VANCOUVER, Jan. 16, 2018 /CNW/ - Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM: TSX/NYSE American, GV6: FSE, "Avino" or "the Company") is pleased to report its fourth quarter 2017 and full year 2017 production results from its Avino property near Durango, Mexico.
Consolidated Production Highlights for 2017 (Compared to 2016)
- Silver equivalent production increased 1% to 2,700,585 oz*
- Silver production decreased 14% to 1,394,203 oz
- Gold production increased 11% to 7,935 oz
- Copper production increased 4% to 4,373,166 lbs
Consolidated Production Highlights for Fourth Quarter, 2017 (Compared to Fourth Quarter, 2016)
- Silver equivalent production decreased 10% to 637,012 oz*
- Silver production decreased 24% to 319,678 oz
- Gold production decreased 43% to 1,472 oz
- Copper production increased 47% to 1,108,800 lbs
|
*In 2017, AgEq was calculated using metals prices of $17.05 oz Ag, $1,258 oz Au and $2.80 lb Cu. In 2016, AgEq was calculated using $17.10 oz Ag, $1,248 oz Au and $2.21 lb Cu |
"We are very pleased to have achieved another year of consistent production which was in line with our 2017 internal projections. Although there were a few challenges throughout the year, our operations teams were successful in resolving issues that arose. At the Avino Mine, the expansion is now 90% complete and we are looking forward to increasing throughput capacity within months. 2018 will be a busy year for Avino, which is also our 50th Anniversary, and within the coming weeks we expect to release drill results, 2017 in review, outlook for 2018, and an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource from the Avino Mine. I would like to thank the teams in Mexico and Canada for their dedicated efforts."
- David Wolfin, President, CEO & Director, Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.
Consolidated 2017 Production Highlights
Comparative production numbers from 2017 and 2016 are presented below:
|
2017 |
2016 |
% Change |
|
|
Total Silver Produced (oz) calculated |
1,394,203 |
1,612,060 |
-14% |
|
Total Gold Produced (oz) calculated |
7,935 |
7,119 |
11% |
|
Total Copper Produced (lbs) calculated |
4,373,166 |
4,206,585 |
4% |
|
Total Silver Eq. Produced (oz) calculated* |
2,700,585 |
2,679,334 |
1% |
|
*In 2017, AgEq was calculated using metals prices of $17.05 oz Ag, $1,258 oz Au and $2.80 lb Cu. In 2016, AgEq was calculated using $17.10 oz Ag, $1,248 oz Au and $2.21 lb Cu |
Consolidated Fourth Quarter 2017 Production Highlights
Comparative production numbers from the fourth quarters of 2017 and 2016 are presented below:
|
Q4 2017 |
Q4 2016 |
% Change |
|
|
Total Silver Produced (oz) calculated |
319,678 |
419,355 |
-24% |
|
Total Gold Produced (oz) calculated |
1,472 |
2,581 |
-43% |
|
Total Copper Produced (lbs) calculated |
1,108,800 |
755,645 |
47% |
|
Total Silver Eq. Produced (oz) calculated* |
637,012 |
707,775 |
-10% |
|
*In 2017, AgEq was calculated using metals prices of $17.05 oz Ag, $1,258 oz Au and $2.80 lb Cu. In 2016, AgEq was calculated using $17.10 oz Ag, $1,248 oz Au and $2.21 lb Cu |
Avino Mine Production Highlights
Comparative figures for the years ended December 31, 2017, and December 31, 2016, as well as the fourth quarter 2017 and the fourth quarter of 2016 for the Avino Mine are as follows:
|
Q4 2017 |
Q4 2016 |
% Change |
2017 |
2016 |
% Change |
Notes |
|
|
Tonnes Mined |
111,040 |
103,266 |
8% |
462,279 |
450,281 |
3% |
1,7 |
|
Underground Development (m) |
648 |
756 |
-14% |
2,898 |
4,005 |
-28% |
1,7 |
|
Mill Availability (%) |
90.3 |
95.6 |
-6% |
95.5 |
94.0 |
2% |
2 |
|
Total Mill Feed (dry tonnes) |
109,088 |
101,157 |
8% |
460,890 |
429,289 |
7% |
3,8 |
|
Feed Grade Silver (g/t) |
50 |
65 |
-23% |
64 |
67 |
-4% |
4,9 |
|
Feed Grade Gold (g/t) |
0.322 |
0.69 |
-53% |
0.516 |
0.42 |
23% |
4,9 |
|
Feed Grade Copper (%) |
0.523 |
0.37 |
41% |
0.484 |
0.50 |
-3% |
4,9 |
|
Recovery Silver (%) |
87% |
85% |
2% |
85% |
85% |
0% |
5 |
|
Recovery Gold (%) |
69% |
69% |
0% |
69% |
64% |
8% |
5 |
