Great Panther Silver is a primary silver mining and exploration company focused on its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico, Guanajuato and Topia.

The company also owns a development stage property, San Ignacio, which is approximately 20 kilometres by road from its Guanajuato processing plant, and an exploration stage property, Santa Rosa, which is located 15 kilometres northeast of Guanajuato.

Archer said that the company is maintaining its guidance for metal production for the year, and expects a range of 2.5 to 2.75 million silver equivalent ounces, compared to 2.2 million ounces in 2011. Total cash costs are expected in the range of $9.50 to $10.50 an ounce, from $10.84 in 2011.

While first quarter production represented only modest growth over the fourth quarter, the company noted that output for the rest of the year is expected to continue to grow due to improving ore grades and recoveries.

At Guanajuato, ore grades for the first quarter were 213 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 2.30 g/t gold, a 21 per cent increase over the average for 2011.

Mining of the high grade Deep Cata and the gold-rich Santa Margarita ore bodies have already showed the potential to build on this improvement, Great Panther said, with further expansion of production from these areas planned this year.

Record quarterly gold production in the quarter was on account of the Santa Margarita vein.

The company also said that plant metallurgy has already achieved "record metal recovery" at the operation, and further improvements are anticipated with the addition of the re-grind mill at the Cata plant.

Archer also said that plant capacity is "more than sufficient" to handle any increase in throughput.

The company expects output at Guanajuato to in the second quarter, with growth anticipated to continue in the third and fourth quarters.

Meanwhile, at Topia, production was lower due to a 20 per cent year-over-year reduction in ore grades in terms of silver equivalents.

"While ore grades were down for the quarter, grades improved in March to well above the average for 2011, with new vein developments to support higher grades throughout 2012," Archer said.

Great Panther noted on the conference call that operating results were impacted by the "extreme dry season" affecting central Mexico, resulting in a water shortage, and causing plant capacity to be reduced by almost 30 per cent to 160 tonnes per day during the last month of the quarter.

Custom milling throughput has been reduced temporarily, and any excess ore will be stockpiled for processing later in the year after the rainy season starts, the company said. It expects no plant capacity shortfall for the remainder of the year.

Meanwhile, plant modifications and efficiencies, including additional flotation cells, have been completed to allow for improved metallurgical performance. A Topia resource update is expected in the third quarter.

For the first quarter, the company posted a profit of $4.68 million, or 3 cents per diluted share, versus a profit of $7.01 million, or 5 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue totalled $13.63 million, down from $15.46 million a year earlier. Total cash cost per silver ounce was $9.05, down from $10.33 in the first quarter of 2011.

Aside from the company's Guanajuato and Topia operations, the company has the San Ignacio development project, where Archer said he does not expect any permitting issues. As soon as "we hit the ore, we can truck that ore to the Cata plant and process it right away," he said.

Since San Ignacio is effectively a satellite of the Guanajuato Mine Complex, located 20 km away by road, and any mineralization extracted from San Ignacio will be processed at the Cata plant, the resource was recently updated to be considered as part of the overall Guanajuato Mine mineral inventory.

The updated measured and indicated mineral resource at the Guanajuato Mine Complex contains 5.649 million ounces of silver equivalent, replacing production from the Guanajuato Mine during the past 18 months.

Archer said the "rolling resource" is common in underground mines where it is difficult and not cost-effective to drill  off a large resource.

Inferred mineral resources at the Guanajuato Mine are estimated at 2.5 million silver equivalent ounces.

The new inferred mineral resource at San Ignacio is estimated to contain 6.89 million silver equivalent ounces in 826,000 tonnes averaging 121 g/t silver and 2.28 g/t gold, using a 125 g/t cut-off.

The San Ignacio project continues to grow and will ultimately be processed at the Cata plant at the main complex, thereby significantly increasing the mine life of the Guanajuato operations, Great Panther said.

At San Ignacio, surface drilling is ongoing with two drills, and continues to extend the limits of the known mineralized zones beyond the resource model.

Highlights in the known zones include 2.65 metres grading 533 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 7.59 g/t gold, and 1.15 metres grading 249 g/t silver and 2.99 g/t gold.

Archer said several hundred tonnes a day are expected to come out of San Ignacio by around 2014, with a ramp up to follow.

Great Panther is also pursuing acquisition opportunities in Mexico and Peru to add to its portfolio of properties.

Earlier this week, Great Panther announced a resource update at its Guanajuato Mine Complex and San Ignacio project.

The updated measured and indicated mineral resource at the Guanajuato Mine Complex contains 5.649 million ounces of silver equivalent, replacing production from the Guanajuato Mine during the past 18 months.

Inferred mineral resources at the Guanajuato Mine are estimated at 2.5 million silver equivalent ounces.

Since San Ignacio is effectively a satellite of the Guanajuato Mine Complex, located 20 km away by road, and any mineralization extracted from San Ignacio will be processed at the Cata Plant, the resource is now being considered as part of the overall Guanajuato Mine mineral inventory, the company said.

The new inferred mineral resource at San Ignacio is estimated to contain 6.89 million silver equivalent ounces in 826,000 tonnes averaging 121 g/t silver and 2.28 g/t gold, using a 125 g/t cut-off.

The estimate for San Ignacio increases the tonnage by 35 percent, the silver content by 29 percent, the gold content by 51 percent and the silver equivalent ounces by 53 percent over the previous estimate, Great Panther said.

Stonecap said contained silver increased 16 percent to 8 million ounces from 6.9 million ounces previously, while contained gold rose 24 percent to 115,000 ounces from 93,000 ounces previously.

The report also noted the San Ignacio project's contained metals has increased to 3.2 million ounces of silver and 60,000 ounces of gold, from 2.5 million ounce silver and 36,000 ounces of gold.

Total NI 43-101 compliant resources have risen 28 percent from 1.22 million tonnes to 1.56 million tonnes.

"Our mine model for Guanajuato assumes a LOM [life-of-mine] total of ~2.4m tonnes mined versus the current NI 43-101 resource of 1.56m tonnes," Stonecap analyst Christos Doulis said.

