Silver Bear Resources (TSX:SBR) announced that construction of its Mangazeisky project in Russia is almost done and that plans to go forward with a first silver production early in the second quarter of 2018 are on track.
Mangazeisky is located 400 km north of Yakutsk, in the eastern Republic of Sakha, and covers an area of approximately 570 square kilometres. The property includes the high-grade Vertikalny deposit which, according to Silver Bear, is amongst the highest-grade silver deposits in the world.
In a press release, the company said that in preparation for the commencement of work at the mine, early stage commissioning has produced silver powder product through the processing plant.
"Mining operations continue with approximately 12,000 tonnes of ore having been stockpiled by the end of 2017 ready for production. Approximately 2,000 tonnes were utilized in early commissioning testing in 2018," the statement reads.
The London-based firm said that, for the remaining of the year, it plans to target new areas of significance to grow the project's resources, as well as look for potential M&A with the idea of developing other resources into producing operations.