|
Recovery Copper (%) |
88% |
91% |
-3% |
89% |
90% |
-1% |
5 |
|
Copper Concentrate (dry tonnes) |
2,281 |
2,094 |
9% |
9,782 |
9,390 |
4% |
6,10 |
|
Copper Concentrate Grade Silver (kg/t) |
2.09 |
2.67 |
-22% |
2.56 |
2.62 |
-2% |
6,10 |
|
Copper Concentrate Grade Gold (g/t) |
10.59 |
22.87 |
-54% |
16.72 |
12.23 |
37% |
6,10 |
|
Copper Concentrate Grade Copper (%) |
22.05 |
16.37 |
35% |
20.28 |
20.32 |
0% |
6,11 |
|
Total Silver Produced (kg) |
4,756 |
5,584 |
-15% |
24,990 |
24,552 |
2% |
6,11 |
|
Total Gold Produced (g) |
24,161 |
47,891 |
-50% |
163,582 |
114,812 |
42% |
6,11 |
|
Total Copper Produced (Kg) |
502,944 |
342,755 |
47% |
1,983,637 |
1,908,077 |
4% |
6,11 |
|
Total Silver Produced (oz) calculated |
152,908 |
179,536 |
-15% |
803,438 |
789,372 |
2% |
6,11 |
|
Total Gold Produced (oz) calculated |
777 |
1,540 |
-50% |
5,259 |
3,691 |
42% |
6,11 |
|
Total Copper Produced (Lbs) calculated |
1,108,800 |
755,645 |
47% |
4,373,166 |
4,206,585 |
4% |
6,11 |
|
Total Silver Equivalent Produced (oz) calculated |
417,182 |
394,149 |
6% |
1,911,428 |
1,606,272 |
19% |
6,11 |
|
*In 2017, AgEq was calculated using metals prices of $17.05 oz Ag, $1,258 oz Au and $2.80 lb Cu. In 2016, AgEq was calculated using $17.10 oz Ag, $1,248 oz Au and $2.21 lb Cu |
Avino Mine Fourth Quarter 2017 Production Highlights
|
1. Tonnage mined increased by 8%, whereas the underground development decreased by 14% as we transition to production mining on the levels that have already been developed to provide mill feed on a sustained basis. |
|
2. Mill availability was down 6% for the quarter due to the downtime associated with the commissioning of the new HP5 crusher in October. There was insufficient crushed mill feed for the Avino circuit. This has been rectified with the technical assistance from Metso, who are the suppliers of the crusher. |
|
3. Tonnage processed increased by 8% as Circuit 2 was dedicated to processing Avino material rather than the San Gonzalo for the entire quarter. |
|
4. Feed material for the quarter primarily came from the main Avino vein, resulting in higher copper, and lower gold and silver, and therefore reflective of the changes of 41%, -53%, and -23% respectively. |
|
With the change in feed and minerology, copper recovery was down 3%, no change in gold recovery and silver recovery increased by 2%. |
|
The changes in the quality of the mill feed resulted in 9% more concentrate produced and the grade of copper increased by 35%, whereas the gold and silver grades decreased by 54% and 22% respectively. In addition, copper production increased by 47%, gold decreased by 50% and silver decreased by 15% resulting in an increase of 6% in silver equivalent ounces for the quarter. |
Avino Mine 2017 Year-End Production Highlights
|
7. The year over year change in mined tonnes and development is attributed primarily to the transition from development to production mining. |
|
8. Tonnage processed increased by 7% as Circuit 2 was used exclusively to process Avino material. |
|
9. Gold feed grade increased by 23% whereas copper and silver decreased by 3% and 4% respectively; the changes in grades are due to the mineralisation in the areas being mined. |
|
10. Concentrate production increased by 4% with little to no change in the copper and silver grades but the gold increased by 37% due to the higher mill feed. |
|
11. Gold production increased by 42%, copper by 4% and silver by 2% resulting in 19% more silver equivalent ounces of production. |
San Gonzalo Mine Production Highlights
Comparative figures for the years ended December 31, 2017, and December 31, 2016, as well as the fourth quarter 2017 and the fourth quarter of 2016 for the San Gonzalo Mine are as follows:
|
Q4 2017 |
Q4 2016 |
% Change |
2017 |
2016 |
% Change |
Notes |
|
|
Tonnes Mined |
17,640 |
29,678 |
-41% |
80,587 |
108,943 |
-26% |
1 |
|
Underground Advancement (m) |
712 |
1,062 |
-33% |
3,379 |
4,433 |
-24% |
1 |
|
Mill Availability (%) |
95.3 |
94.1 |
1% |
95.4 |
94.4 |
