Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSRI) has posted fourth quarter and full-year 2014 operational update for its Pirquitas mine in Jujuy, Argentina and Marigold mine Nevada, U.S.. It has also provided its production and cost guidance for 2015.
The Pirquitas mine produced 8.7 million ounces of silver in 2014, up 6% year over year from 8.2 million ounces produced in 2013. It was also higher than the guidance range of 8.2 to 8.6 million ounces.
The increase was mainly due to higher grades and timely shipments. In the fourth quarter, the mine produced 2.2 million ounces of silver, 4.3% lower than the prior quarter figure owing to slightly lower ore milled and mill feed silver grades, which were partly offset by improved recoveries.
Silver Standard sold 2.8 million ounces of silver at the Pirquitas mine in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 8.7 million pounds of zinc in the quarter.
Also, the Pirquitas mine produced 4.8 million pounds of zinc in zinc concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2014. Production was down roughly 53.4% from the prior quarter. The mine produced a record 30 million pounds of zinc in zinc concentrate in 2014. The results reflected higher zinc grades and improved plant mine recoveries, as the company mined more of the zinc-rich Potosi area of the San Miguel open pit.
Silver Standard milled 372,000 tons of ore at the mine in the fourth quarter, down 8.6% from the third quarter of 2014. Average rate of ore milled was 4,045 tons per day.
The mine’s ore milled an average silver grade of 222 g/t, compared to 248 g/t reported in the previous quarter, as the company gained from higher grade stock piled material in third-quarter 2014. Silver recovery averaged 83.8% in in the fourth quarter.
The Marigold mine produced 129,615 ounces of gold from Apr through Dec 2014, surpassing the previous guidance of 110,000 to 120,000 ounces of gold. The mine produced record gold of 67,113 ounces in the fourth quarter, 66% higher than the previous quarter.
Silver Standard expects the Pirquitas mine to produce 9–10 million ounces of silver and 10–12 million pounds of zinc in 2015. Also, the company expects the Marigold mine to produce gold in the range of 160,000 to 175,000 ounces in 2015. The company further expects cash costs to be between $11.50 and $12.50 per payable ounce of silver sold for Pirquitas and $725–$800 per payable ounce of gold sold for Marigold in 2015.
Capital expenditures at the Pirquitas mine are expected to be $10 million while those at the Marigold mine are expected to be $20 million in 2015. Exploration and development expenditures are expected to be $15 million in 2015.
Silver Standard carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Other companies in the basic materials sector worth considering include Golden Star Resources, Ltd. (GSS), Pretium Resources Inc. (PVG) and Rubicon Minerals Corp. (RBY), all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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