"While Great Panther has managed to increase its total resource by ~27% to 1.56m tonnes at the Guanajuato Mine Complex, this has little impact on our valuation as our model continues to incorporate a total of ~2.4m tonnes mined at Guanajuato."

Great Panther is currently trading at $1.89 on Friday afternoon.

Great Panther is a primary silver mining and exploration company focused on mining precious metals from its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico.

It also owns the development stage property San Ignacio, and an exploration stage property, Santa Rosa, which is located approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Guanajuato.

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These two metals are expected to see a sharp boost in demand, leading to a predicted shortage in materials for electronics like iPads and Kindles starting in 2017, and an anticipated increase in prices.

Demand for both silver and tin is driven by the fact that both metals are key components in solder alloys that meet the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive implemented in the EU in 2006.

The directive, which took effect in July of 2006, recognizes that a large proportion of electronic waste will never be recycled, and therefore the materials within devices will dissipate into the environment. For example, when lead is used in substances such as the solder that connects components to a circuit board in an electronic device, there is no way the lead can be collected.

As a result, the EU said that substances like solder, at least within devices intended for sale in the region, must not contain any of the hazardous materials the directive is concerned with, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and diphenyl ether.

Because of this new law, the search for a new standard solder in the electronics industry began, resulting in a mixture of tin and silver - putting pressure on supplies for both of these metals.

Byron Capital says that from the period of 2004 to 2011, prices for both tin and silver have been appreciating markedly. The firm noted in a recent report that many electronic manufacturers have decided to use lead-free solders on all versions of their products - whether shipping to regions in which RoHS regulations pertain, or not - as it is logistically simpler.

Hykawy says that a shortfall in tin supply is of particular concern, as mining production levels suggest growth rates of tin output are "anemic".

Tin, which is an LME-traded metal, had the lowest warehouse availability of any LME-traded metal at only 10,000 tonnes as of February 22.

Byron predicts that non-investment demand for tin will jump from around 362,000 tonnes last year to more than 544,000 tonnes by 2020. Silver demand, meanwhile, is expected to go up from 844 million ounces in 2011 to over 1 billion ounces by 2020 as demand for silver in the construction of solar modules is also accelerating quickly.

Prices for tin, according to Byron, are projected to more than double to $59,047 per tonne in 2018, while prices for silver are expected to rise to $68.88 per ounce in 2018 - when silver is anticipated to reach critical supply levels - from $35.11 in 2011.

"Global growth is driven by people, energy and materials, and of these materials, more tin and silver is needed or we will have a potentially dangerous supply situation on our hands," says Hykawy.

After an enlightening talk on critical materials used in hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles from General Motors' Dr. Yucong Wang, South American Silver's (TSE:SAC) investor relations manager, Robert Gill, spoke on the company's silver and indium assets in Bolivia on Thursday.

Indium's current primary application is to form transparent electrodes from indium tin oxide in liquid crystal displays and touchscreens, and this use largely determines its global mining production.

It is also used for making particularly low melting point alloys, and is a component in some lead-free solders.

South American's Malku Khota project in Bolivia, which is listed by Byton as one of the major new silver projects coming on stream, is one of the world’s largest undeveloped silver and indium resources with an NI 43-101-qualified indicated resource of 230.3 million ounces of silver and 1,481 tonnes of indium, plus an inferred resource of 140 million ounces silver and 935 tonnes indium.

An updated preliminary economic assessment, released last year, showed a net present value of $704 million at a five percent discount rate for a 40,000 tonne per day bulk mineable heap leach operation. Projected silver production is 13.2 million ounces per year, with 80 tonnes of indium per year.

Gill says that the company, with $26.6 million in cash, is due to release a pre-feasibility level update in the second quarter of this year, with feasibility work to start in the second half of 2012.

Other noteworthy companies in the silver sector include Southern Silver (CVE:SSV), SilverCrest Mines (CVE:SVL)(OTCQX:STVZF), Silver Bull Resources (TSE:SVB)(AMEX:SVBL), Great Panther Silver (TSE:GPR)(AMEX:GPL), Orko Silver (CVE:OK), and Arian Silver (CVE:AGQ)(AIM:AGQ).

Southern Silver Exploration

Southern Silver Exploration is a Canadian precious and base metals explorer with mining ventures in Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona.

At its Cerro Las Minitas project in Mexico, Southern Silver has scheduled 20,000 metres of core drilling in 2012, with the aim of completing an NI 43-101 compliant resource on its first set of targets by the fourth quarter.  This will be the initial milestone toward the company's goal of delineating a larger, multi-million tonne, high-grade, silver-enriched polymetallic resource on the project.

Assay results from hole 12CLM-030 returned a 1.1 metre interval averaging 250 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 10.7% lead and 16.95 zinc (1,007 g/t silver equivalent) at a vertical depth of approximately 270 metres.

SilverCrest Mines

Precious metals producer SilverCrest Mines, meanwhile, is focused on production from its Santa Elena Mine in Sonora, Mexico, which started commercial production in July of last year.

The company recently announced that silver production in the first quarter from its Santa Elena Mine more than doubled while gold production almost tripled year-over-year.

For the first quarter, silver production jumped 108 percent to 134,528 ounces, from 64,712 ounces a year ago, when the mine, which is now in commercial production, was still in the commissioning phase. Silver equivalent ounces sold soared 339 percent to 641,532 ounces from 146,219 in the first quarter one year ago.

The mine is a high-grade, epithermal gold and silver producer, with an estimated life of mine cash cost of US$8 per ounce of silver equivalent.

SilverCrest anticipates that the mine should recover around 4,805,000 ounces of silver and 179,000 ounces of gold over the 6.5 year life of the open pit phase.

Silver Bull Resources

Silver Bull Resources is a silver and zinc-focused explorer, whose flagship project is Sierra Mojada in Mexico. The property is located 150 kilometres north of the city of Torreon in Coahuila, Mexico and is highly prospective for silver and zinc. The explorer said that the third in a series of NI 43-101 resource updates is anticipated in the second quarter of 2012.

Given the drilling results to date for Silver Bull, it is anticipated that the next report for the property will show a substantial increase in the silver resource at Sierra Mojada, as well as including a resource for the significant zinc mineralization seen on the project.