1% |
|
|
Total Mill Feed (dry tonnes) |
20,467 |
33,511 |
-39% |
81,045 |
115,047 |
-30% |
2,6 |
|
Feed Grade Silver (g/t) |
290 |
262 |
11% |
269 |
267 |
1% |
4,7 |
|
Feed Grade Gold (g/t) |
1.36 |
1.16 |
17% |
1.32 |
1.25 |
6% |
4,7 |
|
Recovery Silver (%) |
87% |
85% |
3% |
84% |
83% |
1% |
4 |
|
Recovery Gold (%) |
77% |
83% |
-7% |
78% |
74% |
5% |
4 |
|
Bulk Concentrate (dry tonnes) |
891 |
1,130 |
-21% |
3,167 |
4,115 |
-23% |
3,8 |
|
Bulk Concentrate Grade Silver (kg/t) |
5.82 |
6.60 |
-12% |
5.80 |
6.22 |
-7% |
3 |
|
Bulk Concentrate Grade Gold (g/t) |
24.26 |
28.6 |
-15% |
26.27 |
25.90 |
1% |
3 |
|
Total Silver Produced (kg) |
5,187 |
7,459 |
-30% |
18,375 |
25,588 |
-28% |
5,9 |
|
Total Gold Produced (g) |
21,612 |
32,379 |
-33% |
83,215 |
106,599 |
-22% |
5,9 |
|
Total Silver Produced (oz) calculated |
166,770 |
239,819 |
-30% |
590,765 |
822,689 |
-28% |
5,9 |
|
Total Gold Produced (oz) calculated |
695 |
1,041 |
-33% |
2,675 |
3,427 |
-22% |
5,9 |
|
Total Silver Equivalent Produced (oz) calculated |
219,830 |
313,626 |
-30% |
789,157 |
1,073,062 |
-26% |
3,9 |
|
*In 2017, AgEq was calculated using metals prices of $17.05 oz Ag, $1,258 oz Au and $2.80 lb Cu. In 2016, AgEq was calculated using $17.10 oz Ag, $1,248 oz Au and $2.21 lb Cu |
San Gonzalo Mine Fourth Quarter 2017 Production Highlights
|
1. Tonnage mined and underground advancement decreased by 41% and 33% respectively as there were fewer blocks available for mining and development work. |
|
2. Tonnage processed decreased by 39% as Circuit 2 was used entirely for Avino material. |
|
3. The lower tonnage throughput resulted in 30% fewer silver equivalent ounces produced and 21% less concentrate tonnage. |
|
4. Silver and gold feed grades increased by 18% and 11% respectively and the recovery for silver was up 3% whereas gold decreased by 7%. |
|
5. As a result of the above factors the silver and gold production decreased by 30% and 33% respectively. |
San Gonzalo Mine 2017 Year-End Production Highlights
|
6. Tonnage processed for the year decreased by 30% as Circuit 2 was used for processing Avino Mine Material, whereas in 2016, there were some months when this circuit was used for San Gonzalo material. |
|
7. Silver and gold feed grades increased slightly by 1% and 6%, respectively, as less marginal material was processed. |
|
8. The lower tonnage throughput resulted in 23% lower concentrate tonnage. |
|
9. Silver and gold production decreased by 28% and 22% respectively, resulting in an overall decrease of 26% in silver equivalent ounces produced in 2017. |
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Mill assays are performed at the Avino's on-site lab. Check samples are sent to SGS Labs in Durango, Mexico for verification. All concentrate shipments are assayed by one of the following independent third party labs: AHK, Inspectorate in the UK, and LSI in the Netherlands.
Qualified Person(s)
Avino's Mexican projects are under the supervision Jasman Yee P.Eng, Avino director, who is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101, he has reviewed and approved the production data in this news release.
About Avino
Avino is a silver and gold producer with a diversified pipeline of gold, silver and base metals exploration properties in Mexico and Canada employing approximately 500 people. Avino produces from its wholly owned Avino and San Gonzalo Mines near Durango, Mexico, and is currently ramping up for future production at its Bralorne Gold Mine in British Columbia, Canada. Avino's silver and gold production remains unhedged. The Company's mission and strategy is to create shareholder value through its focus on profitable organic growth at the historic Avino Property near Durango, Mexico, and the strategic acquisition of mineral exploration and mining properties. We are committed to managing all business activities in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner, while contributing to the well-being of the communities in which we operate.
