A sharp rally in Adriatic Metals (LON:ADT1) PLC (LSE:ADT1, ASX:ADT, OTCQX:ADMLF) share price since August suggests things are firmly back on track at its Vares silver mine in Bosnia after some construction teething issues earlier in 2024
Confirmation today that commercial production should be achieved this month pushed the shares up a further 1.7% to 209p, marking a 50% rebound in the past four months.
Commercial production is one of the most important milestones for any mine development and would cap an impressive progression that has seen Vares go from inception to producer in seven years.
Today’s update reported that ore is now being produced at two stopes, with total ore mined so far at 129,194 tonnes (t) with approximately 40,000t expected in December.
Ambitious Production Goals for 2025
Underlining how things will step up next year, guidance for 2025 was maintained at 750,000-800,000t of ore mined.
Laura Tyler, the recently appointed chief executive, added Vares’ fourth quarter production would be a new record.
Talking to Proactive earlier, Tyler explained that having two stopes in production would enable a full production rate through the mill, which now running 24/7.
The change in tone is marked from mid-year when Adriatic was grappling with underground ground problems, taking over as mine operator, issues with a forestry permit issue and a change in CEO.
Six months on and all those snagging boxes have now been ticked, with completion of the construction of the Veovaca Tailings Storage Facility (Veovaca TSF) the last thing on the to-do list.
Tyler said today the first tailings disposal should take place in January 2025.
Financial Backing and Market Tailwinds
Adriatic added it had also been given more breathing space by principal financier Orion to start loan repayments while a US$25 million prepayment facility has been set up with trading giant Trafigura to give it more financial headroom.
The continued strength of the silver price, which like its more glamorous cousin gold, is close to record levels (US$31.82 today) should provide an additonal tailwind to cash flow as production ramps up
After a site visit in October house broker RBC said it was confident of Vares' potential to become a global Tier-1 asset.
“The underground mine is now operating in areas with more stable ground conditions which should allow for continued improvement in development and mining rates.”
Noting that Laura Tyler has more than 30 years of mining experience, RBC added that it expects Vares also to become more cost-efficient over time as the local workforce becomes more productive.
Path to Commercial Production and Beyond
Going forward, first priorities are to make sure the mine safely ramps up when it gets to commercial production and to start paying down the debt, Tyler said in October.
After that, Adriatic will start to look at incremental growth via optimising the plant and ongoing exploration projects, with regional expansion even a possibility.
“A mid-size European mining company supplying to the critical minerals and battery, metals markets,” is the aim said Tyler
With a market capitalisation of £670 million currently and commercial production imminent, some might argue it's there already.
Shares up 2.7p at 209p.