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Message: Silver Standard Provides 2013 Production Results & Issues 2014 Guidance

Silver Standard Provides 2013 Production Results and Issues 2014 Guidance


VANCOUVER, Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Silver Standard Resources Inc. ("Silver Standard") provides its 2013 operational update for the Pirquitas mine in Jujuy, Argentina and announces production and cost guidance for 2014.

2013 Operating Highlights:

"2013 was another successful year for Pirquitas, capped off by a great fourth quarter," said John Smith, President and CEO. "Our team continued to deliver strong silver production and sales and achieved record zinc production. Equally important are the cost restructuring program and our investments in the mine that showed clear results through 2013 and have repositioned the asset.In 2014, we will continue to drive operational effectiveness aimed at further optimizing the mine and strengthening our platform for the future."

Summary of Mine Operating Statistics

Q4 2013 Q3 2013 % Change FY 2013
Total material mined Kt 4,277 4,465 (4.2%) 17,423
Ore milled Kt 420 394 6.6% 1,575
Silver mill feed grade g/t 228 215 6.0% 217
Zinc mill feed grade % 2.12 1.91 11.0% 1.63
Silver recovery % 73.9 74.6 (0.9%) 74.9
Zinc recovery (zinc concentrate) % 53 47 12.8% 48
Silver produced '000 oz 2,281 2,028 12.5% 8,216
Zinc produced (zinc concentrate) '000 lbs 10,307 7,818 31.8% 27,037
Silver sold '000 oz 2,499 1,969 26.9% 8,693
Zinc sold (zinc concentrate) '000 lbs 14,208 4,952 186.9% 23,524
Note : Percent changes are calculated using rounded numbers presented in the table.

Mine Operations

The Pirquitas mine produced 2.3 million ounces of silver during the fourth quarter of 2013, which is a 12.5% quarter-on-quarter improvement and reflects higher average head grade and mill throughput. During 2013, the mine produced 8.2 million ounces of silver, lower than the 8.6 million ounces produced in 2012, mainly due to more oxidized and transitional ore in the mill feed. Silver concentrate sales totaled 2.5 million ounces for the fourth quarter of 2013 and 8.7 million ounces of silver for the year.

The Pirquitas mine produced 10.3 million pounds of zinc in zinc concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2013, a 31.8% quarter-on-quarter improvement and the highest quarterly zinc production result in the history of the mine. In 2013, Pirquitas produced record 27.0 million pounds of zinc in zinc concentrate, reflecting higher zinc grades as we mined more of the zinc-rich Potosi area of the San Miguel open pit, combined with improved recoveries.

Approximately 420,000 tonnes of ore were milled during the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 394,000 tonnes in the third quarter of 2013. Ore was milled at an average rate of 4,567 tonnes per day during the quarter, 14.2% above the mill's nominal design. This compares to an average milling rate of 4,283 tonnes per day in the third quarter. The fourth quarter mill processing rate demonstrates the return to average annual mill rates comparable to 2012.

Ore milled during the fourth quarter of 2013 contained an average silver grade of 228 g/t, compared to 215 g/t reported in the third quarter, as the Phase 2 transition progressed to completion. The average fourth quarter silver recovery rate of 73.9% was largely in line with the third quarter recovery rate of 74.6%, with average recovery of 74.9% in 2013.

2014 Outlook

Silver Standard's production and cost guidance for 2014 is:

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by the following Qualified Person ("QP") under Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), who consents to having his name included in this news release.

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