Hochschild Regulatory News (HOC)

11 Jul 2007 07:01

Hochschild Mining PLC11 July 2007 11 July 2007 Hochschild Mining plc Quarterly Production Report for the three months to 30 June 2007 ("Q2") Highlights: * 20% increase in total silver production quarter-on-quarter and 14% increase year-on-year * 13% increase in total gold production quarter-on-quarter although slightly lower than the same period last year * Hochschild is on schedule with its expansion from three operations in one country to six operations in three countries * Hochschild is on track to reach its 2007 production target of 26 million silver equivalent attributable ounces (14 million attributable silver ounces and 200 thousand attributable gold ounces) Eduardo Hochschild, Chairman of Hochschild Mining plc, commented "We are delighted to be announcing strong production results today that show thebenefits of our expansions. Already this year we have expanded two of our plantsand commenced production at San Jose and with two more mines scheduled forcommencement of production in the current quarter, 2007 will be a transformativeyear for the company. These figures show that we are on track to deliver on ourIPO promises, to meet our targets to increase production this year and toachieve our 50 million silver equivalent ounce target by 2011." Overview: Overall production in Q2 increased as a result of increased capacity at allthree operating units, and higher grades for both silver and gold at Arcata.Production at Selene was relatively flat despite increased throughput capacityas a result of lower head grades mined. Capacity Expansions: Following the completion of the capacity expansion at Ares in the first quarter,the capacity expansion at Arcata from 350 ktpa to 420 ktpa was successfullycompleted in the second quarter. In addition, the capacity expansion at Selenehas been initiated and will take the plant from 350 ktpa to 700 ktpa. Theexpansion at the Selene plant is on track for completion in Q3 and willaccommodate the ore from Pallancata. Last week Hochschild announced plans for anexpansion at its new San Jose mine to double capacity in Q3 2008 and to reducecosts by joining the project to the southern national grid. New Projects: 2007 is a transformative year for Hochschild with the group moving from threemines in one country to six mines in three countries. San Jose, the group'sfirst mine in Argentina commenced production on time, during Q2, and will startto make a significant contribution to the group in the second half of 2007.Pallancata in Peru and Mina Moris in Mexico remain on track to commenceproduction in Q3 of this year. Joint Ventures: Since the end of the quarter, Hochschild has announced a new strategic alliancewith its existing partner at the Moris mine in Mexico, EXMIN Resources Inc.("EXMIN"), has increased its stake in EXMIN and has gained right of first offeron certain exploration properties in the Sierra Madre region. TOTAL PRODUCTION Q2 Q1 Q2 2007 2007 2006 Silver production (Koz) 3,073 2,561 2,684Gold production (Koz) 48.04 42.66 49.03Total silver equivalent (Koz) 5,955 5,120 5,626Total gold equivalent (Koz) 99.25 85.33 93.76 ARCATA Product Q2 Q1 Q2 2007 2007 2006Ore production (tonnes) 94,421 82,092 65,883Average head grade silver(g/t) 569.03 491.25 584.51Average head grade gold (g/t) 1.44 1.30 1.51Concentrate produced (tonnes) 4,099 3,349 2,578Silver grade in concentrate (kg/t) 11.36 10.54 13.36Silver produced (Koz) 1,497 1,134 1,107Gold produced (Koz) 3.74 3.00 2.73 ARES Product Q2 Q1 Q2 2007 2007 2006Ore produciton (tonnes) 84,138 72,266 71,514Average head grade silver (g/t) 261.80 252.80 312.45Average head grade gold (g/t) 14.66 15.03 17.86Dore total (Koz) 690.15 564.09 711.58Silver produced (Koz) 650 529 670Gold produced (Koz) 38.11 33.49 39.59 SELENE Product Q2 Q1 Q2 2007 2007 2006Ore production (tonnes) 100,389 90,192 89,941Average head grade silver (g/t) 328.00 349.92 347.59Average head grade gold (g/t) 2.32 2.55 2.71Concentrate produced (tonnes) 947 861 915Silver grade in concentrate (kg/t) 30.96 32.62 30.80Silver produced (Koz) 925 897 906Gold produced (Koz) 6.19 6.16 6.71 The Group will announce its Interim Results for the first half of 2007 on 18thSeptember. Please visit our website for more details on upcoming eventswww.hochschildmining.com. Enquiries: Hochschild Mining plc Wray Barber +44 (0)20 7152 6014 Head of Investor Relations Finsbury Robin Walker +44 (0)20 7251 3801 Public Relations - ends - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange