Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM: TSX/NYSE American; FSE: GV6, “Avino” or “the Company”) released today its consolidated financial results for the Company’s first quarter 2021. The Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) can be viewed on the Company’s web site at www.avino.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

“During the first quarter we continued preparations for the re-commencement of production and remained focused on our 2021 drill program. The objectives of the drill program are to locate new mineralized zones within the property and to confirm continuity of mineralization in the current Avino ET production area. We have completed 3,763 metres of drilling and are currently waiting for full assay results to be received,” said David Wolfin, President and CEO. “In addition, we were able to reduce our debt position by a further $0.8 million and increased our working capital to a record $31 million, ending the quarter with a strong balance sheet thanks to the efforts of the teams in Mexico and Canada, as well as the strength in metal prices.”

First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights

Ending cash balance of $27 million
Ending working capital of $31 million
Reduction in debt liabilities by $0.8 million
Mine operating losses of $0.7 million
Net losses from continuing operations of $1.8 million, or $0.02 per share
Losses before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”)1 of $1.7 million
Adjusted losses1 of $0.9 million
HIGHLIGHTS
(Expressed in 000’s of US$)First Quarter 2021 First Quarter 2020 Change First
Quarter 2021 Fourth Quarter 2020 Change
Financial Operating Performance
Revenues $ 29 $7,116 -100% $29 $1,407 -98%
Mine operating (loss) income $(680) $843 -181% $(680) $(1,251)-46%
Net loss from continuing operations $1,818) $(232) -684% $(1,818) $(1,553) -17%
Net loss including discontinued operations $(1,818) $(232) -684% $(1,818) $ (1,555) -17%
Earnings (loss) before interest, taxes and amortization (“EBITDA”)1 $ (1,740) $ 372 -568% $(1,740) $(2,269) 23%
Adjusted earnings (losses)1 $(944) $391 -341% $(944) $(182) -408%
Per Share Amounts
Loss per share from cont. operations - basic $(0.02) $(0.00) -100% $(0.02)$(0.02) -%
Loss per share – basic $(0.02) $(0.00) -100% $(0.02) $(0.02) -%
Cash Flow per share1 – basic $ (0.01) $0.00 -100% $(0.01) $(0.03) 67%

HIGHLIGHTS
(Expressed in 000’s of US$) March 31, 2021 March 31, 2020 Change March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 Change
Liquidity & Working Capital
Cash $ 27,030 $ 6,698 304% $ 27,030 $ 11,713 131%
Working capital $ 31,220 $ 10,751 190% $ 31,220 $ 14,680 113%
1. The Company reports non-IFRS measures which include cash cost per silver equivalent payable ounce, all-in sustaining cash cost per payable ounce, EBITDA, adjusted earnings/losses, and cash flow per share. These measures are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance, but do not have a standardized meaning and the calculation methods may differ from methods used by other companies with similar reported measures. See Non-IFRS Measures section for further information and detailed reconciliations.

Costs and Capital Expenditures:

Capital expenditures company-wide for Q1 2021, were $0.4 million compared to $0.5 million for Q1 2020.

Capital expenditures at the Avino property mainly relate to exploration drilling costs, and we expect to see this continue to increase into Q2 and Q3 2021.

HIGHLIGHTS
(Expressed in US$) First Quarter 2021 First Quarter 2020 Change1 First
Quarter 2021 Fourth Quarter 2020 Change1
Operating
Tonnes Milled - 164,096 -100% - - -%
Silver Ounces Produced - 266,718 -100% - - -%
Gold Ounces Produced - 1,531 -100% - - -%
Copper Pounds Produced - 1,808,172 -100% - - -%
Silver Equivalent Ounces1 Produced - 683,944 -100% - - -%
Concentrate Sales and Cash Costs
Silver Equivalent Payable Ounces Sold2 - 575,067 -100% - 59,710 -100%
Cash Cost per Silver Equivalent Payable Ounce1,2,3 $ - $ 9.83 -100% $ - $ 14.01 -100%
All-in Sustaining Cash Cost per Silver Equivalent Payable Ounce1,2,3 $ - $ 14.88 -100% $ - $ 73.08 -100%
1. No production in Q1 2021. In Q1 2020, AgEq was calculated using metals prices of $16.94 oz Ag, $1,584 oz Au and $2.56 lb Cu.

