Q1 2025 Update Highlights Steady Production Growth and Infrastructure Upgrades
Ramp-Up Accelerates As Daily Production Throughput Doubles in Final 10 Days of April
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2025) - Kuya Silver Corporation (CSE: KUYA) (OTCQB: KUYAF) (FSE: 6MR1) (the "Company" or "Kuya Silver") is pleased to provide an update on operational activities at the Bethania silver mine which re-started operations in 2024 and is currently ramping-up production.
Kuya Silver is an emerging silver producer, which restarted the Bethania silver mine in 2024. The first tonnes of mineralized material were recovered in May, 2024. Table 1 shows the production and development achieved to date since restarting of activities in early 2024. Reconditioning, and mine development activities continued over the rest of 2024 (June-December), however development (and production) was slowed by lack of available explosives at the mine (see Kuya Silver Press Release, December 5, 2024). This issue was resolved by late November and daily production and mine development has significantly increased since then. Q1 2025 represented the first quarter of consistent daily drill and blast operations, although production of mineralized material was inconsistent due to requirements to prioritize development and overall limits on capacity, normal in the earlier stage of a mine ramp-up.
Christian Aramayo, Kuya Silver Chief Operating Officer, stated, "Despite earlier financial constraints, our operations team at Bethania has delivered a number of critical projects that set us up for future growth in production in the near term. With the additional funding raised recently we are accelerating our investments in underground development and we are on track to achieve 100 tonnes per day by Q3 2025 as per our current approved budget and mine plan. Notably, daily production doubled over the last 10 days of April, highlighting the momentum now building at the mine site. Our team will continue ramping up to the nameplate 350 tonnes per day target over the rest of the year with the goal of becoming a leading primary silver producer in the region."
Juan Espinosa, Finance Manager, Kuya (Peru) and Acting General Manager, Minera Toro de Plata, remarked, "I am proud of the accomplishments of our now 80-person team at Bethania. Our team is 100% Peruvian, harnessing generations of local mining knowledge and expertise to help the operation grow in scale while keeping safety and community values at our core."
| Production Highlights | Unit | 2024(1) | Q1 2025 | |
| Mineralized material, mined | tonnes | 528.4 | 654.8 | |
| Mineralized material, processed | tonnes | 767.0 | 871.8 | |
| Meters advanced | m | 111.1 | 161.0 | |
| Development | tonnes | 558.0 | 1,929.6 | |
| Average head grades | ||||
| Silver | oz/t | 6.93 | 9.05 | |
| Lead | % | 2.45 | 2.60 | |
| Zinc Silver Equivalent(2) Silver Equivalent(2) |
% oz/t g/t |
1.70 10.31 320.6 |
2.23 12.39 385.3 |
|
| Average recoveries (3) | ||||
| Silver | % | 84.76 | 90.94 | |
| Lead | % | 80.61 | 87.40 | |
| Zinc | % | 25.63 | 55.40 | |
| Metal processed | ||||
| Silver | oz | 5,177.32 | 7,445.25 | |
| Lead | tonnes | 18.32 | 21.41 | |
| Zinc | tonnes | 12.72 | 18.37 | |
| Concentrates produced | ||||
| Silver-Lead | tonnes | 37.93 | 38.79 | |
| Zinc | tonnes | 13.43 | 29.30 | |
| Metal sold (4) | ||||
| Silver | oz | 4,248.11 | 6,759.83 | |
| Gold | oz | 2.44 | 2.28 | |
| Lead | tonnes | 14.88 | 18.40 | |
| Zinc Silver equivalent (2) Percent silver production |
tonnes oz % |
4.34 5,904.15 72 |
10.38 8,887.57 76 |
|
| Average realized price (4) | ||||
| Silver | $/oz | 31.34 | 32.65 | |
| Gold | $/oz | 2,680.78 | 3,017.00 | |
| Lead | $/tonne | 1,915.28 | 1,983.58 | |
| Zinc | $/tonne | 2,718.00 | 2,773.23 | |
| Total revenue USD | $ Thousands | 149.57 | 228.63 | |
| Table 1: Production highlights from the Bethania silver mine |
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| (1) production from May 21, 2024 to December 31, 2024 (2) prices for silver equivalent calculations use period ending spot prices and are as follows: Dec. 31, 2024 period; silver $28.90/oz, gold $2606.72/oz, lead $1921.50/tonne, zinc $2974/tonne, and Mar. 31, 2025 period; silver $34.46/oz, gold $3122.80/oz, lead $2002/tonne, zinc $2829/tonne. (3) includes only payable recovery i.e. lead in the silver- lead concentrate and zinc in the zinc concentrate and silver in both concentrates. (4) may include provisional settlements at the end of the period |
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Operational Progress in Q1 2025
Building on the experience in 2024, Kuya Silver executed a comprehensive optimization of the underground infrastructure, to better prepare for larger quantities of mineralized material to produced later this year and beyond. Some of the key achievements included upgrades to utilities, compressed air, power and water distribution extending below the 640 level (currently the deepest production level). Ventilation improvements, grade control optimization, and improvements to safety training, were other projects executed in the first quarter of 2025. The Company's experience in the first few months of 2025 was that it had a limited ability to perform the scale of underground development needed to ramp-up as quickly as planned, due to financial constraints at the time, however this has been improved significantly by the recent equity financing.
