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Welcome To The Golden Minerals HUB On AGORACOM
Golden Minerals is a junior silver producer with a strong growth profile, listed on both the NYSE Amex and TSX.
Message: physical bullion is the key
| January 28, 2010 | |||
| ECU Silver Reports on Gold and Silver Operations for December and November 2009 | |||
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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 28, 2010) - ECU Silver Mining Inc. (TSX:ECU) ECU Silver Mining Inc. is pleased to report on its silver and gold fabrication for the months ending December 2009 and November 2009. Highlights include: - To-date in January, silver ounces precipitated, are close to the ounces
generated in November and December of 2009, combined.
- December yielded a silver equivalent of 52,752 ounces from the oxide
mill and 15,162 ounces from the sulphide mill.
- November yielded a silver equivalent of 52,533 ounces from the oxide
mill and 22,233 ounces from the sulphide mill.
- Average daily throughput at the oxide mill has increased to 650 tonnes
per day ("tpd"), exceeding the 500 tpd target by 30%.
In December, the Company generated (see Table 1), a total of 592 ounces of gold and 14,272 ounces of silver from its oxide mill and also generated 124 ounces of gold and 7,102 ounces of silver contained in concentrates from the sulphide mill, which has been ramping up since September 2009. Using the current silver-to-gold ratio of 65 to one (base metals not included as equivalents), ECU generated 52,752 ounces of silver equivalents from its oxide mill and 15,162 ounces of silver equivalents from its sulphide mill. Table 1: December -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (ounces) Oxide Mill Sulphide Mill Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold 592 14 606 Silver 14,272 6,189 20,461 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Equivalent 52,752 7,099 59,851 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Pyrite Concentrate (sent to inventory) Gold - 110 110 Silver - 913 913 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Equivalent - 8,063 8,063 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 2: November -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (ounces) Oxide Mill Sulphide Mill Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold 584 11 595 Silver 14,573 9,021 23,594 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Equivalent 52,533 9,736 62,269 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Pyrite Concentrate (sent to inventory) Gold - 169 169 Silver - 1,512 913 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Equivalent - 12,497 12,497 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- To date in January, average daily mill throughput has increased significantly to 650 tpd and the copper levels in the solutions have been maintained at acceptable levels. The precious metals that were not dissolved due to the previously high copper will be recovered over time through leaching of the tailings. Readers should note that ECU cannot provide production or cash flow forecasts. ECU is considered and recognized as an exploration and development company by the security regulators in Canada, and as such, is restricted by the regulators from providing specific forecasts. The Company holds a NI 43-101 compliant silver equivalent mineral resource of 40 million ounces in the measured and indicated category and 391 million ounces in the inferred category. Consequently, ECU's current milling operations represent only a minor part of ECU's mineral resources and this defines the basis for the classification of the Company as an exploration and development company. This classification will continue until production represents a material portion of the business, or until a pre-feasibility is completed. A preliminary economic assessment ("Scoping Study") is underway, which will highlight, on a preliminary basis, the economics of larger milling operations at the Velardena operations. This is the first major step to completing a pre-feasibility study. Michel Roy, chairman and chief executive officer, commented: "Several new initiatives and upgrades have, and will be implemented into both milling operations which will provide for enhanced recoveries as well as increased annual capacity. These new initiatives have already started to show their benefits as seen in our daily throughput of mineralized material at the oxide mill where we have consistently achieved well above our 500 tpd target, at times reaching almost 700 tpd." Stephen Altmann, president added that "Our goal in 2010 will be to focus on three priorities. First and foremost is to ensure profitable operations in order to maintain a strong balance sheet; second, complete our Scoping Study; and third, resume exploration activities, with internally generated cash, to further enhance our mineral resource and delineate the rich massive sulphide discovery." The Company plans, after the first quarter 2010, to report results of its milling operations on a quarterly basis, as is standard in the industry, rather than monthly. |
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