Avino Silver steps up drilling plan in Mexico

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. [ASM-TSX, NYSE American; GV6-Berlin, FSE] on Monday March 8 announced an increase in the 2021 capital and exploration plans for its Avino Mine near Durango, Mexico. Plans include increasing the amount of drilling to 30,600 metres.

In a press released on February 16, 2020, the company said it was set launch a 2021 drilling campaign that would involve 12,000 metres of drilling. It said the two-fold objective of the drill program was to locate new mineralized zones within the property and to confirm continuity of mineralization in the current Avino ET production area.

It said phase one of the program would focus on the El Trompo Vein, the Santiago Vein, the Avino ET Area (below Level 17) and Avino West (below Levels 9 and 17).

HGowever, on Monday, the company said it is implementing a fully financed increase in drilling from 12,000 to 30,600 metres. “The fully-funded increases to the drilling campaign, with the addition of Phases 2 and 3, as well as the PEA-recommended drilling on the Oxide Tailings resource, totaling 30,600 additional metres, are consistent with our strategy to increase value for shareholders in the long-term through drilling on the Avino Property,” said Avino President and CEO David Wolfin.

“We are looking forward to receiving initial results from Phase 1 in Q2 2021, as well as advancing the Oxide Tailings project, as we continue to see exceptional value in this project,” he said.

Budgeted capital expenditures are now expected to be between $9 million and $11 million.

Until the end of 2019, Avino operated two producing mines on its 100%-owned Avino property, including the Avino and San Gonzalo. However, mining ceased at San Gonzalo in Q4 2019 following seven years of mining. During that time, San Gonazalo produced 6.0 million silver equivalent ounces.

In 2019, Avino and San Gonzalo together produced 2.4 million ounces of silver equivalent.

In 2020, silver equivalent production fell to 842,230 ounces. The company has said it remains optimistic regarding the vast unexplored potential across the property which hosts dozens of historic shallow artisanal mines.

Total measured and indicated resources in all deposits at the Avino mine property are 10.6 million tonnes averaging 139 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq), or 47.5 million ounces.