Atico Mining Reports Increased Copper and Gold Production for Q1

Atico Mining (TSXV:ATY) reported its operating results for Q1 from its El Roble mine. The mine produced 2 million pounds of copper and 2,291 ounces of gold in concentrates for the first quarter, representing increases of 43 and 99 percent for copper and gold respectively, year-on-year.

As quoted in the press release, highlights of results included:

• Production of 2.0 million pounds of copper contained in concentrates; an increase of 43% over Q1 2014.
• Production of 2,291 ounces of gold contained in concentrates; an increase of 99% over Q1 2014.
• Average processed tonnes per day of 557, an increase of 57% over Q1 2014.
• Copper head grade of 2.91%, a decrease of 3.3% over Q1 2014.
• Gold head grade 3.14 grams per tonne; an increase of 29% over Q1 2014.
• Copper and gold recovery of 93.06% and 67.59%; an increase of 1.7% and 6.1% for copper and gold respectively over Q1 2014.

The company also provided an operational review for the quarter:

In late January and for all of February, the Company experienced intermittent production and lower than planned throughput. This was a result of a malfunction during commissioning of the newly installed main screen before the secondary crusher. The operations team quickly redesigned the flow sheet bypassing the screen and stabilizing throughput in March at about 600 tonnes per day and reaching during certain days 650 tonnes per day.

The main screen has since been overhauled and is scheduled to be reinstalled in early May. Along with the recent redesign and pending a successful reintegration of the main screen, management believes that the mill’s nominal capacity could increase beyond 650 tonnes per day.

The Company experienced a reduction in the average in-situ copper grade of stopes mined in the quarter, reducing the head grade for the same period by approximately 7% relative to 2014 head grades. Gold head grade for the period was in line with expectations. The head grade is expected to increase during second quarter of 2015 to levels seen in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Atico CEO, Fernando E. Ganoza, said:

First quarter 2015 was a significant improvement over the same period last year but concluded well below our expectations. Reduced mill availability and throughput during January and February affected production results for the quarter. Despite the challenging start to the year, we are experiencing a strong start to the second quarter and remain optimistic that we will have the opportunity to compensate over the next three quarters and achieve our 2015 targets.

Click here to read the Atico Mining (TSXV:ATY) press release