Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Avino Silver and Goldmine second quarter 2021 conference call and webcast. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jennifer North, Manager of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Avino Silver and Gold Mines Limited Q2 2021 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast. On the call today, we have the company's President and CEO, David Wolfen, our Chief Financial Officer, Nathan Hart, our Chief Operating Officer, Carlos Rodriguez, and our VP, Technical Services, Peter Latta. Before we get started, please note that certain statements made today on this call by the management team may include forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risk uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different than those expressed by or implied by such forward-looking statements. The company does not intend to and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information other than as required by applicable law. For more information, we refer you to our detailed cautionary note in the presentation accompanying this call or on our press release of yesterday's date. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today. Replay information and the presentation slides accompanying this conference call and webcast will be available on the website. Thank you. I will now turn the call over to Aveeno's President and CEO, David Wolfram. David?

Thanks, Jen. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Aveeno's Q2 2021 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast. Thanks for joining us. Before we begin, please note that the full financial statements and MD&A are now available on our website. On today's call, we will cover the highlights of our second quarter 2021 financial and operating performance and our plans for Q3 2021. Then we will open it up for questions. Please note that all figures are stated in US dollars unless otherwise noted. During the second quarter, we focused on the necessary work and activities at the mine site that would allow us to resume operations. In addition, we made excellent progress in our exploration program, which was announced during the first quarter of this year. Prior to the restart of operations, multiple preparations were ongoing, including hiring mine workers, upgrades to improve recoveries at the mill, reestablishing or testing the mill circuits and the cleanup of equipment, grounds and facilities. In addition, our exploration program yielded an initial test of drill results, which were announced in July. We had drilling results from El Trompo vein, which is a priority target and an offshoot of the Aveeno vein, which has been one of the feeder veins for the company's milling complex. Historically, data indicates that there are high-grade areas within the vein over considerable widths, and there is underground infrastructure adjacent to the vein, which would allow access for mining. Drilling on the vein has been from surface to confirm continuity of mineralization at depth. We also had results from Santiago vein, which is further north in the Aveeno Mining District, in an area of narrow veins that average between one and two meters in width and intersects the San Gonzalo vein with mineralization similar to the historically high grade San Gonzalo silver gold mineralization. The continuity of the mineralization of the Santiago vein is being tested. In addition, we received results from La Malenche vein The style of mineralization intersected resembles a low sulfatization epithermal San Gonzalo vein. The vein may represent a northwestern fault dislocated extension of the San Gonzalo vein. These results are encouraging as the presence of mineralized material in the La Malencha vein has been shown to extend along a strike distance of 250 meters and to depth of 75 meters from the surface. The 650-meter gap between the La Malenche vein and the northwest termination of the San Gonzalo vein remains prospective. We are currently infill drilling the oxide tailings resource that sits within our tailing storage facility, TSF number one, we call it, 200 holes were planned, of which 57 holes were drilled by the end of Q2. In addition to these four areas of drilling, we are also testing the Nuestra, Sonora, and San Jorge veins. Last week, we were extremely pleased to have announced that operations were resuming at the mine. We had to take necessary steps over the last few months, and although at times this may have seemed arduous, that were necessary in order to finally have the positive outcome that we have all been waiting for. During the quarter, there was some mining activities at the Aveeno mine, which included testing of the mill and resulted in the following production. 3,504 ounces of silver produced, 45 ounces of gold produced, 55,043 pounds of copper produced. all totaling up to 15,477 ounces of silver equivalent. At the mine, we will continue to take precautionary measures as we begin restarting operations. The health and safety of workforce, their families and the communities in which we operate is paramount and we continue to be dedicated to maintaining a safe work environment. We believe that the outlook for silver is positive And according to the Silver Institute, global demand for silver will rise to 1 billion 25 million ounces in 2021, the highest in eight years, led by investments in industrial and investment-grade physical silver, i.e. bars and coins. The uses of silver are expanding, and they are expanding quickly. According to the Midas Touch Consulting, the price will be forced higher by any expansion in new applications of silver. They see expandable markets for silver use in water treatment, flexible displays, the pharmaceutical industry, 5G communication, RFID radio frequency identification devices, nanotechnology, silver oxide batteries, high-performance engines, functional clothing, and solar technology. As well, exploration activities across Mexico is on the rise with hundreds of thousands of meters from various mining companies are planned across the country with increasing budgets. And the same for Aveeno as our own drill program was announced and then increased in the first quarter. Also in the quarter, we continue to make excellent progress with the dry stack tailing storage facility, TSF number two we call it, which is on privately owned Aveeno land, is permitted and is currently in the final stage prior to commencing construction. The concrete foundations have been poured for the building that will house the filter presses needed, and our expectation remains that the project will be completed during the fourth quarter of 2021 or slightly pushed into Q1 2022 due to the unseasonably heavy rainfall. As I've mentioned before, it should add an additional eight to 10 years of tailings capacity based on the current mill throughput rate. We chose dry stack tailings for its environmentally safety and economic advantages. Dry stack is the most stable form of tailing storage. It reduces water consumption and reduces the storage footprint by requiring less land. Our ESG initiatives continue to move forward as we incorporate principles of our sustainability and social responsibility. During the second quarter, multiple social governance policies were implemented, as well as a health and safety plan, which includes a new medical doctor and department on site who inspects different work areas to detect any possible risk to the health of our workers. We are committed to growing in a sustainable way that supports the well-being of our communities and the environment in which we operate. We believe that the push towards a green economy and the fact that we mine the metals needed will certainly benefit our shareholders going forward. I will now ask Nathan Hart, Avino's Chief Financial Officer, to present the financial results for Q2 2021.