Recent drill results from the site include 8.45 metres of massive sulphide grading 16.98% zinc, 5.45% lead, and 57.29 grams per tonne (g/t) silver in a previously untested zone 500 metres to the north of the Shallow Silver Zone.

Overall, Silver Bull has acquired or has options to acquire mineral concessions totaling 15,833 hectares in the Sierra Mojada Mining District. The company has been working on the Sierra Mojada property since 1997 and has completed over 80,000 metres of drilling.

The Vancouver-headquartered miner also owns three mineral exploration licences in Gabon, Africa, two of which are currently under joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU).

Great Panther Silver

Vancouver-headquartered Great Panther Silver is a silver miner focused on its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico - Guanajuato and Topia.

Since commencing operations at these two mines in 2006, Great Panther has achieved continuous growth in metal production in excess of 20 percent per year until 2010, when the company saw record production of 2.3 million silver equivalent ounces.

In 2012, Great Panther expects to deliver production of 2.5 to 2.75 million silver equivalent ounces, an increase of 14 to 25 percent from 2011.

Orko Silver

Another company with robust assets in the silver sector includes Orko Silver, which earlier this month regained 100 percent ownership in its La Preciosa property in Mexico.

In early April, Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA)(NASDAQ:PAAS) relinquished its right to earn a 55 percent interest in the La Preciosa project, one of the world's largest primary silver deposits, after it decided not to deliver feasibility study before an April 13, 2012 deadline.

Orko Silver's chief executive Gary Cope confirmed that four unnamed mining companies had "expressed an interest" in the project, with Orko signing standstill agreements with two of these parties.

La Preciosa is located in Durango State, which envelops the heart of Mexico’s prolific Sierra Madre Mining Belt, and includes large silver deposits such as Fresnillo and Pitarrilla.

An August 2011 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) gave an estimated mineral resource containing 113 million ounces of silver classified as indicated and a further 46 million ounces of silver classified as inferred. In addition, the deposit contains over 222,000 ounces of indicated gold and 83,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category.

The PEA showed an after-tax net present value of $315 million at a five percent discount rate, and a 24.3 percent internal rate of return. The results assumed prices of $25 per ounce of silver and $1,250 per ounce of gold.

Arian Silver

Mexico-focused Arian Silver, meanwhile, is an emerging producer, that in March unveiled an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for its 100 percent-owned San José property in Zacatecas State.

Resource tonnage was up 29 percent along the San José Vein (SJV) from a July 2011 estimate, while contained ounces of silver were up 32 percent.

The company said that in the indicated category, the resource contained 8 million tonnes at an average grade of 119 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 0.38% lead and 0.85% zinc. Contained metal comprised 30.61 million ounces of silver, 67.02 million pounds of lead and 149.91 million pounds of zinc.

In the inferred category, the resource contained 24.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 110 g/t silver, 0.38% lead and 0.76% zinc. Contained metal comprised 86.65 million ounces of silver, 205.25 million pounds of lead and 410.50 million pounds of zinc.

Mineralization remains open along the western and eastern strikes of the main vein, and to depth, with further drilling planned.

Silver Standard

On the tin side, Byron Capital listed Silver Standard Resources' (TSE:SSO) (NASDAQ:SSRI) Pirquitas Mine in northern Argentina as one of the new tin projects globally. The mine is the company's first major mining operation, and commercial production started in December 2009. At full production, it is estimated the mine will produce an average of around eight to ten million ounces of silver and ten to twelve million pounds of zinc annually, ranking Pirquitas among the largest primary silver mines in the world, the company says.

The silver and zinc concentrates produced from the plant are shipped to various smelters around the world.

Other new projects for tin listed are Eurotin's (CVE:TIN) Oropesa project in Spain, Kasbah Resources’ (ASX:KAS) Achmmach property in Morocco, anticipated to come on stream in 2017, and Consolidated Tin Mines' (ASX:CSD) Mount Garnet asset in Australia.

The company said that metal production continued to improve and at 557,667 silver equivalent ounces, was up two percent over the fourth quarter of 2011.

Silver production totaled 359,526 ounces and silver metal recovery at the Guanajuato plant reached an all-time high of 90.1 percent.

As well, a quarterly record of gold production was achieved with 2,729 ounces ounces produced, up 20 percent on the prior quarter.

Great Panther said that during the first quarter, ore grades improved at Guanajuato to 213 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 2.30 g/t gold - 351 g/t silver equivalent - up by 11 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 and up 21 percent compared to the average for 2011 (199 g/t silver and 1.52 g/t gold).

Mining of the high grade Deep Cata and the gold-rich Santa Margarita ore bodies has already demonstrated the potential to maintain and build on this improvement, the company said, with further expansions of production from these areas planned in 2012.

New developments on the gold-rich Santa Margarita vein at Guanajuato yielded over 2,000 tonnes grading 8.8 g/t gold at the 455 metre level during the quarter, and 2,000 tonnes grading 5.2 g/t gold from the 470 metre level.

The silver and gold producer also saw record mining and plant throughput at Topia of 12,404 tonnes, up three percent, and said it has secured concentrate sales contracts for planned 2012 production.

Ore processed at Great Panther's two operations, at 51,198 tonnes, was down by two percent from the fourth quarter of 2011. However, due to improved ore grades at Guanajuato, and improved metallurgical recoveries at both operations, metal production improved by two percent from the fourth quarter, but was down by eight percent compared to a year earlier.

Individual metals produced in the first quarter included 359,526 ounces of silver, 2,729 ounces of gold, 446,700 pounds lead and 686,700 pounds zinc.

The company said Topia ore grades remained low through February, but were well above the average for 2011 in March. The positive trend is expected to continue through 2012 with new, additional developments on higher grade veins, Great Panther added.

During the first quarter of 2012, the company drilled a total of 15,155 metres from surface and underground at the Guanajuato and Topia mine operations, as well as the two exploration projects of San Ignacio and Santa Rosa.

