Great Panther Mining Limited GPL produced 22,444 gold equivalent ounces in the third quarter of 2021, which was 44% lower than the year-ago quarter due to lesser output at all of its three wholly-owned mines — Tucano in Brazil, and Topia and the Guanajuato Mine Complex ("GMC") in Mexico. Production was primarily affected by maintenance issues at the Tucano mine, while output at Topia and the GMC mines were impacted by the implementation of the new labor laws in Mexico.

Total gold production at Tucano was 16,325 gold ounces in the third quarter, 49% lower compared to the third quarter of 2020. This was primarily due to equipment availability issues and the temporary halting in mining activities due to slope instability.

At Topia, total silver equivalent production was 242,028 silver equivalent ounces in the quarter, which was 37% lower than the year-ago quarter. Total silver equivalent production at GMC declined 17% year over year to 278,073 ounces, as production from historically mined areas and actual tonnages available were lower than estimated. The implementation of new labor laws in Mexico impacted output in both the mines as contractors adjusted to the new requirements.

Citing the lower-than-expected production in the third quarter, Great Panther Mining stated that it is currently in the process of reviewing its guidance for the full year.

The company informed that it has not yet been granted a permit from the Comisión Nacional del Agua ("CONAGUA") to expand the tailings storage facility (“TSF”) at the GMC. It only has sufficient capacity to continue milling operations until December 2021. Meanwhile, it is considering options that include processing ore at third-party facilities and longer-term tailings storage solutions.

The company is slated to release third-quarter financial results on Nov 3, 2021, after market close. Lesser production numbers, and lower gold and silver prices through the quarter are likely to reflect on results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s sales for the quarter is currently pegged at $69.2 million, indicating a decline of 10% year over year. The estimate for earnings per share is at 3 cents, in-line with the last-year quarter.

Share Price Performance

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Great Panther’s shares have fallen 47.3% so far this year, compared with the industry’s decline of 22.9%.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Nucor Corporation NUE, Methanex Corporation MEOH and Teck Resources Ltd TECK. All of these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Nucor has an estimated earnings growth rate of 537 % for the ongoing year. So far this year, the company’s shares have appreciated 99%.

Methanex has a projected earnings growth rate of 409% for 2021. The company’s shares have gained 85% so far this year.

Teck Resources has an estimated earnings growth rate of 309% for the current year. The company’s shares have increased 99% year to date.

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