Coeur Mining reported Q2 production output at 4.6 million oz silver, a 21% improvement over Q1. Silver and gold production at the company’s Palmarejo mine in Mexico, with increases of 24% and 23%, respectively, were strong contributors to the quarter-on-quarter growth.
“Our operations and technical teams deserve tremendous credit for the improvements,” said CEO Mitchell J. Krebs. “We remain enthusiastic about the expansion initiatives.”
The company reaffirmed 2013 full-year production guidance of 18-19.5 million oz of silver and 250,000-265,000 oz of gold. Coeur is also maintaining full-year cash operating cost guidances of $9.50/oz-$10.50/oz for silver, which reflects ongoing cost reduction efforts.
Coeur said it will seek recovery enhancements at Palmarejo to boost silver and gold rates by 5% to 10%. Re-sequencing of higher-grade stopes at Kensington in Alaska is expected to yield a 10% higher grade and increase production by 25%, while decreasing unit operating costs by 20%.
The company plans to complete a $15.1-million improvement program at its San Bartolomé mill by Q4, which is expected to increase silver production by 10% to 15%.
Company officials announced plans to reduce exploration expenses by 17%—or $3 million—through Q4 2013, while reallocating an additional $3 million of reductions to the La Preciosa project. This will be accompanied by the elimination or deferrment of $24 million in capital projects scheduled for 2013.
