Mr. David Wolfin reports
AVINO COMMISSIONS MILL CIRCUIT 4
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. has commissionedmill circuit 4, which involves ramp-up, testing and tuning; the mill is operating consistent with management's expectations. Following the completion of the milling, flotation and thickening components, mill circuit 4's 1,000-tonne-per-day ball mill was turned over on Feb. 26, 2018, for its initial test. The charged ball mill start-up went very well with only minor issues with the lube system which were resolved quickly. Commissioning of the complete circuit resumed on May 19, 2018, with the introduction of mill feed, followed by testing of the classification, flotation, thickening and filtering components. The commissioning of these portions of the circuit went well, with only minor issues with the flotation blower that were also resolved quickly. The focus has now shifted to continuing to ramp up throughput to nameplate capacity while optimizing recovery in the circuit.
"With our current expansion nearly complete at the Avino property, we are very excited to add mill circuit 4 to our production profile. The new state-of-the-art circuit effectively increases our throughput capacity by 70 per cent, and we expect it to be on-line full time in early January, 2019," said David Wolfin, president and chief executive officer. "I would like to thank our team in Mexico for their hard work, dedication and resourcefulness to get this major project completed."
During the start-up, testing and commissioning phase, which is expected to last through the end of 2018, feed to mill circuit 4 will come from historic above-ground Avino mine stockpiles which have approximate feed grades of 51 grams per tonne silver, 0.342 g/t gold and 0.17 per cent copper. Once complete, mill circuit 4 will transition to processing newly mined mill feed from the San Luis area of the Avino mine.
Marketing concentrate from mill circuit 4
Avino is currently marketing the concentrate products from mill circuit 4, and there has been a very strong response from various trading firms. Proposals are being reviewed to ensure optimum value given the competitive marketplace for concentrate.
Avino mine expansion (San Luis area)
The San Luis area of the Avino vein is accessed through a separate portal located approximately two kilometres from the main entrance of the Avino mine (Elena Tolosa area). The current resources at San Luis were included in the most recent resource estimate on the Avino property which can be found in Avino's news release dated Feb. 21, 2018, on Avino's website and under the company's profile on the SEDAR system. The news release was also filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K.
Work at San Luis is currently focused on restoration of the main haulage ramp which is expected to be completed near the end of the second quarter 2018. When the haulage ramp is complete, plans are to begin development and drifting on levels 6 and 6.5 followed by levels 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5 and 9. Most of these areas were partially developed during the 1980s and 1990s prior to the mine's closure.
Qualified person
Avino's Mexican projects are under the supervision of Jasman Yee, PEng, Avino director, who is a qualified person (QP) within the context of National Instrument 43-101.He has reviewed and approved all the applicable technical data in this press release.
About Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.
Avino is a silver and gold producer with a diversified pipeline of gold, silver and base metals properties in Mexico and Canada, employing close to 600 people. Avino produces from its wholly owned Avino and San Gonzalo mines near Durango, Mexico, and is currently evaluating the potential economics of possible future production at the Bralorne gold mine in British Columbia, Canada. The company's gold and silver production remains unhedged.
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