Great Panther stood by its guidance for metal production growth of approximately 20 percent year-on-year from its two wholly owned Mexican silver operations. The company estimates metal production in the range of 2.50 to 2.75 million silver equivalent ounces for 2012.

At Topia, Great Panther said that the extreme dry season has caused plant capacity to be limited to 160 tonnes from 220 tonnes per day, a reduction of almost 30 percent. Custom milling throughput has been reduced and ore will be stockpiled for processing later in the year, such that there is currently little or no plant capacity shortfall anticipated for 2012.

Improvement modifications, including additional flotation cells, have been completed to facilitate improved metallurgical performance. The capacity of the processing plant is being further increased as of the third quarter to 300 tonnes per day, sufficient to process the stockpiled ore to year end, the company said.

Great Panther also said that the San Ignacio project is expected to realize its potential during 2012 with an intensive exploration and mine development program being planned.  It is expected to add to the production growth potential for 2013.

The permitting process for a new ramp is well underway.

An NI 43-101 compliant initial mineral resource estimate of 4.5 million silver equivalent ounces was released for San Ignacio after drilling 24 diamond core holes covering a strike length of 350 metres. The explored strike length has doubled to date and a resource update is expected in the second quarter.

The San Ignacio project covers around four kilometres of strike length on the La Luz vein system, which is parallel to, and five kilometres west of, the principal Veta Madre structure that hosts the company's Guanajuato Mine Complex.

In terms of contained metals, the company's estimated ranges for 2012 are between 1.72 to 1.90 million ounces silver, up from 1.495 million ounces in 2011; 10,000 to 11,000 ounces of gold, up from 8,015 ounces in 2011; 2.50 to 2.80 million pounds of lead, up from 2.07 million pounds in 2011, and 3.30 to 3.60 million pounds of zinc, up from 2.90 million pounds in 2011.

Full details of the company's first quarter production results can be found at http://www.greatpanther.com

Under this new role, Bennetto will be one of the key liaisons between Great Panther and the investment community. Her position takes effect on April 12.

She will lead corporate communications, as well as develop and implement internal and external strategies that enhance the company’s strategic vision of becoming a profitable mid-tier silver producer.

Bennetto has held senior roles with a number of publically traded companies with a focus on mining and resource assets in Mexico. With more than 18 years of experience in capital markets and investor relations, Bennetto has experience in communicating initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings as well as recapitalizations.

Currently, she serves on the board of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute and is chairman of the Public Relations Advisory Committee for Mount Royal University.

“We are pleased to welcome Rhonda to our senior management team,” chief executive Robert Archer said in a statement.

“Her broad experience implementing and managing progressive, dynamic investor relations programs, and extensive knowledge of global capital markets will strengthen and expand our company's exposure to both retail and institutional investors.”

Last month, the silver producer recorded an increase in 2011 earnings and revenues as precious metal prices continued to soar.

For the year that ended December 31, Great Panther said net earnings increased eight percent to $11.5 million while full-year revenues jumped 37 percent to $57.8 million.

The company plans a total of over 45,000 metres of exploration drilling in 2012 to further define resources, look for vein extensions and test new targets.

It also expects to release a resource update for the San Ignacio project in the second quarter of 2012. In October 2011, a NI 43-101 compliant initial mineral resource estimate of 4.5 million silver equivalent ounces was released for San Ignacio, after drilling 24 diamond core holes.

San Ignacio is expected to realize its potential during 2012 with an intensive exploration and mine development program being planned, which the company expects will add to production growth in 2013.

The company, founded in 1965, mainly produces silver. It also produces gold, lead and zinc. It holds a 100 percent stake in the Guanajuato silver-gold mine, comprised of roughly 28 claims totalling 1,107-hectares located on the central plateau of Mexico in the state of Guanajuato.

For the year that ended December 31, Great Panther said net earnings increased eight percent to $11.5 million while full-year revenues jumped 37 percent to $57.8 million.

"We are extremely pleased with our growth in revenues and the significant increase in our operating cash flow," said Great Panther's president and chief executive Robert Archer.

"The increase in our profitability and cash flow has enabled us to step up the investment in our properties and in exploration to drive growth in 2012 and beyond."

In a conference call, Archer characterized 2011 as "a year of tremendous volatility" in the precious metals space which Great
Panther intends to take advantage of as part of its goal of becoming a mid-tier silver producer.

Great Panther's Archer said that the company has already secured contracts to sell its 2012 metals output to two smelters directly rather than a metals trader.

He also said that the company was "very focused" on acquisitions, even opening new exploration offices in Peru and Mexico during the past year.

"We have got a number of things that we're looking at quite closely in Mexica and Peru," Archer said.

He added that it was "dificult to put a timeline" on when and where any future acquisition would take place.

At San Ignacio, Archer reckoned the company could produce "early-stage development ore" by the end of this year, with eventual production in 2013.

Great Panther is also working on a new resource estimate for Guanajuato, Archer said, but due to the "extremely complex" ore body at the mine, a material change in the estimate is "not likely".

While the average price of silver for 2011 increased by 74 percent on a year-over-year basis, it has fluctuated significantly in recent years, and it continued to be volatile in 2011 reaching a high of $48.70 in April and a low of $26.16 in December.

Vancouver-headquartered Great Panther Silver is a Mexico-focused silver miner focused on its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico - Guanajuato and Topia.

Since commencing operations at these two mines in 2006, Great Panther achieved continuous growth in metal production in excess of 20 percent per year until 2010, when the company achieved record production of 2.3 million silver equivalent ounces.

For 2011, the company produced 2.2 million silver equivalent ounces, down two percent due to lower ore grades which limited metal production, with average revenue per silver ounce at $34.71, up 63 percent.

During the fourth quarter, however, the company saw an improvement in ore grades, and the company expects production to return to its growth trend. In 2012, Great Panther expects to deliver production of 2.5 to 2.75 million silver equivalent ounces, an increase of 14 to 25 percent from 2011.

The company also increased working capital to $53.8 million at December 31, from $18.8 million at the end of 2010.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the company posted a net loss of $1.4 million, or loss of one cent per share, on revenue which grew 27 percent to $17.5 million.

