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Enter Symbol
or Name
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Great Panther Silver Ltd
Symbol GPR
Shares Issued 139,562,040
Close 2015-01-15 C$ 0.80
Market Cap C$ 111,649,632
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Great Panther produces 3.18 Moz AgEq in 2014

2015-01-15 08:36 ET - News Release

Mr. Robert Archer reports

GREAT PANTHER SILVER REPORTS A 12% INCREASE IN METAL PRODUCTION IN 2014

Great Panther Silver Ltd. has provided its fourth-quarter and annual 2014 production results at its two wholly owned Mexican silver mining operations -- the Guanajuato mine complex, which includes the new San Ignacio satellite mine, and the Topia mine.

2014 operations highlights (compared with 2013):

  • The company achieved record metal production of 3,187,832 silver equivalent ounces, a 12-per-cent increase.
  • Silver production increased 11 per cent to a record 1,906,645 silver ounces.
  • Gold production rose 5 per cent to an annual record of 16,461 gold ounces.
  • Ore processed increased 18 per cent to a record 335,199 tonnes.

Fourth-quarter 2014 operations highlights (compared with fourth-quarter 2013):

  • Metal production increased 19 per cent to a record 911,048 silver equivalent ounces.
  • Silver production was up 13 per cent to 550,010 silver ounces.
  • Gold production rose 24 per cent to a record 4,822 gold ounces.
  • Ore processed increased 33 per cent to a quarterly record of 92,574 tonnes.

"After a difficult start to the year, our team did an outstanding job of recovering and delivering record silver and gold production in 2014," stated Robert Archer, president and chief executive officer. "We successfully brought the San Ignacio mine into production this past year and discovered further high-grade silver-gold mineralization there in the fourth quarter. We will be focusing on this area in 2015 and expect San Ignacio to play an increasingly important role in our overall growth. Topia also delivered strong and consistent operating results throughout 2014. Going forward, we will continue to focus on operational efficiencies and grade control with the objective of further optimizing our mining operations and reducing production costs."


          CONSOLIDATED Q4 AND FISCAL 2014 OPERATIONS SUMMARY
                                                              
                           Q4 2014     Q4 2013     FY 2014     FY 2013
Ore processed
(tonnes milled)             92,574      69,601     335,199     283,608
Silver equivalent
ounce production (1)       911,048     763,881   3,187,832   2,840,845
Silver ounce
production                 550,010     484,936   1,906,645   1,711,215
Gold ounce
production                   4,822       3,880      16,461      15,714
Lead production
(tonnes)                       285         286       1,154       1,116
Zinc production
(tonnes)                       406         402       1,675       1,673

(1) Silver equivalent ounces for 2014 were maintained at consistent 
prices of $18.50 (U.S.) per ounce, $1,110 (U.S.) per ounce (60:1
ratio), 90 U.S. cents per pound, and 85 U.S. cents per pound
for silver, gold, lead and zinc, respectively, and applied to the      
recovered metal content of the concentrates produced.                       

Guanajuato mine complex

In the fourth quarter of 2014, ore processed at the GMC increased 38 per cent to 76,839 tonnes compared with the same period in 2013. Metal production for the quarter was a record 677,316 silver equivalent ounces and represented an increase of 22 per cent compared with the same period in the prior year. This growth was primarily due to the ramp-up in production from the San Ignacio mine.


          GMC Q4 AND FISCAL 2014 OPERATIONS SUMMARY
                                                             
                    Q4 2014  Q4 2013      FY 2014    FY 2013
Ore processed
(tonnes milled)      76,839   55,547      267,812    221,545
Silver equivalent
ounce
production (1)      677,316  555,933    2,193,403  1,983,820
Silver ounce
production          396,284  330,949    1,239,009  1,079,980
Gold ounce
production            4,684    3,750       15,906     15,063
Ag grade (g/t)          178      202          161        169
Au grade (g/t)         2.07     2.26         2.03       2.31
Ag recovery           90.1%    91.7%        89.5%      89.6%
Au recovery           91.8%    92.9%        90.8%      91.7%

(1) Silver equivalent ounces for 2014 were maintained at 
consistent prices of $18.50 (U.S.) per ounce, $1,110 (U.S.) 
per ounce (60:1 ratio), 90 U.S. cents per pound, and 85 U.S. 
cents per pound for silver, gold, lead and zinc, 
respectively, and applied to the recovered metal content of 
the concentrates produced. 

