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Great Panther enjoys record quarter of consolidated metals production

Last updated: 12:22 14 Jul 2017 EDT, First published: 07:22 14 Jul 2017 EDT

Silver miner
The Topia mine operated at full pelt once again

Great Panther Silver Ltd’s (TSE:GPR, NYSEMKT:GPL) stock was higher after the metals producer hailed record levels of production in the second quarter.

Consolidated metal production rose 6% year-on-year to a record 1.10mln silver equivalent ounces.

Silver produced also rose 6%, to 569,229 ounces from 536,726 the year before, but gold production eased 8% to 5,543 ounces from 6,010.

Lead production rose 40% to 405 tonnes from 290 tonnes the previous year while zinc production was 47% higher at 638 tonnes compared to the previous year’s 433 tonnes.

Ore processed eased a little to 98,576 tonnes milled from 99,905 tonnes the previous year.

At the Guanajuato mine complex, metal production at the GMC was 8% lower at 715,423 silver ounces equivalent (Ag eq oz)  when compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

The decrease was attributed to lower tonnes milled from San Ignacio, combined with lower overall grades, mainly reflecting variability in the mineral resource.

 Additional exploration drilling and development is being undertaken to improve the resource definition in these areas, the company revealed.

At the Topia mine, milling operations returned to design capacity in the second quarter, following the commissioning of the new tailings handling facility and the upgraded processing plant.

The operation is now producing exclusively dry tailings through the new filtration plant. All tailings are being deposited on the Phase I Tailings Storage Facility while the company continues its efforts to obtain the Phase II permit from SEMARNAT (the Mexican environmental permitting agency).

The mine achieved a record level of metal production of 386, 867 Ag eq oz, up 47% year-on-year.

This was attributed to a combination of higher tonnes milled, higher grades of feed material and improved recoveries.

The increase in tonnes milled reflects maximization of the plant capacity by processing a controlled blend of run-of-mine production and ore stockpiled during the scheduled plant shut-down.

The improved metallurgical recoveries were attributed to improved control over the mill feed and head grade, coupled with the recent plant upgrades, while the increase in grades was due to a greater focus on selective mining, dilution control and ore sorting.

Great Panther stuck with its previous production guidance for 2017, as it believes it will be able to obtain a permit for the Phase II tailings facility at Topia without interruption of operations; however, it did advise the deposition of dry tailings on the Phase I tailing storage facility cannot continue forever so the company cannot provide complete assurance that a disruption can be avoided.

Discussions to date with the authorities and other stakeholders have been positive and are continuing.

"Great Panther had an excellent second quarter, setting a new company record for consolidated metal production and a new record for metal production in Topia," stated Robert Archer, president & chief executive officer of Great Panther.

The market agreed, pushing the price up 2.9% to US$1.24 on Friday morning.

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