TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Junior Arian Silver has uncovered what it believes were a series of silver-bearing concentrate thefts from its San Jose mine and mill during the first quarter of this year,

The company had reported lower than expected recoveries at the mill that it leases, despite a number of operational improvements during the quarter.

“A subsequent investigation revealed the recent theft of approximately eight tonnes of silver-bearing concentrate from the mill,” Arian said in a statement.

“And, furthermore, this was not an isolated incident as the ongoing investigation by the Mexican authorities indicates previous thefts occurred during the same quarter.”

The plant operator has replaced an employee who was allegedly responsible, and Arian is cooperating with an ongoing investigation, as well as measures to improve security and efficiency at the milling operation, the firm said.

“Whilst the discovery of the theft of this concentrate is disappointing news, it does highlight one of the contributing factors to the lower than expected recoveries of silver concentrate during the first quarter reporting period,” CEO Jim Williams said in a statement.

“Now that we have identified and halted this specific security breach and implemented a number of plant improvements we anticipate that our mill recoveries will improve."

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