TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Silver producer Coeur Mining has reported a 15% quarter-on-quarter drop in silver equivalent output for the three months ended March 31, stating the performance was in line with expectations as a transition to lower-tonnage, higher-grade and higher-margin underground operations at Guadalupe and Independencia remained on track.
During the first quarter, Coeur produced 1.8-million silver equivalent ounces, consisting of 933 000 oz of silver and 14 668 oz of gold, compared with 2.3-million silver equivalent ounces, comprising 1.4-million ounces of silver and 15 495 oz of gold in the comparable period of 2015.
Coeur is the largest US-based primary silver producer and a significant gold producer with five precious metals mines in the Americas, namely the Palmarejo silver/gold complex, in Mexico; the San Bartolomé silver mine, in Bolivia; the Rochester silver/gold mine, in Nevada; the Kensington gold mine, in Alaska; and the Wharf gold mine, in South Dakota.
The company also had a nonoperating interest in the Endeavor mine, in Australia, as well as royalties on the Cerro Bayo mine, in Chile; the El Gallo complex, in Mexico; the Zaruma mine, in Ecuador; and the Correnso mine, in New Zealand. Coeur also had two silver/gold exploration stage projects, the La Preciosa project, in Mexico and the Joaquin project, in Argentina.
For 2016, the company aimed to produce 3.8-million to 4.3-million silver ounces and 67 000 oz to 72 000 oz of gold.
Coeur’s NYSE-listed stock gained 2% on Thursday to $5.94 apiece, trading near the high end of its 52-week range.