Gatos Silver Reports Record Silver Production

Gatos Silver announced its above-guidance and record silver production at the Cerro Los Gatos mine, of which the company owns 70 percent. The company reported that silver production hit a record of 10.3 million ounces in 2022, 36 percent more than the 7.6 million ounces produced in 2021. This was above the high end of the most recent 2022 guidance range of 9.35 million to 9.95 million ounces.

In addition, zinc, lead and gold production increased during the past year with zinc and gold near the high end of guidance and lead near the guidance midpoint. In comparison with 2021, zinc production increased by 22 percent, lead production by 10 percent and gold production by 2 percent. 

Dale Andres, CEO, Gatos Silver, said that these results reflect the quality of the Cerro Los Gatos assets, as well as the management teams’ ability to improve operations and maximize cash flows. 

According to the company, the higher silver production for the quarter and year-end 2022 was primarily due to higher silver ore grades and higher mill throughput rates. Moreover, production sequencing in 2022 was from the highest-grade sections of the orebody.

The company stated that its sales for the Los Gatos Joint Venture for 3Q22 increased 30 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Moreover, it mentioned that mill throughput rates averaged a record 2,847t/d in 4Q22, an increase of 9 percent compared to 4Q21 as a result of continued debottlenecking efforts and planned production sequencing. 

“Our focus in 2023 will be to further optimize operational performance, advance our mine life extension opportunities by converting the higher-grade portion of our current mineral resource into reserves and advancing definition drilling on the mineralization recently discovered at depth in the new South-East Deeps zone. We will also be focusing on exploring our extensive land package in the highly prospective Los Gatos district,” commented Dale Andres. 

Gatos Silver is a company focused on the exploration, development and production of silver at the Cerro Los Gatos mine in Chihuahua. The complex consists of approximately 103,087ha of mineral rights, representing a highly prospective and underexplored district with numerous silver-zinc-lead epithermal mineralized zones identified as priority targets. In 2021, the company listed its IPO on both the NYSE and TSX.