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Silver didn’t see much movement this week, but 2013 production results from a number of companies provided some excitement.
After being dragged down last week by a stronger US dollar and positive jobs data, silver had a much less eventful time this week. It traded between $19.95 and $20.57 per ounce, dipping below $20 only briefly.
The white metal opened Monday at $20, but by the end of the day had risen to $20.46. Tuesday, that upward movement continued, and silver was able to reach $20.57, its highest price this week thus far, midway through the day.
However, that rise was not to last. By the end of the day, silver was back down at $20.26, a decline that may have been caused by “higher silver production news from both Majestic [S]ilver and Silver Standard,” according to Capital Trading Group. The firm believes the positive news may have “discouraged some would-be buyers of silver.” A German bank’s bearish silver price forecast may also have pressured silver downward.
Wednesday saw silver drift between $20.01 and $20.21. While the white metal “should have been partially cheered by a noted recovery in energy, copper and equity prices,” gold and platinum selling instead pulled it downward, Capital Trading Group explains in another report.
Today was a similar story. Though silver dipped down to $19.95, this week’s low so far, it ultimately closed at $20.10 per ounce. It will need to see the US dollar pull back, as well as a continued positive outlook for the US and global economies, if it is to improve, Capital Trading Group states.
Company news
Though silver prices were fairly lackluster this week, 2013 production results from a variety of companies provided some excitement. For instance, Silver Standard Resources (TSX:SSO,NASDAQ:SSRI) on Tuesday commented that last year it produced 8.2 million ounces of silver and 27 million pounds of zinc.
The company’s expectations for next year are similarly high — it plans to produce and sell 8.2 to 8.6 million ounces of silver in addition to 25 to 30 million pounds of zinc.
Also providing 2013 production results this week was SilverCrest Mines (TSXV:SVL,NYSEMKT:SVLC), which revealed today that it produced a record 2.66 million silver equivalent ounces last year. That’s a 12-percent increase from the previous year.
Commenting on the company’s future plans, N. Eric Fier, president and COO of SilverCrest, said, “[m]oving forward in 2014, SilverCrest will continue to focus on delivering strong operating results and optimizing our operating cash flow as we complete the Santa Elena Expansion and increase production to approximately 3.3 million to 3.6 million AgEq ounces.” He also noted that “[o]perating cash costs are expected to range from $8.50 to $9.25 AgEq ounce in 2014.”
Similarly, Excellon Resources (TSX:EXN), Mexico’s highest-grade silver producer, put out 2.1 million silver equivalent ounces last year, including 1.4 million ounces of silver, 7.3 million pounds of lead and 9.9 million pounds of zinc. Scorpio Mining (TSX:SPM), which also operates in Mexico, produced 1,959,113 silver equivalent ounces during 2013.
Junior company news
On Tuesday, Bayhorse Silver (TSXV:BHS) reported assay results from its Oregon-based Bayhorse mine silver property, commenting that 11 out of the 21 selected hand samples assayed more than 100 grams per tonne (g/t) silver “with some containing bonanza grades of more than 10,000 g/t silver.”
Highlights include sample GRBH-20 at 150,370 g/t silver and sample GRBH-19 at 88,206 g/t silver. They “were taken 4 meters apart from a 4-cm thick massive sulfosalt-sphalerite vein that occupies a faulted rhyolite-andesite contact.”
The next day, Corvus Gold (TSX:KOR,OTCQX:CORVF) provided assay results from the last 16 reverse-circulation drill holes from its 2013 campaign. The company notes in its press release that high silver values discovered in a number of holes in the North Sierra Blanca area, which is adjacent to the Yellowjacket deposit, suggest “the presence of more Yellowjacket style high-grade mineralization between the two deposits.”
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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