Kuya Silver also has seen a steady improvement its metallurgical recoveries from toll milling operations since the commencement of processing in October 2024, with an effort to optimize silver recoveries from both concentrates. Silver recoveries on its first toll milling batch in April have been further improved, with the first 342 tonnes processed in April having an estimated silver recovery of 94.2%.
Production Expected to Grow Steadily Over the Rest of 2025
With the additional investments being made to accelerate underground development, Kuya Silver is strategically progressing toward its near-term targets. The Company expects to achieve its first major production milestone of 100 tonnes per day (tpd) of mineralized material by Q3 2025, supported by its current approved budget and short term mine plan. Following this milestone, sufficient infrastructure will be in place to systematically ramp up toward its Phase One Objectives of 350 tpd. Key operational and financial milestones anticipated over the remainder of 2025 include:
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Q3 2025: Reach 100 tpd production
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Q4 2025: Achieve operational break-even and declare commercial production.
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H2 2025: Progressively scale underground infrastructure and production toward 350 tpd.
Kuya Silver will provide frequent operational updates to the market as these milestones are met.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Quality assurance and quality control include two sampling procedures. Underground vein material from stopes are sampled to confirm vein grades and to reconcile against the mine model; and sampling of freshly mined material in stockpiles to determine dilution and the head grade that is sent to the processing plant.
Underground vein sampling was conducted systematically every 4 meters along the galleries. This involved excavating a narrow and continuous channel either parallel to the vein or perpendicular to its orientation. The entire volume of material excavated from the channel was collected as a sample.
Freshly mined material in the stockpiles and concentrate stockpiles were sampled using trenching, a method involving the excavation of narrow trenches perpendicular to the major axis of the pile. Trenches were systematically dug at regular intervals across all depths of the pile. The location of each trench was referenced to a topographic control point and recorded in the sampling log.
All material was carefully collected on plastic sheets, then pulverized at the mine site. The pulverized material was quartered, and one quarter was labeled and secured in vinyl sample bags. The samples were then transported to Dmtri I. Mendelejeff laboratory in Huancayo for processing using fire assay followed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).
All concentrate assay results are cross-checked against independent analyses conducted by Trafigura, our offtake purchaser. Furthermore, sample security protocols include sealed trucks for transporting run-of-mine (ROM) material and concentrate trucks with tamper-proof devices with safety seals, and a documented custody chain overseen by the mine superintendent.
National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Kevin J. O'Connell, P.E., Independent Technical Advisor to of Kuya Silver and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Kuya Silver Corporation
Kuya Silver is a Canadian‐based mineral exploration and development company with a focus on acquiring, exploring, and advancing precious metals assets in Peru and Canada.
For more information, please contact:
David Stein, President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (604) 398‐4493
info@kuyasilver.com
www.kuyasilver.com
Reader Advisory
This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information," including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may," "would," "could," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "must," "next," "propose," "new," "potential," "prospective," "target," "future," "verge," "favorable," "implications," and "ongoing," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing statements, any discussion of the potential of exploration targets, assay results and the proposed use of the proceeds of the Offering, is forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market, and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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