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Fortuna Silver achieves better than expected start-up production rate

The Canadian miner said it has reached a start-up production rate of 1,000 tonnes per day as opposed to the expected 750 tpd and expects to more than quadruple metal production by 2019

Posted: Thursday , 02 Jun 2011

(Reuters)  - 

Canada's Fortuna Silver Mines Inc said it achieved a better start-up production rate than it had previously forecast and expects to more than quadruple metal production by 2019.

The miner said it reached start-up production rate of 1,000 tonnes per day (tpd) compared with 750 tpd it had forecast in a feasibility release in April 2010.

Fortuna said it expects to reach a production capacity of 1500 tpd by the fourth quarter of 2013, earlier than its previous forecast of 2016.

The company said it expects total metal production to more than quadruple to 21.6 million ounces of silver and 172,815 ounces of gold by 2019.

"This should translate into higher initial silver and gold output in a very favorable metal price environment," the company said in a statement.

Shares of the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company were trading up slightly at C$5.22 on Wednesday morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Amruta Sabnis in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)

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