Earnings in the fourth quarter were hit by non-cash charges that included a deferred income tax expense of $1.9 million, $2.2 million in non-cash share-based payments and $4.6 million in foreign exchange losses which primarily relate to unrealized losses on loans made by the company to its Mexican subsidiary.

Looking ahead, Archer said: "We are very excited about our growth prospects in 2012. The recent development of our Deep Cata and gold-rich Santa Margarita zones at Guanajuato are expected to contribute to higher grades and increased production in 2012.

"In addition, we have a very intensive exploration and development program for San Ignacio which we expect will contribute to production growth in 2013."

During the fourth quarter of 2011, the company saw a marked improvement in grades at Guanajuato through the development of the high grade Deep Cata and gold-rich Santa Margarita ore bodies. Expansion of production from these areas is underway in 2012.

Guanajuato saw a 17 percent increase in mined and processed ore in 2011 to almost 170,000 tonnes, and the plan for 2012 is to increase throughput up to 200,000 tonnes. The plant at Guanajuato has capacity for over 300,000 tonnes per year, Great Panther said.

Ore mined and processed at Topia in 2011 increased by 23 percent to almost 47,000 tonnes. The plan for 2012 includes a further increase of 17 percent to 57,000 tonnes.

Cash costs for 2012 are seen at $10.50 per ounce, compared to 2011's $10.84 per ounce.

The company plans a total of over 45,000 metres of exploration drilling in 2012 to further define resources, look for vein extensions and test new targets.

It also expects to release a resource update for the San Ignacio project in the second quarter of 2012. In October 2011, a NI 43-101 compliant initial mineral resource estimate of 4.5 million silver equivalent ounces was released for San Ignacio, after drilling 24 diamond core holes.

Metres drilled at San Ignacio have more than tripled to date.

San Ignacio is expected to realize its potential during 2012 with an intensive exploration and mine development program being planned, which the company expects will add to production growth in 2013.

The present surface drill program includes a minimum of 9,600 metres of drilling at San Ignacio in 2012.

Votorantim, Solitario's partner at Bongará, is planning a new tunnel to access the Karen-Milagros zone. Planning and permitting for the tunnel is in its initial stages and the start of construction will occur in 2013.

Upon completion of the new Karen-Milagros tunnel, detailed underground drilling will take place similar to the program currently being conducted on the San Jorge zone.

Solitario is a gold, silver, platinum-palladium, and base metal exploration and royalty company actively exploring in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.

Shares were up 4 percent to $1.45 Thursday afternoon.

The feasibility study demonstrates robust economics with excellent potential for developing additional resources, the joint venture partners said. Solitario and Ely began working together on the property in 2010.

Assuming a gold price of $1,323 per ounce and silver at $25.34 per ounce on a pretax, base case basis, the project has an internal rate of return of 35 percent, net present value at a five percent discount rate of $145.3 million and a payback period of 2.7 years, generating approximately $226 million in cash flow over the mine's currently anticipated eight-year mine-life.

At gold and silver prices of $1,700 and $33 per ounce, respectively, the project is projected to generate nearly $390 million in life-of-mine cash flow, Solitario said.

After tax on a base case basis, the project has an internal rate of return of 25.4 percent, net present value at a five percent discount rate of $83.1 million and payback of 3.2 years generating cash flow of $136.4 million.

Initial capital costs are estimated at $71.9 million, including a contingency of $6.3 million.

Life-of-mine cash operating costs on a gold equivalent basis are estimated at $535 per gold-equivalent ounce recovered, well below world-average industry cash costs. On average, silver production contributes approximately 11 percent to the overall project revenues, the company said.

With a production rate at 8,500 tons of ore per day, average annual gold production is seen at 48,000 ounces with silver output of 330,000 ounces for average annual gold-equivalent production of 54,000 ounces.

Average gold recovery is seen at 79 percent, with average silver recovery of 90 percent.

Solitario's president and CEO Chris Herald said: "Completion of this comprehensive Feasibility Study represents the culmination of an intensive one-year effort by our staff and SRK.

"With this study in hand, we are now moving forward with permitting the mine, arranging project financing and adding new reserves.

"With its robust economics, we believe we will have an array of financing opportunities available to us. Our mine plan is well conceived from both an operational and environmental standpoint, however, we will continue to evaluate a number of opportunities identified in the Feasibility Study that have the potential to reduce capital and operating costs.

"Additionally, we believe with a modest amount of infill drilling marginal to the current reserves and confirmation drilling in the historic Seligman pit area, we will be able to add several years of additional low-cost production."

Development of the project will deliver "significant" economic benefits to the local economy of White Pine County, Solitario said, with an estimated 120 fulltime jobs.

With the completion of the feasibility study, Solitario will hold an 80 percent interest in Mount Hamilton LLC, a limited liability company which holds 100 percent of the Mount Hamilton project assets.

Ely Gold will hold a 20 percent interest in the company. The feasibility study has been prepared on behalf of the company by SRK Consulting.

Ely Gold’s president and CEO, Trey Wasser, added: "The completion of the Mt. Hamilton Feasibility Study is an exciting milestone for Ely Gold. The project represents an important building block in our corporate strategy of participating in North American precious metal development projects."

The Mount Hamilton gold project will be an open pit mining operation with heap leach processing. The reserves are contained within a well-defined ore body, displaying continuity of mineralization that will be mined within a single open pit.

The Centennial deposit has a measured and indicated resource estimate of 23.6 million tons at a grade of 0.022 ounces per ton containing 526,854 ounces gold and 3.15 million ounces of recoverable silver at a grade of 0.133 ounces per tonne.

The companies said that the feasibility study resource and reserve estimations demonstrate a potential to increase the size of the existing Centennial deposit through step-out exploration drilling around the east and southeast margins of the current pit configuration.

This mineralization falls entirely within a pit design based on $1,600 per ounce gold and $40 per ounce silver and is situated immediately adjacent to the reserve pit.

Drilling is planned in these areas with the objective to upgrade the mineralization to measured and indicated resources.

Solitario is also planning a drilling program to upgrade mineralization around the nearby historic Seligman pit area.

