According to the company, all major plant equipment at San Bartolomé is now in place. Coeur expected the processing facilities to be connected to the national electrical grid during the second half of February, at which point full commissioning of the crushers and mills would commence. Processing of ore was anticipated to begin during the second half of March. Production and plant utilization will then steadily increase with full plant capacity targeted for August.

Dennis E. Wheeler, chairman, president and CEO of Coeur, said, “Over 1,600 workers, almost all of them Bolivians, have done an excellent job in constructing what will be the world’s largest pure silver mine, surpassing over 3.7 million man hours without a lost time accident, a truly remarkable achievement given the size and scope of this state-of-the-art facility. Coeur is proud of the strong community, government and economic relationships we have developed with the people and organizations of Potosi and Bolivia, and the company is excited about placing the mine into production and generating value for all stakeholders.”

Coeur expects San Bartolomé to produce more than 6 million oz of silver during the remainder of 2008, and figures operating cash costs once the plant reaches full-scale operations in August through the end of the year to be $4.10/oz (excluding royalties and production taxes of $2.03/oz). The property contains 153 million oz of silver reserves and 34.2 million oz of additional indicated mineral resources. Mine life will be approximately 14 years, according to the company.