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Silver, gold and copper producer Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (NYSE American: ASM) released its second quarter 2026 production figures this week, and the numbers tell a story of a company in transition. The Vancouver based miner, which operates in Durango, Mexico, produced 267,305 ounces of silver, 2,178 ounces of gold and 729,929 pounds of copper during the quarter. Combined, that works out to 534,945 silver equivalent ounces, a 17% drop from the same period last year.
That decline is not the headline, though. The real story is what happened at La Preciosa, the property Avino picked up when it finalized its acquisition of the adjacent site in early 2022. Silver production there jumped 59% compared to the first quarter of 2026, contributing 100,658 silver equivalent ounces to the total. Much of that improvement came down to a second mill circuit becoming available, which allowed the company to process more development ore than originally planned.
President and CEO David Wolfin pointed to this shift as a deliberate part of the company’s longer-term strategy. He noted that mill performance held up well, with tonnes processed exceeding expectations, and that the contribution from La Preciosa kept building as the quarter progressed. He also reiterated something the company has said before, that 2026 production overall will lean more heavily toward the back half of the year as La Preciosa continues to scale up.
The drop in copper output is worth explaining, since it accounts for most of the year over year decline in silver equivalent ounces. Avino intentionally shifted mining toward lower copper grade areas near its historical open pit, a sequencing decision rather than a sign of trouble. Copper production fell 50% compared to last year’s second quarter, and that single factor weighed heavily on the overall equivalent ounce total even though silver and gold both grew.
Mill throughput held steady at 184,293 tonnes for the quarter, only a modest 4% decrease from last year, but recoveries told a more mixed story. Silver recovery dropped to 69% from 85% a year earlier, largely because the ore mix now includes more material from La Preciosa, which behaves differently than ore from the main Avino property. Copper recovery also slipped to 72% from 83%.
Beyond the production figures, Avino provided updates on its exploration program. Two drills are currently active at La Preciosa, with 6,591 metres completed toward a planned 15,000 metres for the year. That drilling has shifted from filling in gaps within known reserves to testing new targets outside the current resource model, which suggests the company sees additional upside beyond what has already been defined. None of this new drilling factored into the mineral reserve estimate the company published in April, which outlined 127 million silver equivalent ounces across its properties.
At the Avino mine itself, workers identified surface mineralized material near existing operations that was not previously counted in reserves. Because it sits close to the surface and can be processed using existing mill capacity, the company decided to extract it despite lower copper grades and some oxidation issues that affect recovery. Given current metal prices, management believes the material still offers solid margins.
On the capital side, Avino repurchased and cancelled 508,039 common shares during the quarter under its normal course issuer bid, part of an ongoing effort to reduce share count over time. Full financial results for the quarter are scheduled for release before markets open on August 12, 2026, with a conference call to follow that same day.
The quarter reflects a company reshaping where its ounces come from, trading some near term copper output for a bigger role from La Preciosa, a trade the company has signaled it intends to keep making through the rest of the year.