The Seligman deposit, situated approximately 2,000 feet north of the planned Centennial pit, was partially mined in the mid-1990’s. About 310 drill holes defined a well mineralized, near surface gold deposit that was abandoned due to low gold prices.

Solitario believes these two resource expansion programs may have the potential to extend mining for three to four years, it concluded.

Garnett has served as an independent director of the company since May 3, 2011, and is chairman of Great Panther’s audit committee.

He was recently the vice-chair of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, and serves on the board of VRX Worldwide (CVE:VRW), where he is the chair of their audit committee.

From 2009 to 2010, he was a director and audit committee member of Central 1 Credit Union, which is the central banker for credit unions in Ontario and British Columbia.

Further, he was an owner and president of Eaglequest Golf Centres, and has held senior financial roles within the residential and commercial real-estate sector.

This recent appointment is in line with Great Panther’s internal board mandate to further increase independence of board members, it said.

The company plans to add another independent director before its annual general meeting, which is being held in June.

Garnett replaces Kaare Foy, who stepped down after serving more than 18 years as a director of Great Panther and almost eight years as executive chairman.

Foy will continue as a consultant to the company.

Last month, the company reported improved fourth-quarter 2011 production results at its two wholly owned Mexican silver mining operations, Guanajuato and Topia.

For the three months to December 31, the company said metal production for the quarter rose by 13 percent to 545,294 silver equivalent ounces from the previous quarter.

Silver production of 354,754 ounces was up three percent from the previous quarter and gold production of 2,281 ounces was up 53 percent.

Mexico-focused Great Panther said that ore grades improved at Guanajuato to 235 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 2.12 g/t gold in November and December, the highest since September, 2010.

The company, founded in 1965, mainly produces silver. It also produces gold, lead and zinc. It holds a 100 percent interest in the Guanajuato silver-gold mine, comprised of roughly 28 claims totalling 1,107-hectares located on the central plateau of Mexico in the state of Guanajuato.

Great Panther’s shares rose 1.53 percent to $2.66 each today in Toronto.

Great Panther Silver (TSE:GPR)(AMEX:GPL) announced Monday a further 12 surface diamond drill holes from its ongoing program at the company's wholly-owned San Ignacio project in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Drill-holes ESI11-039 to ESI11-050 confirmed vein continuity with mineralized vein widths of up to nine metres, and in-filled the Intermediate zone extension to the south, as well as defined the Nombre de Dios zone, the company said. The infill drilling is being done in preparation for an upgraded mineral resource update, which is expected later in the second quarter of 2012.

Currently, the initial inferred mineral resource estimate comprises 611,000 tonnes grading 127 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 2.05 g/t gold for 4.49 million silver equivalent ounces. The resource is based on just the first 24 diamond drill holes, over a strike length of only 300 metres.

The mineralized zones at the property remain open along strike to the north and south along the entire four kilometre long property, Great Panther said.

As drilling productivity has recently doubled, the addition of a second drill to the program has been re-scheduled for the first quarter of 2012, the company added. The second drill will expand drilling south, northwards and to test a 600-metre strike portion of the southern San Antonio claim.

Highlights from the latest drilling at the Intermediate zone include 213 g/t silver and 5.12 g/t gold over a true width of 3.26 metres, and 201 g/t silver and 6.34g/t gold over a true width of 4.96 metres in hole ESI11-039.

"These two intersections are separated by a void with a true width of approximately 0.7 metres that is possibly an old mine working from the 1800's, implying a vein width of almost nine metres from which only a very narrow portion has been previously mined," said the company in a statement.

In addition, drill-hole ESI11-048 intersected 296 g/t silver and 1.28g/t gold over a true width of 3.86 metres in the Intermediate zone, presently the intersection at the highest elevation.

Meanwhile, the Nombre de Dios vein drilling returned 106 g/t silver and 2.11 g/t gold over a true width of 5.15 metres in  hole ESI11-044.

Detailed geological mapping, structural geological studies, outcrop sampling, and re-sampling of old underground workings are ongoing at the property to highlight additional priority targets along the four kilometres of prospective structures.

The San Ignacio project is located in the La Luz vein system of the Guanajuato silver-gold district, in central Mexico, 20 kilometres by vehicle from the company's Guanajuato Mine milling facility.

Each of these areas is located on the company's wholly-owned flagship Guanajuato property, located in the city of the same name, in Mexico.

Drill work on the Santa Margarita vein encountered two footwall zones on the structure. The first zone, labeled SMBo1, is located either adjacent to or within four to eight metres below the Santa Margarita structure, while the second zone, labeled SMBo2, is located about 20 metres below the structure.

Drill hole UGSM11-005 intersected 1.14 metres grading 44.76 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 46.0 g/t silver on Santa Margarita. Meanwhile, in the same hole, 5.1 metres at 5.56 g/t gold and 11.0 g/t silver was found in the SMBo1 zone, and SMBo2 intersected 1.04 metres at 0.94 g/t gold and 3.0 g/t silver.

UGSM11-003 intersected 1.66 metres at 27.04 g/t gold and 112 g/t silver, and on the SMBo1 zone, 3.28 metres at 17.15 g/t gold and 36.0 g/t silver was returned.

Meanwhile, UGSM11-007 returned 1.33 metres grading 16.3 g/t gold and 50.0 g/t silver on the Santa Margarita vein. From the same hole, the SMBo1 zone assayed 1.91 metres at 0.76 g/t gold and 20.0 g/t silver, while SMBo2 hit 1.74 metres grading 6.04 g/t gold and 7.0 g/t silver.

Great Panther also said it defined the Guanajuatito mineralization over a strike length of about 100 metres, and about 300 metres vertically. From the data it collected, the company said it interpreted two mineralized zones: the Veta Madre zone, and a slightly deeper Footwall zone.

Drill hole UGG11-045 on Guanajuatito hit the Veta Madre zone, intersecting 3.36 metres at 0.91 g/t gold and 268.0 g/t silver. The same hole hit the Footwall zone, intersecting 2.08 metres at 0.81 g/t gold and 224.0 g/t silver.

