A small-cap silver miner exchange traded fund was leading the markets Thursday on strong second quarter earnings results out of Pan American Silver Corp. (Nasdaq, TSX: PAAS), the world’s second-largest primary silver producer, and Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL).
The ETFMG Junior Silver Miners ETF (NYSEArca: SILJ) jumped 3.8% on Thursday, reversing a back-to-back sell-off that has sent the fund to its lowest since April 2016. SILJ is down 15.6% year-to-date.
Bolstering the silver miner space, Pan American Silver revealed a rise in second-quarter adjusted net earnings on steady silver output and lower costs, reports Allen Sykora for Kitco.
The silver miner announced adjusted earnings of $35.4 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to the $22.3 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Additionally, net earnings were $36.7 million, or 24 cents, compared to $36 million, or 23 cents, for the same period last year.
PAAS.CN shares surged 9.5% on the Q2 report.
“Our operations continue to generate robust cash flow with mine operating earnings up 22% compared with the same quarter last year,” Michael Steinmann, president and chief executive officer, told Kitco. “We are realizing the benefits of increased throughput from the expansions of our La Colorada and Dolores mines, in addition to strong performance and low costs across all our other mines during the quarter.”
Cost of Producing Silver
Hecla Mining also announced a profitable Q2 as the cash cost of producing an ounce of silver, after byproduct credits, was in negative territory, according to Kitco. Furthermore, the miner upwardly revised production guidance to account for the recent acquisition of the Nevada properties from Klondex Mines Ltd.
Hecla’s net income was $11.9 million, or 3 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $24.2 million, or 6 cents, for the same period last year.
“The significant decline in our silver cash cost, after by-product credits per ounce, is a function of strong base-metals prices and improved treatment charges,” Phillips S. Baker, Jr., president and chief executive officer at Hecla Mining, told Kitco.
PAAS.CN and HL are among SILJ’s top holdings, accounting for 12.4% and 10.6% of the ETF’s portfolio, respectively. SILJ was created to provide silver exploration and mining exposure of small cap companies and was the first ETF to exclusively hold silver explorers and junior silver producers.
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