Silver Bear Resources, owner of the Mangazeisky silver project in Russia’s Far East, has announced it is to raise $4 million via two shareholder loans in order to acquire an X-ray Transmission (XRT) ore sorting system and help construct the flotation line at its flagship mine.

Vadim Ilchuk, President and Chief Executive Officer, said the XRT processing technology was expected to improve overall process plant efficiency and lower operational costs at the operation, while the flotation equipment would help deal with the processing of primary ore.

“The company expects to provide an update on the implementation of the XRT process in the first (March) quarter of 2020,” he said.

The company achieved first silver production in April 2018 as a result of its commissioning activities and, as of December 31, 2018, produced a total of 594,921 oz of silver and sold 433,095 oz of silver totaling pre-commercial production revenue of $6.4 million. It achieved full commercial production on July 1, 2019.