Also from the Footwall zone, UGG11-027 returned 5.38 metres at 13.28 g/t gold and 1,493.0 g/t silver, while UGG11-047 found 2.92 g/t gold and 866.0 g/t silver over 1.14 metres.

Great Panther said it will start production stoping from the new areas on the Santa Margarita structure in the first quarter of 2012, when total gold production at Guanajuato is anticipated to increase by an average of 200 ounces per month, an increase of 33% over the average of 2011.

Meanwhile, production from the Guanajuatito zones is expected to rise to 25,000 ounces of silver equivalent by the end of 2012.

In Toronto, Great Panther shares rose 2.68 percent to $2.30, as of 12:56 pm ET.

Though silver equivalent production was lower by 10 percent over a year ago, third-quarter earnings and revenues grew on higher commodity prices. The production decrease was due to lower grades mined from its flagship Guanajuato project in Mexico.

For the quarter that ended September 30, net profit was up 12 percent to $3.4 million, or 3 cents per share, as revenues soared 46 percent to $16.3 million.

Cash costs were 33 percent higher than a year ago, at US$9.02 an ounce, net of credits, but were 24 percent lower relative to the second quarter.

The company's projects in Mexico include the flagship Guanajuato Mine Complex, San Ignacio and Topia.
Stonecap analyst, Christos Doulis, CFA, commented: "We are reducing our short-term production forecast for the Guanajuato mine and have extended our anticipated timeline for Great Panther to achieve a production profile of 3.8 million ozs Ag Eq to 2014 from 2012.

"While our EPS, CFPS and NAVPS estimates have declined as a result of these changes, we are reinstating our previous valuation metrics for the company and this has resulted in no change to our target price."

Throughput of 41,371 tonnes at Guanajuato increased 16 percent from a year earlier, but was down eight percent from the second quarter.

In August, the company discovered and defined bonanza grade mineralization in an extension of the Cata Mine, located within Guanajuato, with grades reaching 6,447 g/t silver with 29.44 g/t gold over a width of 3.2 metres.

The Mexico-focused silver producer, which ended the quarter with $35.8 million of working capital, also reported in October a maiden resource estimate for its San Ignacio project in Guanajuato, of 4.5 million inferred silver equivalent ounces.

The production decrease was due to lower grades mined from its flagship Guanajuato project in Mexico.

For the quarter that ended September 30, net profit was up 12 percent to $3.4 million, or 3 cents per share, as revenues soared 46 percent to $16.3 million.

Great Panther's president and CEO Robert Archer said: "The partial draw-down of concentrate inventory at Guanajuato during the latter half of the third quarter resulted in near-normal shipments for the period and brought stability back to our revenue stream.

"Recent discoveries of high grade silver and gold mineralization have been accessed in an extention of our Cata Mine in Guanajuato, which should contribute to higher grades and improved metal output in the coming quarters.

"In addition, we are very excited about the prospects for our San Ignacio and Santa Rosa properties which are located within trucking distance to our Guanajuato Mine Complex. The initial resource estimate at San Ignacio is an excellent start in proving up this new discovery for Great Panther, and we have accelerated our drilling program as a result."

In a conference call, Great Panther's president and CEO Robert Archer said that there was "some flexibility" built into the company's full-year production target which could surprise to the upside.

Archer said that the company is working on an updated NI 43-101 report for Guanajuato. Due to external consultants being tied up with work, the report may come in the early part of 2012 although the company was pushing for the end of the year.

Great Panther's Archer also said that the company was "undervalued" compared to its peers.

In terms of future dividend payments, Archer said that this was a possibility which has been discussed in board meetings.

On the corporate activity front, Archer commented that the next 12 months will see more mergers and acquisitions activity taking place. However, the silver sector was so small that the choices are much more reduced as compared to the gold industry.

The company's projects in Mexico include the flagship Guanajuato Mine Complex, San Ignacio and Topia.

In the third quarter, the company said that overall silver equivalent ounces produced were down 10 percent to 484,550 ounces. Total cash cost per silver ounce was $9.02, with average revenue per silver ounce sold at $35.38.

For the first nine months of the year, the company's overall metal production was 1.65 million silver equivalent ounces as compared to 1.69 million ounces for the same period in 2010.

Great Panther said that compared to the third quarter of 2010, average realized prices for silver, gold, and lead
prices increased by 63 percent, 29 percent and 12 percent respectively while zinc decreased by 2 percent.

In August, the company discovered and defined bonanza grade mineralization in an extension of the Cata Mine with grades reaching 6,447 g/t silver with 29.44 g/t gold over a width of 3.2 metres.

Cata is located within the Guanajuato Mine.

The Mexico-focused silver producer said in October that its San Ignacio project in Guanajuato, Mexico reported a maiden resource estimate of 4.5 million inferred silver equivalent ounces.

As of August 30, the inferred estimate consisted of 611,000 tonnes at 127 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 2.05 g/t gold for 4.49 million silver equivalent ounces, using a 118g/t silver equivalent cut-off grade.

Looking ahead, production for the fourth quarter is expected to improve to 550,000 silver equivalent ounces for a year-end total of approximately 2.2 million silver equivalent ounces.

Production targets for 2012 and beyond are currently under review and management expects to provide further guidance late in the fourth quarter, Great Panther said.

The Mount Hamilton Project covers 3,900 acres, and is located in an established mining district which is 40 miles from Ely. The Project currently hosts a NI 43-101 compliant mineable in pit resource at the Centennial Gold Deposit of 17.7 million tonnes at 0.025 oz/t Au, for 444,000 ounces of gold, and 0.147 oz/t Ag, for 2,594,000 ounces of silver. 

The Centennial Gold Deposit is a small part of a very significant strike line that extends over a length of 15,000 feet and variable width of up to 3,000 feet, and includes inferred non-compliant resources at Centennial Extension with 6.84 million tonnes at 0.018 oz/t Au, for 122,000 ounces, North East Seligman with 2.62 million tonnes at 0.035 oz/t Au, for 93,000 ounces, Chester with 0.87 million tonnes at 0.031 oz/t Au, for 27,000 ounces, and Fiveway with 0.79 million tonnes at 0.060 oz/t Au, for 48,000 ounces;  for a grand total of 11.12 million tonnes at 0.026 oz/t Au,  containing 290,000 ounces of gold.

