Great Panther Silver begins shipping Guanajuato concentrates to new buyer

Great Panther Silver (TSE:GPR) (AMEX:GPL) said Thursday it has begun shipping silver-gold concentrates from its Guanajuato operation to a new buyer in Mexico.

The first delivery of 100 tonnes was sent today, and is the "first of many" shipments that will allow the company to reduce the backlog of concentrates at its Guanajuato mine.

Last week, the company, which produces silver from its Guanajuato and Topia mines in Mexico, announced second quarter results, which as expected, were impacted by delays in shipments of concentrate from its Guanajuato operation - a result of technical issues with the company's metal trader smelter. The smelter was fully supplied and therefore reduced the quantity of purchases from Guanajuato, leading to Great Panther seeking an alternative buyer.

"While second quarter revenue was lower as a result of the unsold concentrates, it is considered to be a short-term issue," Great Panther said in its statement Thursday.

The additional sales to the new buyer, for which terms are "competitive", are expected to return strong revenues in the third and fourth quarters, with backlog expected to regain normal levels by year-end, it added.

The Guanajuato operation currently produces over 250 tonnes per month of silver-gold bearing pyrite concentrates.

As of Thursday, concentrates are being trucked to a Mexican plant producing mostly silver and gold bars, which are then marketed to a refinery.

"The plant has surplus capacity over the requirements of its own mine and, from extensive test work, has been found to be suitable for the recovery of gold and silver from Guanajuato concentrates," said Great Panther.

Great Panther also operates the Topia silver-gold-lead-zinc mine located in Durango State, which sells its silver-rich lead and zinc concentrates under a separate contract.

Last month, the company purchased the new Santa Rosa silver-gold project, totaling 1,514 hectares, located roughly 10 to 15 kilometres northeast of Guanajuato, increasing land holdings in the area by 136%.