Avino acquires neighboring La Preciosa project from Coeur Mining

Last night, Avino Silver & Gold Mines (ASM) announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement to indirectly acquire through the purchase of the shares of certain holding companies the La Preciosa Property from Coeur Mining (CDE). La Preciosa is a development stage mineral property, hosting one of the largest undeveloped primary silver resources in Mexico, and is located adjacent to Avino's existing operations at the Avino Property in Durango, Mexico, the company stated. David Wolfin, Avino's President and CEO, stated: "We believe this is a transformational Transaction for Avino shareholders. I have always believed that Avino and La Preciosa belong under common ownership given the clear synergies and common infrastructure, and I'm delighted that Coeur shares this vision. La Preciosa is an excellent strategic fit within Avino's existing operations and further strengthens our presence in Durango by adding not only a large, high-quality silver development project with near-term production potential to our portfolio, but also increasing our mineral exploration concessions by more than 7-fold to over 7,000 hectares. We are also very pleased to welcome an experienced miner in Coeur as a strategic Avino equity holder. Work is already underway to determine how to best integrate La Preciosa into Avino's production operations, given the proximity to the current processing facilities and infrastructure. We expect a large portion of the existing La Preciosa resource could be mined via an underground operation to potentially improve Avino's production and organic growth profile." Avino has agreed to pay cash consideration of $20M, of which $15M is payable at the closing of the Transaction from Avino's cash on hand. The remaining $5M is payable before the first anniversary of the closing date. Avino will execute a note payable in favor of Coeur with respect to the remaining cash consideration on customary termsi. Additionally, Avino will issue 14.0M units, each comprising one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant. On closing, Coeur will own about 12% of Avino's issued and outstanding common shares. The Warrants will have an exercise price of $1.09, representing a 25% premium to Avino's 20-day VWAP as of October 26, 2021, and will have a term of 18 months from the closing date of the transaction.