Management recently indicated at the Denver Gold Forum that they believe that the Mount Hamilton Project may develop into a 1 to 2 million ounce gold resource across the entire strike line. 

SRK Consulting is completing an independent Feasibility Study, and has proposed a number of improvements to prior plans that include a production increase from 5,000 to 8,500 tonnes per day, which equates to an annualized production rate of 3 million tonnes.  

The Centennial Gold Deposit is contained within an open pit that contains a mineralized gold zone that measures 2,000 by 1,000 feet, where 20 foot benches will be excavated utilizing 100 ton capacity haul trucks that will deliver ore to crushers located next to the open pit. The life of mine waste to ore ratio is estimated at approximately 2.5 tons of waste, to 1.0 ton of ore, with waste ore hauled to a storage area constructed nearby the open pit. 

The crushed gold ore will be sent down a 3,400 foot long conveyor to a secondary crusher that will reduce the ore to minus ¾ inch, and then delivered it to a heap for leaching. The leachate will be collected and piped to a standard adsorption and desoprtion gold recovery plant for the production of gold and silver, in the form of doré bars. Recovery rates are expected to be around 75% for gold, and 36% for silver.

Capital costs for the entire operation are still being developed as part of the Feasibility Study, but are anticipated to be $70 million, plus-or minus 15%.

Solitario is completing environmental permitting with state and federal agencies, as drilling continues to test extensions of higher grade mineralization along the eastern edge of the Centennial open pit deposit, and gold mineralization at the Chester Prospect, situated approximately one mile to the south of Centennial. The next resource upgrade is expected in 2 to 3 months and is expected to outline additional gold and silver ounces within the Centennial open pit. 

The release of the completed Feasibility Study is expected at the end of the of the fourth quarter of 2011, and should establish a timeline for final development plans that lead to mine construction. 

Solitario maintains a number of free carried minority interests in projects that are under active development that include a 30% interest in the Bongará Zinc Project in Peru, which is known as one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc projects. Votorantim Metais, who are the world’s third largest zinc producer and own a zinc smelter based in Peru, are developing Bongará. 

Bongará has potential to exceed 20 million tonnes of zinc at 9%, silver at 0.4 oz/t, and additional lead credits. The project is expected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of ore per year, yielding concentrates that contain 108,000 tonnes of zinc, 16,000 tonnes of lead, and 400,000 ounces of silver. 

Undergrounding tunneling, development of road access, drilling, positive metallurgical testing and permitting continue towards the start of mine production planned for the first quarter of 2015. 

Recovered ore is estimated to carry metal values of $200 per tonne, with zinc and lead valued at $1.00 per pound, and silver at $25.00 per ounce. Capital costs are estimated at $140 million, yielding revenues of $282.8 million per year.  Solitario will be free carried through to the start of production, and will reimburse the developer from cash flows generated from mining operations.  

Solitario also retains a 30% free carried interest in the Pachuca Real high grade gold and silver project in Mexico, with Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) holding the majority interest, and currently managing a 16,000 metre drilling and exploration program at Pachuca Norte.

The Pachuca Real Project is located to the north of Mexico City, and includes one of the world’s greatest silver districts that had historical production of 1.46 billion ounces of silver, and 7.0 million ounces of gold. Recent exploration efforts by Buenaventura at Pachuca Norte confirm the presence of widespread mineralization of a similar style to the mineralization that was mined in the historic district.   

The Pedra Branca Platinum and Palladium Project, in Brazil, has been joint ventured with Anglo Platinum (LON:AAL), who may earn up to a 65% interest, and will free carry Solitario for the next $10 million in exploration costs, and Solitario’s share of construction funding. 

Pedra Branca has absorbed 318 drill holes, and hosts potential for 2 million ounces of platinum and palladium within the proposed Esbarro Open Pit. Anglo is undertaking geologic resource estimates, preliminary metallurgical testing and local mine infrastructure studies, having already spent $7 million. A major geophysical program is also underway to define new drilling targets within the project area.

The Company has an alliance with Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), who may earn up to a 75% interest, and is conducting a drilling program at the 100% owned Cerro Azul Gold and Silver Project in Peru. Cerro Azul contains high grade gold and silver veining that has been identified at surface, and covers an area that measures 3,500 metres by 2,000 metres. 

Solitario holds $17 million in cash, and is joint venture funded for an additional $12 million over the current year on a number of advanced projects. The Company maintains a long history of minimal share dilution, with 36.6 million shares outstanding, capitalized at $58 million. 

Solitario is developing into a mid tier mining house with zinc production forecast from Bongará in 2015, and awaits a development decision on the timeline for mine construction and gold production at Mount Hamilton; and mine development at Pedra Branca. The Company is also developing a pipeline of 100% owned projects for future joint venture funding.  A lot of ban

Meanwhile, hole ESI11-032, also drilled on the undefined zone, returned 5.28 g/t gold and 476 g/t silver over 5.55 metres, and hole ESI11-035 intersected 0.5 metres at 2.79 g/t gold and 90 g/t silver.

These three zones remain open along strike to the north and south.

Great Panther said the active drill rig on site will complete fill-in holes through to December, with the intent of upgrading the mineral resource estimate classification. A second rig will be added to the project in the first quarter of 2012.

The initial resource estimate for the San Ignacio property comprises 611,000 tonnes grading 127 g/t silver and 2.05 g/t gold, for 4.94 million ounces of silver equivalent in the inferred category.

Last week, the mid-tier silver producer said that ore processed in the three months ending September 30 was up 16% year-on-year.

The Vancouver-headquartered company also estimated that fourth-quarter production from its mines is expected to improve to 550,000 equivalent ounces silver, making a year-end total of approximately 2.2 million equivalent ounces silver.

Great Panther owns two operating mines in Mexico - the flagship Guanajuato mine complex and the Topia silver-lead-zinc mine - and employs over 900 people.

Like the rest of the metals and mining sector today, the company's shares in Toronto shed 3.6% to $2.14 as of 12:02 pm EDT.