London-listed Hochschild achived a strong start to this year, with attributable production of 121 367 gold-equivalent ounces or 9.8-million silver-equivalent ounces for the quarter ended March 31.
This was mostly as a result of "another solid quarter" from its Inmaculada mine, in Peru, and a consistent performance by its San Jose mine, in Argentina, and was achieved despite the absence of a meaningful contribution from the Arcata mine, in Peru, which was placed on care and maintenance in February.
"Hochschild has delivered a solid start to the year with a strong contribution from Inmaculada and increased first-quarter output from Pallancata [in Peru], leaving us firmly on track to meet our stated production and cost targets for 2019.
"We have also begun our ambitious 2019 brownfield exploration plan with campaigns already commenced at Inmaculada, San Jose and Pallancata. In addition, we have also secured the drilling permit for the exciting programme scheduled at Palca, as well as achieving environmental approvals for campaigns at nearby Cochaloma and Pablo Sur," Hochschild CEO Ignacio Bustamante said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The company expects to produce 457 000 gold-equivalent ounces, or about 37-million silver-equivalent ounces, for the full-year at an all-in sustaining cost of $900 to $1 100 per gold-equivalent ounce.