Endeavour Silver Provides Production and Cost Guidance for 2016; Conference Call at 10

00am PST Today - Seite 2

"The exciting new Terronera silver-gold mine property in Jalisco State has great upside potential. In 2016 we plan to continue aggressively exploring and engineering this project to significantly enhance the economics at current metal prices. We will therefore delay the pre-feasibility study until this next phase of evaluation is completed later this year. We will also continue to focus on M&A opportunities to take advantage of these low metal prices and acquire an accretive new mine and/or development project."

At Guanaceví, production will continue at the 1,200 tonne per day (tpd) plant capacity primarily from the Santa Cruz, Porvenir Norte, and Porvenir Centro deposits. Underground exploration and mine development will continue to be funded from cash flow, and additional mine development is scheduled for permitting and development subject to financing from existing sources.

At Bolañitos, mine production will continue at 850 tpd primarily from the LL-Asunción deposit. The plant will operate closer to its 1,600 tpd capacity in the first half in order to process the 75,000 tonne ore stockpile. No exploration or mine development is planned at the current metal prices but that could change during the year if prices improve.

At El Cubo, production will continue initially from the V-Asunción, Dolores, Villalpando, San Nicolas and Santa Cecilia veins but will decline each month until only V-Asunción is producing prior to going on care and maintenance in the fourth quarter. Investments on exploration and mine development have been suspended until metal prices improve. 

Operating Costs

Consolidated cash cost of production, net of gold by-product credits, is expected to be $8-9 per oz of silver in 2016, slightly higher than our 2015 estimated cash cost due to the lower value of the gold credit. Consolidated cash costs on a co-product basis are anticipated to be $10.50-$11.50 per oz silver and $800-$850 per oz gold.

All-in sustaining cost (AISC) of production, net of gold by-product credits, in accordance with the World Gold Council standard, is estimated to be $12-13 per oz of silver in 2016, substantially lower than our estimated 2015 AISC due to the lower Mexican peso to U.S. dollar exchange rate and lower sustaining capital and exploration investments. When non-cash items such as stock based compensation are excluded, AISC, net of gold by-product credits, is forecast in the $11.50-$12.50 range. On a co-product basis, AISC's are predicted to be $13-14 per oz silver and $950-$1,050 per oz gold. Direct operating costs are estimated to be in the $77-81 per tonne range.