Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd announces financial and operating results for Q2 2023-the six months ended June 30, 2023. At the occasion James Anderson, Chairman & CEO of Guanajuato Silver, said, “Over the past twelve months we have made great strides in bringing our newly purchased mining assets back into optimal production.
Significant infrastructure investments made since August of last year include: the rehabilitation of the Cata shaft; the installation of a new locomotive haulage system and the establishment of an environmentally superior tailings backfill system at VMC; the installation of new Falcon concentrators at both of our Guanajuato processing facilities; and the development of new mining areas at Santa Cecilia, San Ignacio, and Topia.
These capex investments are now poised to deliver improved efficiencies as we head into the second half of the year. The ramp-up at our four producing silver mines remains on schedule; however, our business is not immune to inflationary pressures and extraordinary currency market volatility – most notably the remarkable rise of the Mexican peso, which has appreciated approximately 20% against the US dollar over the past year.
Our Q2 cash flows have been impacted as approximately 75% of our expenditures are denominated in Mexican pesos; we have therefore implemented a number of cost reductions, including some staff reductions, and will continue to prioritize cost controls going forward.”
Key fact-n-figure of Q2 2023 say,
1: Record production during the quarter of 941,338 AgEq (silver equivalent) ounces derived from 477,649 ounces of silver; 4,719 ounces of gold.
2: Net loss narrowed by 2% in Q2 to $8.5M compared to $8.6M in Q1; revenue of $16.8M for the quarter was down 2% compared to Q1.
3: All-in sustaining cost of $22.47 per AgEq ounce produced was slightly higher than $21.83 for Q1 2023; operating costs were impacted by a strong Mexican currency; approximately 75% of operating costs are denominated in Mexican pesos. 4: Realized metal prices in Q2 were 8% higher for silver, 5% higher for gold, 1% higher for lead, but notably 20% lower for zinc compared to Q1.
Tonnes mined and milled increased 3% and 2% respectively from Q1 to Q2; over the quarter; a total of 166,171 tonnes were mined across the four producing silver mines, and a total of 163,793 tonnes were milled. Silver and gold recoveries back to near-historical highs as newly installed Falcon concentrators improved overall efficiency.
Average silver and gold recoveries for Q2 were 84.9% and 83.1% respectively, compared to Q1 average recovery for silver of 83.9% and 81.1% for gold.