VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX: EDR, NYSE: EXK) reports its highest quarterly production in the last two years from its three high grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico; Guanacevi in Durango state, Bolañitos in Guanajuato state and El Compas in Zacatecas state.  Fourth Quarter, 2020 production was 1,117,289 silver ounces (oz) and 12,568 gold oz for 2.1 million oz silver equivalent (“AgEq”) at an 80:1 silver:gold ratio.
The Company’s 2020 full year production met its original guidance notwithstanding the government mandated two-month suspension of operations due to the pandemic.  In fiscal 2020, silver production totaled 3,513,767 oz and gold production totaled 37,139 oz for 6.5 million oz AgEq. The Company withdrew its 2020 production guidance in early April due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary shutdown mandated by the Mexican government and chose not to issue revised guidance when production was resumed at the end of May due to continued uncertainty caused by the ongoing pandemic.Bradford Cooke, Endeavour CEO, commented, “Endeavour enjoyed its strongest operational performance in two years thanks to the measures we initiated in 2019 to return the Guanacevi and Bolañitos mines to profitability. I would like to commend our operations team for their hard work, commitment and resilience during the global pandemic to meet our safety and production goals last year.”“So long as the pandemic is still with us, we will remain diligent with our heightened health and safety protocols, and we continue to make safety our first priority. Our entire workforce was flexible, innovative and responsible during 2020 which allowed us to deliver exceptional results given the circumstances.”“Subject to our pending feasibility study, appropriate financing and board approval, we plan to turn our attention this year to developing our next core asset, the Terronera project in Jalisco state.  This year should prove to be very rewarding for our staff, communities and stakeholders.”Silver and gold production were higher in Q4, 2020 compared to Q4, 2019 due to the continued operational improvements at the Guanacevi and Bolañitos mines.  At Guanacevi, Q4, 2020 throughput increased 15%, with a 31% increase in silver equivalent grades processed compared to Q4, 2019. At Bolañitos, Q4 2020, throughput increased 31%, with an 8% increase in silver equivalent grades compared to Q4, 2019.Despite the temporary shutdown in Q2, 2020, annual silver production exceeded the high range of original guidance by 1%, gold production missed the low range by 2% and silver equivalent production achieved the mid-point of the original 2020 production guidance.2020 Fourth Quarter HighlightsConsolidated Production Continued to Improve Q-o-Q: Silver equivalent production was up 21% compared to Q3, 2020, primarily due to higher throughput.
 Guanacevi Continued to Outperform: Silver and gold grades continued to deliver well above plan and plant throughput approached plant capacity.
 Bolañitos Continued to Improve: Throughput exceeded plan, approached plant capacity and was the highest since 2018, gold grades aligned with plan and silver grades remained lower than plan.
 El Compas Remained Steady: Throughput remained steady at close to plant capacity, gold grades were on plan, silver grades remained lower than plan, and with a short mine life, management is reviewing alternative mine plans to ensure positive free cash flow in 2021. 
 Metal Sales and Inventories: Sold 1,419,037 oz silver and 13,850 oz gold, held 105,925 oz silver and 388 oz gold of bullion inventory and 10,559 oz silver and 1,071 oz gold in concentrate inventory.
 Delivered Positive Brownfields Exploration Results from the Three Mines: Drilling continued to intersect high-grade gold-silver mineralization in the Santa Cruz vein at Guanacevi, the Melladito and San Bernabe veins at Bolañitos, and the Misie and Calicanto veins at El Compas.
 
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