USA - CEO Shopping at the PDACLink: https://www.miningweekly.com/article/us-silver-eyes-an-additional-1mozy-by-late-2014-2012-03-06
US Silver eyes an additional 1Moz/y by late 2014
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Where the market tumult over recent months has made life tough for juniors that need to raise money to keep their drill rigs turning, for existing producers with a bit of cash in the bank, it spells opportunity.
“The ones that have financed themselves and have enough runway to continue their exploration programmes are happy going down that path. The ones that have not done that may be more interested in having talks with us,” US Silver chairperson Gordon Pridham said this week.
His company, which owns the Galena mine in Idaho, is on the lookout for deals at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s 2012 convention currently being held in Toronto.
“There’s no doubt that the markets are tougher than they were, and that could be a good opportunity for us,” said Pridham.
The droves of junior mining companies flooding the floors of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre are notoriously cup-half-full people, and this year is no different as the now clichéd “cautiously optimistic” phrase gets thrown about.
Though prices and sentiment have picked up significantly for mining firms since the eurozone crisis dragged markets down sharply in the second half of 2011, it does not take much to remind the industry of how fragile the world economy is.
As the convention was entering its third day, the TSX plunged 1.8% to the lowest level since mid-January as fears resurfaced over Greece’s bailout, and China lowered its growth forecasts. The bourse’s metals and mining counter shed around 4.7% of its value.
And while this environment might put deals on the table that might not otherwise occur, Pridham said US Silver aims to grow too as investors might favour the company more.
“We would observe that the market gives higher ratings to companies that have multiple mining assets,” he said, adding the company was keen on buying additional assets in North America, but more so Canada and the US than Mexico.
TSX-listed US Silver is already building the Coeur project, where it hopes will be producing at a rate of 500 000 oz from the end of the year.
It is also drilling a nearby deposit that Pridham believed might add another 500 000 oz/y of production by late 2014.
The company produced around 2.4-million ounces of silver in 2011.
Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter