TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Chicago-based precious metals miner Coeur Mining this week reported a significant increase in Canadian National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral reserves totalling about 255.4-million ounces of silver and 2.2-million ounces of gold – a 15.9% year-on-year increase for silver and a 12.3% rise for gold.

The TSX- and NYSE-listed miner reported that these gains were net of the 17-million ounces of silver and 262 217 oz of gold produced during 2013.

Coeur also announced measured and indicated mineral resources totalling about 386.3-million silver ounces and 2.5-million gold ounces, up 26.6% and 1.4% respectively, compared with year-end 2012.

Inferred silver resources increased by 45.5% year-on-year to 96.4-million ounces, and inferred gold resources rose 36.5% to 1.1-million ounces.

“For the past several years, our main focus has been to get all four of our mines up and running consistently. 2012 was the first year we devoted significant capital to exploration and we are starting to see the fruits of these efforts,” president and CEO Michael Krebs said.

Coeur had spent $74-million in exploration expenditures over the past two years and said it would continue to fund exploration activities using a success-based approach focused on resource conversion.

“We believe a robust exploration programme represents a high-return use of our capital based on the results we have achieved,” he added.

In 2014, Coeur plans to invest $23-million to $28-million on exploration, including about $10-million in capitalised drilling, but may increase this budget if the company receives positive drill results that warrant further exploration activity. Coeur said that it would continue with a targeted focus on resource conversion at Palmarejo, which it believed held considerable opportunity for new sources of production.

Coeur produces from the Palmarejo silver/gold mine, in Mexico; the San Bartolomé silver mine, in Bolivia; the Rochester silver/gold mine, in Nevada; and the Kensington gold mine, in Alaska.

The company also has a non-operating interest in the Endeavor mine, in Australia, and net smelter royalties on the Cerro Bayo mine, in Chile, the El Gallo complex, in Mexico, and the Zaruma mine, in Ecuador. Coeur further has two silver/gold feasibility stage projects, including the La Preciosa project, in Mexico and the Joaquin project, in Argentina.

For the three months ended December 31, Coeur reported output of 4.3-million ounces of silver and 80 780 oz of gold. Full-year output totalled 17-million ounces of silver and a record high 262 217 oz of gold.

Full-year 2013 cash operating costs were expected to be $9.87/oz of silver and $949/oz of gold.

For 2014, Coeur expected to  produce between 17-million and 18.2-million silver ounces and 220 000 oz to 238 000 oz of gold.