VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 12, 2012) - SilverCrest Mines Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SVL)(OTCQX:STVZF)(PINKSHEETS:STVZF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce record production of silver and gold was achieved in the Fourth Quarter, 2011 from the Santa Elena Mine located in Sonora, Mexico.
Santa Elena Mine Production Highlights: Fourth Quarter, 2011 compared to Third Quarter, 2011
-- Silver production up 23% to 131,045 ounces-- Gold production up 8% to 9,536 ounces-- Silver equivalent production up 16% to 667,766 ounces-- Silver ounces delivered to pad up 33% to 524,375-- Gold ounces delivered to pad up 12% to 20,094-- Tonnes crushed up 30% to 328,945
During the first year of production the mine produced 377,071 ounces of silver and 26,969 ounces of gold (1,737,418 ounces of silver equivalent, Ag:Au ratio 50.4:1). The first full year of commercial production will be 2012 during which the mine is expected to produce approximately 435,000 ounces of silver and 33,000 ounces of gold.
J. Scott Drever, President stated; "We are certainly pleased with the continuous improvements being made at the Santa Elena Mine. All aspects of the operations are at or above design capacities. This is reflected in the steady increase in the overall performance statistics and more specifically in the record number of ounces of silver and gold poured on site and sold out of the refinery. The improvements in production numbers will be reflected in our year end financial results to be released towards the end of March. Our substantial operating cash flow has enabled us to retire our US$12.5 million bank debt. Our strong cash position of US$26.2 million at year end assures that we can continue with our Expansion Plan to double production at Santa Elena and to aggressively explore the La Joya property where the Company has a major new discovery".
-------------------------------------------------------Santa Elena Mine Operating Highlights: 2011 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011----------------------------------------------------------------------------Silver ounces produced 377,071 131,045 106,636 74,678 64,712Gold ounces produced 26,969 9,536 8,805 5,476 3,152Silver equivalent ounces produced (1) 1,737,418 667,766 575,079 310,090 184,483Silver ounces sold 344,546 120,199 96,631 70,326 57,390Gold ounces sold 23,962 9,702 7,627 4,300 2,333Tonnes Ore 981,590 328,625 248,192 249,214 155,559Tonnes waste 3,697,291 1,417,413 1,058,909 708,049 512,920Waste / ore ratio 3.77 4.31 4.27 2.84 3.30Ore tonnes crushed 1,050,022 328,945 253,496 249,054 218,527Average ore tonnes crushed per day 2,877 3,575 2,755 2,737 2,428Average silver ore grade (gpt) loaded on pad 44.77 49.55 48.47 44.09 34.07Average gold ore grade (gpt) loaded on pad 1.82 1.90 2.20 1.91 1.14Silver ounces delivered to pad 1,511,807 524,375 395,068 352,995 239,369Gold ounces delivered to pad 61,280 20,094 17,912 15,268 8,006Ag:Au Ratio (1) 50.4:1 56.3:1 53.2:1 43:1 38:1----------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) Silver equivalence was calculated using the market spot rates per goldand silver ounce at the quarter end date