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In Q4, 2011, Endeavour stockpiled much of the quarterly silver and gold production as bullion inventory rather than selling it because of the lower metal prices at that time. A significant portion of the bullion inventory was sold during 2012 at comparatively higher prices to fund the Company's growth initiatives. By Q4, 2012, the mine expansion at Bolanitos to 1600 tonnes per day (tpd) was completed which resulted in an increase of silver and gold in concentrate inventory at the end of the year.
Production Table for 2012--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grade Grade Reco- Reco- Tonnes Tonnes Ag Au very very Silver GoldMine Produced per day gpt gpt Ag % Au % Oz Oz---------------------------------------------------------------------------Guanacevi 418,277 1,143 249 0.76 74.6 76.1 2,513,795 7,874---------------------------------------------------------------------------Bolanitos 476,687 1,302 148 2.19 73.7 77.6 1,667,277 25,920---------------------------------------------------------------------------El Cubo 170,725 998(i) 94 1.42 58.9 60.3 304,403 4,700---------------------------------------------------------------------------Consolidated 1,065,689 2,911 179 1.48 73.2 76.5 4,485,426 38,687---------------------------------------------------------------------------(i) El Cubo was acquired on July 13th and operated for 171 days in 2012.Production Table for Fourth Quarter, 2012--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grade Grade Reco- Reco- Tonnes Tonnes Ag Au very very Silver GoldMine Produced per day g/t g/t Ag % Au % Oz Oz---------------------------------------------------------------------------Guanacevi 110,763 1,204 215 0.69 67.8 44.3 519,059 1,088---------------------------------------------------------------------------Guanajuato 161,841 1,759 140 2.20 72.2 77.6 517,823 8,660---------------------------------------------------------------------------El Cubo 90,175 980 96 1.42 71.2 72.3 198,143 2,976---------------------------------------------------------------------------Consolidated 362,779 3,943 151 1.55 70.1 71.7 1,235,026 12,917---------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the 4th Quarter, the Company discovered discrepancies in its metallurgical balance and Bolanitos concentrate stockpile at the Guanacevi plant. An internal review found a measurement discrepancy in the system feeding Bolanitos concentrates into the Guanacevi leach plant. As a result, Endeavour estimates that about 227 more tonnes of concentrate were processed during the year than reported, which led to an extra 62,500 oz silver and 1,100 oz gold being credited as Guanacevi production. The above average recoveries for gold and silver reported for Guanacevi in the first three quarters of 2012 were therefore overstated.
Endeavour adjusted its 4th Quarter silver and gold recoveries at Guanacevi to accommodate the discrepancy, and the measurement problem in the feed system has been rectified. The Company has also engaged an external engineering firm to review the concentrate measurement and feed systems and metallurgical balances to ensure procedures are appropriately designed to prevent further discrepancies.
