Hochschild Mining PLC (LSE:HOC, OTCQX:HCHDF), the FTSE-250 precious metals miner, reported its strongest production quarter of the year.
Attributable production in the third quarter jumped 37% to 93,630 gold equivalent ounces, or 8.1 million silver equivalent ounces, boosted by higher-than-expected grades and recoveries at the Inmaculada mine in Peru.
Overall year-to-date attributable production was 268,749 gold equivalent ounces, or 23.1 million silver equivalent ounces. The company said it remained on track to meet its annual production target of 360,000-372,000 gold equivalent ounces or 31.0-32.0 million silver equivalent ounces.
"Operationally, the third quarter was our strongest so far of 2021 and we remain firmly on track to meet both our full-year production and our cost targets,” said chief executive Ignacio Bustamante. “We have also had another successful period of drilling with the addition of further high-grade resources at both Inmaculada and at San Jose.”
Total gold sold for the third quarter, including that attributable to its joint venture partner, soared 44% from the year-earlier quarter to 68,600 ounces, while total silver sales increased 22% to 3.8 million ounces.
However, the prices received for gold declined almost 10% to US$1,768 an ounce in the third quarter, while silver prices dropped 19% to US$22.0 an ounce.
Hochschild said its strong balance sheet enables it to assess further opportunities to add to its long-term project pipeline throughout the Americas.