Fortuna upgrades mill expansion at San Jose from 1,500 to 1,800 tpd

VANCOUVER , June 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM | TSX: FVI | BVL: FVI | Frankfurt: F4S.F) is pleased to release a new production plan for the San Jose Mine in Mexico based on the mill's expansion to be commissioned in the third quarter of this year.

San Jose Mine 1,800 tpd plan highlights:

• Mill expansion to 1,800 tpd on track and scheduled to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2013
  
  
• Upgrade to 1,800 tpd does not require additional CAPEX
  
  
• Mine will start sourcing fresh ore for 1,500 and 1,800 tpd throughputs in August and November 2013 , respectively
  
  
• Silver and goldproduction will increase annually by an average of 500,000 and 4,000 ounces, respectively
  
  
• Reserves as of December 2012 ; 3.3 million tonnes of probable reserves with 20 million ounces of contained silver and 165,700 ounces of contained gold at average grades of 189 g/t Ag and 1.57 g/t Au. Mineral Reserves reported inFortuna's news release dated March 5, 2013 .

Jorge A. Ganoza, President and CEO, commented, "Once again we have been able to capture opportunities to source more organic growth for the company. This new rate of capacity at 1,800 tpd will be achieved without additional capital requirements from the base case of 1,500 tpd. The project team is on schedule to deliver commissioning in the third quarter of the year. This planned increase in throughput at San Jose adds to the exiting news of our recent high grade discovery of the Trinidad North zone."

1,800 tpd Production Plan

The increase in plant processing capacity from 1,500 to 1,800 tpd is the result of capturing opportunities in the selection and acquisition of key equipment without incurring in additional capital costs. Underground mine development is on schedule for the expansion and production sequencing has enough flexibility to accommodate the additional 300 tpd. The main access decline is planned to reach the 1200 meter elevation in mid-July, allowing access to production blocks J, E and F, which will support 1,800 tpd.

1,800 tpd San Jose Mine Production Schedule Breakdown