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Avino Silver (ASM) Gives Update on Its La Preciosa Property

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Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM - Free Report) provided an update on the recently completed and ongoing work at La Preciosa.

La Preciosa is a development stage mineral property in Durango, Mexico, next to Avino Silver's existing operations. It hosts one of Mexico's largest undeveloped primary silver resources. The addition of La Preciosa's mineral resource inventory significantly enhanced ASM's consolidated NI 43-101 mineral resources, which currently comprise 371 million silver equivalent ounces.

In the first half of January 2024, the company announced that it has negotiated a long-term land-use agreement with a local community to develop La Preciosa. This move was an essential achievement that got ASM one step closer to its goal of putting La Preciosa into production.

Avino Silver reported that the onsite drill core storage and office facilities are in good shape and powered by solar. At La Preciosa, capital for 2024 is estimated between $3 million and $4 million, which will cover surface work and equipment procurement for the Gloria and Abundancia Veins' first phase of mine development.

ASM already has the mining equipment to start operations in La Preciosa. The company is dedicated to conducting La Preciosa with minimal environmental impact and at a low cost.

Avino Silver announced that it has submitted an application for an environmental permit to the authorities. A new permission will be submitted right after receiving the Environmental permit, which is required to begin construction of the portal, haulage ramp, and mining of the Gloria and Abundancia veins.

The company additionally stated that at the Avino mill, rehabilitation of an unused thickener tank in preparation for processing the stockpiles is presently underway in one of Avino Silver's 250 TPD circuits. Once completed, the production of a silver-gold concentrate from this stockpile material will start, marking another milestone for the company.

In the last reported quarter, ASM came out with adjusted earnings of a penny per share, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company reported break-even earnings in the prior-year quarter. Revenues increased 35% year over year in the third quarter of 2023 to $12.3 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10 million.

Price Performance

Shares of the company have lost 31% over the past year compared with the industry’s 12.8% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Avino Silver currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Ecolab Inc. (ECL - Free Report) , Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. (AMR - Free Report) and Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS - Free Report) . While ECL and AMR sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, CRS carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ecolab’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $6.39 per share, indicating an increase of 22.7% from the prior year’s reported number. It has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.7%. ECL shares have gained 41.8% in a year.

Alpha Metallurgical Resources has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMR’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $43.33 per share. Earnings estimates have moved 1% north in the past 60 days. AMR's shares have rallied 115.2% in a year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carpenter Technology’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $4.00 per share. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings has moved 1% north in the past 60 days. CRS has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.3%. Its shares have risen 33.5% in a year.

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