Fortuna reports best-ever silver output in Q1
miningweekly.com
By: Liezel Hill
20th April 2009
Updated 2 hours 45 minutes ago
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based Fortuna Silver produced 384 339 oz of silver in the first three months of this year, a record for the company and an increase of 174% from the same period a year earlier.
Fortuna also produced 6,9-million pounds of zinc and 5,8-million pounds of lead during the first quarter, from its Caylloma mine, in Peru.
Zinc and lead output increased 52% and 123% respectively year-on-year, while the silver head grade, of 147,8 g/t, was 98% higher than in the first quarter of 2008.
Fortuna processed 91 449 t of ore during the three months, compared with 70 408 t a year earlier, and 91 025 t in the fourth quarter of 2008.
"Fortuna is moving steadily towards delivering 1,6-million ounces of pure silver for 2009, which should account for approximately 50% of revenue, along with significant by-product lead, zinc and copper,” said CEO Jorge Ganoza.
Management at Caylloma is focusing on the development of the high-grade silver structures while maintaining an optimal production blend, he said.
The firm expects revenue to improve this year with the start-up of the copper circuit, as well as an expansion of the plan at Callyoma, Ganoza added.
Fortuna will also make a construction decision later this year on its San Jose silver-gold project, in Mexico.
Shares in Fortuna, which trades on the TSX Venture Exchange and the Lima Stock Exchange, slid 2,06% on Monday morning, to C$0,95 apiece by 9:49 in Toronto. |
