Great Panther goes underground at Guanajuato

Vancouver An underground drill program is under way at the Guanajuato silver-gold mine property held by Great Panther Resources (GPR-V) in a historic silver mining region of Guanajuato State, Mexico.

The 45-hole program totaling at least 3,000 metres is aimed at defining gold-silver zones for production purposes, and for the preparation of a resource estimate compliant with National Instrument 43-101 disclosure standards. Initial drilling will focus on the San Vicente North area on the northwest side of the Rayas shaft, followed by at least 500 metres in six holes in the Guanajuatito-Encarnacion area in the northwestern portion of the property, and 900 metres in 10 holes on the 275-metre level of the Rayas shaft area.

Great Panther owns 100% of the past-producing property and intends to return the historic mines back into production. The Guanajuato mine complex was once one of Mexico’s largest silver producers, and is situated in a district that has produced an estimated 1.2 billion oz. silver and 4.5 million oz. gold.

Great Panther recently expanded its land position at Guanajuato in order to expand existing processing facilities currently being upgraded at the property. The company has commissioned the first of three 400-tonne-per-day ball mills at the plant, and recently sent a shipment of concentrates from the commissioning process to the Penoles smelter in Torreon. The concentrates were produced from low-grade stockpiles pending the official start of production once the mine infrastructure is developed for mining.

Contractors have been hired to accelerate the development of mine infrastructure, including the preparation of stopes to feed the plant on a continuous basis. By year-end, Great Panther expects to have the plant operating at its full capacity of 1,200 tonnes per day.

Great Panther has also revived the Topia silver-lead-zinc mine in Durango State, and hopes to achieve a production target of 200 tonnes per day by the third quarter of this year. Development and drilling programs to define and expand resources are continuing as mine development continues along the rich Dos Amigos vein system.