VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - January 10, 2017) - Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX: EDR) (NYSE: EXK) reports 2016 production of 5.4 million ounces (oz) silver and 57,375 oz gold, slightly above guidance on gold and slightly below guidance on silver. Silver equivalent production totalled 9.7 million oz at a 75:1 silver: gold ratio, in line with guidance.
Silver production in the Fourth Quarter, 2016 was 1,088,845 oz and gold production was 44,402 oz, for silver equivalent production of 1.9 million oz. Endeavour owns and operates three silver mines in Mexico: the Guanaceví mine in Durango State and the Bolañitos and El Cubo mines in Guanajuato State.
Production Highlights for Fiscal 2016 (Compared to Fiscal 2015)
- Silver production decreased 24% year-on-year at 5,435,407 oz
- Gold production decreased 4% to 57,375 oz
- Silver equivalent production was 9.7 million oz (at a 75:1 silver: gold ratio)
- Silver ounces sold totalled 5,152,031 oz
- Gold ounces sold totalled 55,851 oz
- Bullion inventory at year-end included 311,625 oz silver and 665 oz gold
- Concentrate inventory at year-end included 18,962 oz silver and 218 oz gold
Production Highlights for Fourth Quarter, 2016 (Compared to Fourth Quarter, 2015)
- Silver production decreased 37% to 1,088,845 oz
- Gold production decreased 26% to 11,402 oz
- Silver equivalent production was 1.9 million oz (at a 75:1 silver: gold ratio)
- Silver ounces sold totalled 946,456 oz
- Gold ounces sold totalled 11,004oz
Bradford Cooke, CEO, commented, "Last year, Endeavour's silver and gold production were significantly higher than our initial production guidance thanks to the turnaround in precious metal prices which allowed management to revise our production guidance upwards in July. I am pleased to say our operations team responded well and in general met the upward revised production targets in 2016.
"However, production was down year on year due to our decisions in January to significantly reduce spending on exploration and development in 2016 at low metal prices, which reduced our mine access and therefore metal production. We reversed those decisions at the end of the second quarter and restarted our exploration and development programs to once again expand resources and access reserves.
"We also acquired two high grade silver-gold development projects in the historic silver mining districts of Zacatecas and Parral, Mexico and advanced our exciting new discovery on the Terronera property. The company is now in a position to potentially build three new mines over the next three years to fuel Endeavour's next phase of organic growth."
Operating Highlights for 2016
Consolidated Production
| Three Months Ended December 31 | Q4 2016 Highlights | Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | % Change | 2016 | 2015 | % Change | |||||||
| 317,555 | 408,092 | (22%) | Throughput (tonnes) | 1,458,917 | 1,565,507 | (7%) | ||||||
| 1,088,845 | 1,732,765 | (37%) | Silver ounces produced | 5,435,407 | 7,178,666 | (24%) | ||||||
| 11,402 | 15,433 | (26%) | Gold ounces produced | 57,375 | 59,990 | (4%) | ||||||
| 1,064,827 | 1,686,330 | (37%) | Payable silver ounces produced | 5,308,026 | 6,991,639 | (24%) | ||||||
| 11,059 | 15,073 | (27%) | Payable gold ounces produced | 55,716 | 58,585 | (5%) | ||||||
| 1,943,995 | 2,813,075 | (31%) | Silver equivalent ounces produced(1) | 9,738,532 | 11,377,966 | (14%) | ||||||
| 946,456 | 1,682,572 | (44%) | Silver ounces sold | 5,152,031 | 7,301,698 | (29%) | ||||||
| 11,004 | 15,255 | (28%) | Gold ounces sold | 55,851 | 59,450 | (6%) | ||||||
2016 Production by Mine
| Production | Tonnes | Tonnes | Grade | Grade | Recovery | Recovery | Silver | Gold | ||||||||
| by mine | Produced | per day | Ag gpt(1) | Au gpt(1) | Ag % | Au % | Oz | Oz | ||||||||
| Guanaceví | 367,441 | 1,007 | 232 | 0.51 | 86.3% | 88.4% | 2,364,045 | 5,328 | ||||||||
| Bolañitos | 507,704 | 1,391 | 81 | 2.31 | 79.6% | 81.5% | 1,052,617 | 30,720 | ||||||||
| El Cubo | 583,772 | 1,599 | 123 | 1.41 | 87.4% | 80.6% | 2,018,745 | 21,327 | ||||||||
| Consolidated | 1,458,917 | 3,997 | 136 | 1.50 | 85.3% | 81.7% | 5,435,407 | 57,375 | ||||||||
Fourth Quarter Production by Mine
| Production | Tonnes | Tonnes | Grade | Grade | Recovery | Recovery | Silver | Gold | ||||||||
| by mine | Produced | per day | Ag gpt(1) | Au gpt(1) | Ag % | Au % | Oz | Oz | ||||||||
| Guanaceví | 87,850 | 955 | 211 | 0.49 | 90.7% | 89.0% | 540,708 | 1,232 | ||||||||
| Bolañitos | 101,568 | 1,104 | 71 | 2.22 | 80.1% | 81.7% | 185,813 | 5,926 | ||||||||
| El Cubo | 128,137 | 1,393 | 103 | 1.24 | 85.4% | 83.1% | 362,324 | 4,244 | ||||||||
| Consolidated | 317,555 | 3,452 | 123 | 1.35 | 87.0% | 83.0% | 1,088,845 | 11,402 | ||||||||
- 2016 silver equivalents based on a 75:1 gold:silver ratio; 2015 silver equivalents based on a 70:1 gold:silver ratio
- gpt = grams per tonnes
Guanaceví Mine
- Silver and gold production fell short of guidance in 2016 due to lower throughput and grades, partly offset by higher recoveries
- Completed 9.7 kilometres (km) of underground mine development
- Planted 10,100 trees and received annual "Socially Responsible Company" Award
Bolañitos Mine
- Silver and gold production exceeded guidance due to higher throughput, partially offset by lower silver grades and gold-silver recoveries
- Completed 2.3 km of underground mine development
- Planted 7,400 trees and received annual "Socially Responsible Company" Award
El Cubo Mine
- Silver and gold production exceeded guidance due to higher throughput, partly offset by lower gold recoveries
- Completed 4.1 km of underground mine development
- Planted 7,250 trees and received annual "Socially Responsible Company" Award
Terronera
- Planted 10,000 trees
Endeavour expects to release updated reserve and resource estimates and 2017 production and cost guidance within the next two weeks.
About Endeavour
Endeavour Silver Corp. is a mid-tier precious metals mining company with three high-grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Since start-up in 2004, Endeavour has grown its mining operations organically to produce 9.7 million ounces of silver equivalents in 2016. Development of Endeavour's high-grade discovery on the Terronera property in Jalisco state, the permitted El Compas mine and plant in Zacatecas state, and the prospective Parral properties in Chihuahua state should facilitate the Company's goal to become a premier senior producer in the silver mining sector.
