The Oxide Tailings deposit comprises historic recovery plant residue material deposited during the earlier period of open pit mining of the Avino Vein, when there were poor process plant recoveries for silver and gold. The oxide tailings are partially covered by younger unconsolidated sulphide tailings on the northwest side of the property.
On April 11, 2017, Avino announced that it had completed an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for re-treatment of the Avino mine tailings in Durango, Mexico, which includes results from the Company’s recent 2016 Resource Estimate (see news release dated September 26, 2016) for the Avino property which included the San Gonzalo Mine, the main Avino Mine system, and the property’s Oxide Tailings. The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, and a compliant Technical Report was completed by Tetra Tech Canada Inc. (“Tetra Tech”), and filed on SEDAR and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All currency values below are presented in US$.
Highlights of the Oxide Tailings Preliminary Economic Assessment
- Significant pre-tax NPV8% of US$40.5 million
- Strong pre-tax IRR of 48.4%
- 2 year pay-back period
- Total capital expenditures of US$28.5 million
- 7 year mine life with LOM of 3.12 million tonnes of oxide tailings materials
The April 11, 2017 Technical Report can be viewed here.
The Company cautions that the PEA is preliminary in nature in that it is based on Inferred Mineral Resources which are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be characterized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
In January 2021, Avino announced the results of an updated resource estimate, and was amended on December 20, 2021 for the Avino property. The updated estimate includes the Property’s Avino Mine (Elena Tolosa (“ET”) vein systems, the San Gonzalo Mine, and the Property’s Oxide Tailings. The mineral resources estimate has been included in an updated technical report prepared by Tetra Tech Inc. under National Instrument 43-101 (“NI-43-101”), which will be available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under the Company’s profile and filed on Form 6-K with the SEC within 45 days. For More information see Avino’s press release dated January 13, 2021. The most recent Technical Report can be viewed on the website at Technical Reports National Instrument 43-101.
Avino’s projects are under the supervision of Peter Latta, P.Eng, MBA who is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical data herein.