2. “Silver equivalent payable ounces sold” for the purposes of cash costs and all-in sustaining costs consists of the sum of payable silver ounces, gold ounces and copper tonnes sold, before penalties, treatment charges, and refining charges, multiplied by the ratio of the average spot gold and copper prices to the average spot silver price for the corresponding period.

3. The Company reports non-IFRS measures which include cash cost per silver equivalent payable ounce, all-in sustaining cash cost per payable ounce, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, and cash flow per share. These measures are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance, but do not have a standardized meaning and the calculation methods may differ from methods used by other companies with similar reported measures. See Non-IFRS Measures section for further information and detailed reconciliations.

During Q1 2021, no production mining activities took place due to the work stoppage at the Avino Mine. Transitional efforts are underway to restart production and mining operations.

Exploration Update – 2021 Drill Program

In March, the Company announced that it was implementing a fully-funded increase in the 2021 drill program from 12,000 to 30,600 metres as approved by Avino’s Board of Directors.

Phase 1 is focused on the El Trompo Vein, the Santiago Vein, the Avino ET area (below Level 17) and Avino West (below Levels 9 & 17).

Phase 2 will focus on high-grade, narrow-vein mineralized systems similar to the previously-mined San Gonzalo system.

One vein that is of interest and another potential high-grade target is the La Malinche vein, which will be tested as part of Phase 2. It is similar in style to the San Gonzalo vein, in that it is a low-sulphidation epithermal vein. It is possible that this vein is the northwestern extension of the San Gonzalo vein that may have been dislocated. More exploration work is needed to confirm this theory and broaden our understanding of the system, and Phase 2 is the beginning of this process.

With the updated budget, Avino is now drilling the existing oxide tailings resource that sits within our tailings storage facility #1 (“TSF#1”). In 2017, Avino released an encouraging Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), which can be found on Avino’s profile on SEDAR. One of the recommendations from the PEA was to perform additional surface drilling to increase the confidence level of the resource. This would be done in anticipation on commencing a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”). Avino is currently proceeding with the recommended drilling with the intention of making a decision to proceed with a PFS later in the year.

ESG and Community Engagement

Avino has recently hired a CSR (ESG) Manager in Mexico to drive forward the Company’s ESG initiatives and contribute to the operational continuity of the business under the principles of sustainability and corporate Social Responsibility.

During the first quarter, the Company supported the community of San Jose de Avino by:

Loaning our CAT dozer, and paying for the fuel and operator’s time to help expand the towns’ cemetery
Providing multiple bags of cement to fix an access road in the town
Supported all surrounding communities by:

Providing information to the communities on the safety of dry stack tailings. This will be followed up by the new CSR Manager.
Avino has received PPE and hundreds of rapid Covid tests to ensure the safety and good health of our workforce.

Avino is the main source of employment in the area, and once we are fully operational again, we are looking forward to providing steady employment to a significant number of people from the nearby communities, as well as the City of Durango. Many people in the local communities are keen to get back to work, and Avino has the full support of the local and state governments.

The restart of production activities is expected to provide significant direct economic benefits and stimulus for the local communities.

Non-IFRS Measures

The financial results in this news release include references to cash flow per share, cash cost per silver equivalent ounce, and all-in sustaining cash cost per silver equivalent ounce, EBITDA, and adjusted earnings/losses, all of which are non-IFRS measures. These measures are used by the Company to manage and evaluate operating performance of the Company’s mining operations, and are widely reported in the silver and gold mining industry as benchmarks for performance, but do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS, and are disclosed in addition to the prescribed IFRS measures provided in the Company’s financial statements and MD&A.

Conference Call and Webcast

In addition, the Company will be holding a conference call and webcast on Thursday, May 13 at 9:00 am PST (12:00 pm am EST). Shareholders, analysts, investors and media are invited to join the webcast and conference call by logging in here Avino First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast or by dialing the following numbers five to ten minutes prior to the start time:

Toll Free Canada & USA: 1-800-319-4610
Outside of Canada & USA: 1-604-638-5340

No passcode is necessary to participate in the conference call or webcast; participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the Q&A portion.