The San Ignacio mine produced 18,373 tonnes of ore in the fourth quarter of 2014 and accounted for 20 per cent of the overall metal production from the Guanajuato mine complex. This included 64,400 Ag ounces and 1,136 Au ounces, or 132,594 Ag equivalent ounces, representing a 28-per-cent increase compared with the third quarter of 2014.

Silver and gold grades were lower at the GMC in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. This was attributed to San Ignacio silver grades, which were lower than the average from the rest of the GMC, and lower gold grades from the Santa Margarita zone at Guanajuato. In 2015, production at San Ignacio will focus on the newly identified, higher-grade southern extension of the Intermediate vein.

Mining commenced late in the fourth quarter from recently developed ore zones at the Santa Margarita area that are supported by encouraging results from a combination of underground drilling and exploration development. In addition, exploration development and underground drilling were carried out at the Cata area on the 525- and 540-metre levels, verifying drilling results and exploring the depth extensions of the Veta Madre. Surface exploration drilling at San Ignacio comprised 3,728 metres for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Topia mine

In the fourth quarter of 2014, ore processed at Topia increased 12 per cent to 15,735 tonnes, compared with the corresponding quarter in 2013. Total metal production also increased 12 per cent compared with the same period in 2013 to 233,732 Ag equivalent ounces, mainly due to the difference in base metal against silver prices year over year.


          TOPIA Q4 AND FISCAL 2014 OPERATIONS SUMMARY                                                       
                                                          
                       Q4 2014   Q4 2013    FY 2014   FY 2013
Ore processed
(tonnes milled)         15,735    14,054     67,387    62,063
Silver equivalent
ounce production (1)   233,732   207,948    994,429   857,025
Silver ounce
production             153,726   153,988    667,635   631,235
Gold ounce
production                 138       131        555       651
Lead production
(tonnes)                   285       286      1,154     1,116
Zinc production
(tonnes)                   406       402      1,675     1,673
Ag grade (g/t)             338       376        343       351
Au grade (g/t)            0.45      0.49       0.45      0.57
Ag recovery              89.9%     90.6%      89.9%     90.2%
Au recovery              61.4%     58.6%      56.4%     57.0%

(1) Silver equivalent ounces for 2014 were maintained at 
consistent prices of $18.50 (U.S.) per ounce, $1,110 (U.S.) 
per ounce (60:1 ratio), 90 U.S. cents per pound and 85 U.S. 
cents per pound for silver, gold, lead and zinc, 
respectively, and applied to the recovered metal content of 
the concentrates produced.                        

Production at Topia originated mainly from the Durangueno, Argentina and Hormiguera mines. Due to the lower silver grades realized in the fourth quarter, more emphasis on targeted mining techniques is being employed for 2015 in order to reduce dilution.

Outlook

Production at San Ignacio is scheduled to continue to increase in 2015 as the focus shifts to the new high-grade and thicker vein zones to the south of the current workings. This, in addition to a continuing effort to improve grades at the main Guanajuato mines and at Topia, is expected to deliver 3.5 million Ag equivalent ounces to 3.6 million Ag equivalent ounces (2) in 2015. This represents an approximate 10-per-cent increase over 2014, including a small impact from the change in ratios to determine Ag equivalent ounces to account for the movement in metal prices over the past year. Consolidated cash costs are anticipated to be in the range of $11.50 (U.S.) per ounce to $12.50 (U.S.) per ounce of payable silver, while all-in sustaining costs are projected to be $18.50 (U.S.) per ounce to $19.85 (U.S.) per ounce of payable silver. Naturally, the company will strive to achieve costs that are lower than guidance.

(2) Silver equivalent ounces for 2015 guidance have been calculated using a 65:1 Au:Ag ratio, and ratios of 1:0.05 and 1:0.056 for the United States-dollar price of silver ounces to the U.S.-dollar price for lead and zinc pounds, respectively. These ratios will be applied consistently for the reporting of silver equivalent ounce production for 2015.

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