Work stoppage at Pan American Silver's Manantial Espejo mine

VANCOUVER, April 17, 2016 /CNW/ - Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS; TSX: PAA) ("Pan American" or the "Company") reported that a labour conflict with the union of mine workers has resulted in a work stoppage at its Manantial Espejo mine, in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.

The operations at the mine were stopped on April 13, 2016.  Essential power supply, mine dewatering, maintenance and safety-related work activities at the mine continue normally. 

The Company remains open to dialogue with the union and hopes for a prompt resolution to the conflict. At the moment, management believes that the situation can be resolved without jeopardizing its full-year consolidated production projections.

About Pan American Silver
Pan American Silver's mission is to be the world's pre-eminent silver producer, with a reputation for excellence in discovery, engineering, innovation and sustainable development. The Company has seven operating mines in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia.  Pan American also owns several development projects in the USA, Mexico, Peru and Argentina. Pan American is located at 1500 - 625 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 2T6.

THIS NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE UNITED STATES PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995 AND "FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION" WITHIN THE MEANING OF APPLICABLE CANADIAN SECURITIES LEGISLATION. STATEMENTS CONTAINING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION EXPRESS, AS AT THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE COMPANY'S PLANS, ESTIMATES, FORECASTS, PROJECTIONS, EXPECTATIONS, OR BELIEFS AS TO FUTURE EVENTS OR RESULTS.  GENERALLY, FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY THE USE OF FORWARD-LOOKING TERMINOLOGY SUCH AS "PLANS", "PROJECTS" OR "PROJECTED", "EXPECTS" OR "DOES NOT EXPECT", "IS EXPECTED", "ESTIMATES", "FORECASTS", "SCHEDULED", "INTENDS", "ANTICIPATES" OR "DOES NOT ANTICIPATE", OR "BELIEVES", OR VARIATIONS OF SUCH WORDS AND PHRASES, OR STATEMENTS THAT CERTAIN ACTIONS, EVENTS OR RESULTS "MAY", "CAN", "COULD", "WOULD", "MIGHT" OR "WILL BE TAKEN", "OCCUR" OR "BE ACHIEVED".  SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO STATEMENTS AS TO: THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY WORK STOPPAGES; THE IMPACTS TO PRODUCTION AT THE MANANTIAL ESPEJO MINE AND THE ABILITY THE COMPANY TO ACHIEVE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED PRODUCTION ESTIMATES; THE ABILITY OF THE COMPANY TO RESOLVE THE LABOUR DISPUTE AND THE TIMING FOR THE SAME; AND THE ABILITY OF PAN AMERICAN TO PREVENT ADDITIONAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS TO ITS OPERATIONS AS A RESULT OF THE LABOUR DISPUTE.

THESE STATEMENTS REFLECT THE COMPANY'S CURRENT VIEWS WITH RESPECT TO FUTURE EVENTS AND ARE NECESSARILY BASED UPON A NUMBER OF ASSUMPTIONS AND ESTIMATES THAT, WHILE CONSIDERED REASONABLE BY THE COMPANY, ARE INHERENTLY SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS, ECONOMIC, COMPETITIVE, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UNCERTAINTIES AND CONTINGENCIES.  MANY FACTORS, BOTH KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS THAT ARE OR MAY BE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE AND THE COMPANY HAS MADE ASSUMPTIONS AND ESTIMATES BASED ON OR RELATED TO MANY OF THESE FACTORS.  SUCH FACTORS INCLUDE, WITHOUT LIMITATION: RISKS RELATED TO THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND OPERATIONAL NATURE OF THE COMPANY'S BUSINESS; CHANGES IN NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, LEGISLATION, TAXATION, CONTROLS OR REGULATIONS AND  POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADA, THE UNITED STATES, MEXICO, PERU, ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA OR OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE THE COMPANY MAY CARRY ON BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE; RISKS AND HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUSINESS OF MINERAL EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND MINING (INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS, INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS, UNUSUAL OR UNEXPECTED GEOLOGICAL OR STRUCTURAL FORMATIONS, PRESSURES, CAVE-INS AND FLOODING); INADEQUATE INSURANCE, OR INABILITY TO OBTAIN INSURANCE, TO COVER THESE RISKS AND HAZARDS; EMPLOYEE RELATIONS; AVAILABILITY AND INCREASING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MINING INPUTS AND LABOUR; THE SPECULATIVE NATURE OF MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING THE RISKS OF OBTAINING NECESSARY LICENSES AND PERMITS AND THE PRESENCE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT MAY IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON MINING; GLOBAL FINANCIAL CONDITIONS; CHALLENGES TO, OR DIFFICULTY IN MAINTAINING, THE COMPANY'S TITLE TO PROPERTIES AND CONTINUED OWNERSHIP THEREOF; CONCLUSIONS OF ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS, AND CHANGES IN PROJECT PARAMETERS TO DEAL WITH UNANTICIPATED ECONOMIC OR OTHER FACTORS; INCREASED COMPETITION IN THE MINING INDUSTRY FOR PROPERTIES, EQUIPMENT, QUALIFIED PERSONNEL, AND THEIR COSTS; AND THOSE FACTORS IDENTIFIED UNDER THE CAPTION "RISKS RELATED TO PAN AMERICAN'S BUSINESS" IN THE COMPANY'S MOST RECENT FORM 40-F AND ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM FILED WITH THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION AND CANADIAN PROVINCIAL SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITIES. INVESTORS ARE CAUTIONED AGAINST ATTRIBUTING UNDUE CERTAINTY OR RELIANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.  ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY HAS ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY, THERE MAY BE OTHER FACTORS THAT CAUSE RESULTS NOT TO BE AS ANTICIPATED, ESTIMATED, DESCRIBED OR INTENDED. THE COMPANY DOES NOT INTEND, AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY OBLIGATION, TO UPDATE THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS OR INFORMATION TO REFLECT CHANGES IN ASSUMPTIONS OR CHANGES IN CIRCUMSTANCES OR ANY OTHER EVENTS AFFECTING SUCH STATEMENTS OR INFORMATION, OTHER THAN AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

SOURCE Pan American Silver Corp.

Kettina Cordero, Manager, Investor Relations, [phone], [email protected], www.panamericansilver.com