82% 84% 83%
Recovery gold (%) 73% 79% 74%
Bulk concentrate (dry tonnes) 899 685 3,494
Bulk concentrate-grade silver (kg/t) 7.06 7.96 6.26
Bulk concentrate-grade gold (g/t) 34.95 40.54 28.59
Total silver produced (kg) 6,344 5,450 21,878
Total gold produced (g) 31,407 27,768 99,889
Total silver produced (oz) calculated 203,974 175,211 703,392
Total gold produced (oz) calculated 1,010 893 3,212
Total silver equivalent produced (oz)
calculated 276,549 239,395 934,219
Second quarter 2015 highlights
Tonnes mined increased by 20 per cent due to the availability of more open faces for mining. The additional faces are the current working faces of levels 4, 5 and 6 to the east and 5 and 6 to the west. Tonnage processed increased by 21 per cent, due to circuit 2 to process San Gonzalo material in addition to circuit 1 during September. The higher tonnage throughput resulted in 31-per-cent-more concentrate produced. However, the grade of the concentrate in silver and gold decreased by 11 and 14 per cent, respectively. The lower-grade concentrate was due to circuit 2 having one fewer cleaning stages and was used to process advancement material. The higher tonnage throughput also resulted in 16-per-cent-more silver and 13-per-cent-more gold produced during the quarter. Silver and gold feed grades were consistent with management expectations. Gold recovery decreased from 79 per cent to 73 per cent. The lower recovery can be attributed to the composition of the material from the new blocks to the east where more lead and zinc have been encountered; testing is now under way to improve the gold recovery. Plant availability for circuit 1 was down 13 per cent during the quarter as there were issues with the cone crusher in July; this problem has now been resolved.
Mill circuit 2
Based on improved mining production results from Avino and San Gonzalo, and the consideration of feed grades, recovery rates and smelter returns of the historic surface stockpile materials, during the three months ended Sept. 30, 2015, mill circuit 2 was used to process mill feed from both the Avino and San Gonzalo mines. The material from Avino was processed during July and August, and material from San Gonzalo was processed in September with the corresponding production reflected in the tables for each mine.
Quality assurance/quality control
Mill assays are performed at the Avino property's on-site lab. Check samples are sent to Inspectorate Labs in Reno, Nev., for verification. All concentrate shipments are assayed by one of the following independent third party labs: AHK, LSI, Alex Stewart and SGS.
Qualified person(s)
Avino's Mexican projects are under the supervision of Chris Sampson, PEng, Avino consultant and Jasman Yee, PEng, Avino director, who are both qualified persons within the context of National Instrument 43-101. Both have reviewed and approved the technical data in this news release.
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