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Santacruz Silver Produces 5,669,905 Silver Equivalent Ounces in Q3 2023

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Santacruz Silver Produces 5,669,905 Silver Equivalent Ounces in Q3 2023

 

 

 

 

 

Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSX-V: SCZ) reports its Q3 2023 production results from its Bolivar mine , Porco mine, Caballo Blanco Group of mines and the San Lucas feed sourcing business, all located in Bolivia, and the Zimapan mine located in Mexico.

 

Highlights:

  • Q3 2023 metals production included:
    • 1,728,863 ounces of silver;
    • 3,370 tonnes of lead;
    • 23,095 tonnes of zinc;
    • 252 tonnes of copper;
    • For silver equivalent production of 5,669,905 ounces.
  • Bolivar mine processed 77,298 tonnes of mineralized material and produced 1,343,000 silver equivalent ounces in Q3 2023, a 16% and 40% increase, respectively, when compared to Q2 2023.
  • Zimapan mine processed 192,158 tonnes of mineralized material and produced 1,183,606 silver equivalent ounces in Q3 2023, a 12% and 35% increase, respectively, when compared to Q2 2023.

 

Arturo Préstamo, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Santacruz, commented, “Our multi-asset portfolio has been able to deliver consistent production so far this year, and in total we have produced almost 17 million silver equivalent ounces, including just over 5 million ounces of silver. While we do expect operations to vary by asset quarter to quarter, our objective is to deliver stable production throughout the year, while at the same time reviewing and streamlining operations to achieve efficiencies and reduce costs.”

 

Santacruz processed 467,563 tonnes of material in Q3 2023, a slight increase from the previous quarter. Silver equivalent ounces produced of 5,669,905 included 1,728,863 ounces of silver, 3,370 tonnes of lead, 23,095 tonnes of zinc and 252 tonnes of copper.  The positive impact of a slight increase in material processed combined with an increase in metal production from the Zimapan and Bolivar mines resulted in stable silver equivalent ounce production overall.

 

The upgraded water handling infrastructure servicing the higher-grade Central Zone of the Bolivar mine installed last quarter helped stabilize production from this area, and the mine processed 77,298 tonnes of mineralized material, a 16% increase when compared to the 66,689 tonnes processed in Q2 2023. This resulted in 1,343,000 silver equivalent ounces being produced in Q3 2023, a 40% increase when compared to the 961,580 silver equivalent ounces produced in Q2 2023.

 

The Zimapan mine is realizing benefits from a shift in mining strategy to higher grade areas, which is part of the ongoing optimization of the mine plan in response to metals prices. In Q3 2023 the mine processed 192,158 tonnes of mineralized material, a 12% increase when compared to the 171,668 tonnes processed during Q2 2023. Zimapan also produced 1,183,606 silver equivalent ounces during Q3 2023, a 35% increase when compared to the 878,854 silver equivalent ounces produced in Q2 2023.

 

The integration ramp connecting the Tres Amigos and Colquechaquita mines at the Caballo Blanco Group of mines continues to progress well and is now 73% complete. The integration ramp consists of approximately 1,177 meters of development including primary ramp and auxiliary drives and it is designed to facilitate increased productivity from Colquechaquita and total production from the Caballo Blanco Group of mines. This project is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2024.

 

In Q3 2022, 500,956 tonnes of material was processed, and 5,832,882 silver equivalent ounces was produced. While total material processed in Q3 2023 was 7% less compared to Q3 2022, total silver equivalent ounce production was down only 3%. This was a result of higher grades mined and an increase in metal recoveries at Bolivar and Zimapan.

 

Third Quarter 2023 Production Summary – Consolidated

 

2023-Q3 2023-Q2 Change

Q3 vs Q2 (%)

2022-Q3 Change

Q3 vs Q3

(%)

2023 YTD 2022
YTD(1)(2)
Change

’23 vs ’22

(%)

Material Processed (tonnes milled) 467,563 443,969 5 500,956 (7) 1,394,029 1,163,645 20
Silver Equivalent Produced (AgEq ounces) (3) 5,669,905 5,569,535 2 5,832,822 (3) 16,883,779 12,368,597 37
Silver Ounces Produced 1,728,863 1,786,461 (3) 1,924,973 (10) 5,284,841 3,805,287 39
Lead Tonnes Produced 3,370 2,824 19 2,997 12 9,237 7,165 29
Zinc Tonnes Produced 23,095 22,281 4 22,830 1 67,839 49,422 37
Copper Tonnes Produced 252 297 (15) 364 (31) 964 901 7
Development Metres 10,838 10,922 (1) 10,423 4 32,333 23,802 36

 

 

Third Quarter 2023 Production Summary – By Mine

 

Bolivar (4) Porco (4) Caballo
Blanco
Group(5)
San Lucas
Feed
Sourcing(6)
Zimapan
Material Processed (tonnes milled) 77,298 47,786 76,864 73,456 192,158
Silver Equivalent Produced (AgEq ounces) (3) 1,343,000 625,401 1,118,711 1,399,187 1,183,606
Silver Ounces Produced 502,931 165,066 319,674 362,443 378,748
Lead Tonnes Produced 449 190 684 522 1,526
Zinc Tonnes Produced 5,214 2,891 4,805 6,454 3,731
Copper Tonnes Produced N/A N/A N/A N/A 252
Average head grades per mine:
    Silver (g/t) 221 119 144 183 80
    Lead (%) 0.79 0.52 1.22 1.06 0.97
    Zinc (%) 7.41 6.40 6.80 9.55 2.49
    Copper (%) N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.29
Metal recovery per mine:
    Silver (%) 92 90 90 84 76
    Lead (%) 74 76 73 66 82
    Zinc (%) 91 95 92 92 78
    Copper (%) N/A N/A N/A N/A 46
Development Metres 2,736 1,891 3,992 N/A 2,220
(1)    On March 18, 2022 the Company closed the acquisition of all Bolivian assets from Glencore and the results of the Bolivian Operations are included in the consolidated results of the Company from that date.
(2)  Bolivian production from March 18, 2022 to September 30, 2022.
(3)  Silver Equivalent Produced (ounces) have been calculated using prices of $21.86/oz, $0.91/lb, $1.52/lb and $3.67/lb for silver, lead, zinc and copper respectively applied to the metal production divided by the silver price.
(4)    Bolivar and Porco are presented at 100% production, whereas the Company records 45% of revenues and expenses in its consolidated financial statements.
(5)  The Caballo Blanco Group consists of the Colquechaquita, Tres Amigos and Reserva mines.
(6)  San Lucas sources mineralized material from regional suppliers and utilizes processing capacity at the Bolivar, Porco and Don Diego plants.

 

Qualified Person

Wayne Corso, Chief Operating Officer of the Company is a qualified person under NI 43-101 and has approved the scientific and technical information related to operational matters contained in this news release.

 

About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.

 

Santacruz Silver is engaged in the operation, acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Latin America. The Bolivian operations are comprised of the Bolivar, Porco and the Caballo Blanco Group, which consists of the Tres Amigos, Reserva and Colquechaquita mines. The Soracaya exploration project and San Lucas ore sourcing and trading business are also in Bolivia. The Zimapan mine is in Mexico.

 

Posted October 18, 2023

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