🧾 What This Document Is

This is a 6-K filing, which is a current report that foreign companies listed on U.S. exchanges use to announce major news to investors. This specific report contains a press release where Avino announces a Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB)—a fancy term for a share buyback program. The company has received approval to buy back and cancel up to 5% of its own stock over the next year.

👉 Why it matters: This is a direct signal from management that they believe the company's stock is undervalued and that returning cash to shareholders via buybacks is a smart use of money right now.

🏢 What The Company Does

In simple terms, Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM) is a mining company. They own and operate the Avino Mine near Durango, Mexico, where they produce silver, gold, and copper. A key point is that their production is unhedged, meaning they sell their metals at current market prices, giving them direct exposure to rising silver and gold prices. They are also growing, having recently acquired the adjacent La Preciosa property and completed a study on a new tailings project.

💰 The Buyback by the Numbers

Here are the key figures from the announcement:

• Maximum Shares to Buy: Up to 8,428,566 common shares.
• Percentage of Company: This represents approximately 5% of the 168,571,331 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2026.
• Timeframe: The program starts April 8, 2026, and runs for up to 12 months, ending on April 7, 2027 (or earlier if the maximum is reached).
• Daily Limit: On the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), daily purchases are capped at 248,266 shares.
• Price & Where: Shares will be bought at prevailing market prices on the TSX, NYSE American, or other permitted Canadian and U.S. trading systems.

🚀 Why The CEO Says They're Doing This

CEO David Wolfin provided the reasoning. He noted that the company's share price has risen significantly over the past nine months. The buyback gives them "flexibility and optionality" in case the market price doesn't reflect the company's "underlying value and long-term potential." He also connected it to the company's financial health, stating that with current silver prices, Avino expects to generate enough free cash flow in 2026 to fund the repurchases.

👉 The Takeaway: Management is confident enough in their future cash generation that they are willing to use it to buy back their own stock, which they see as a valuable asset.

📦 How the Buyback Will Work

The process has two key parts:

1. Open Market Purchases: Outside of blackout periods, management can decide day-by-day to buy shares.
2. Automatic Share Purchase Plan (ASPP): This is a pre-arranged plan with a broker. It allows the company to keep buying shares during regulatory blackout periods (like right before earnings releases) when insiders are normally restricted from trading. This ensures the program can continue smoothly.

All shares purchased will be cancelled, reducing the total number of shares outstanding.

💸 What This Signals About Their Financial Position

This move is a classic sign of a company transitioning from a pure growth phase to one that also prioritizes returning capital to shareholders. For a mining company to comfortably commit to a buyback, it signals:

• Strong Balance Sheet: They have the cash or borrowing capacity to do this without jeopardizing operations.
• Confident Cash Flow Forecast: As the CEO said, they project strong free cash flow from their silver production in 2026.
• Capital Allocation Priority: They believe buying back undervalued shares is a better use of capital than, for example, a major acquisition right now.

🔮 What's Next & The Bigger Picture

The buyback isn't happening in a vacuum. It sits alongside Avino's broader strategy of sustainable growth from its existing mine and new projects like La Preciosa and the Oxide Tailings Project. Being ranked 5th on the TSX30™ (a list of top-performing stocks on the Toronto exchange) shows recent market momentum. This program is a tool to support that momentum and shareholder value during its next phase.

👍 Strengths: Clear confidence from management, strong recent share performance, unhedged exposure to rising silver/gold prices, a commitment to sustainable practices. ⚠️ Risks: Mining is inherently risky (operational, regulatory, commodity price swings). The buyback is not a guarantee—it can be stopped at any time. Spending cash on buybacks means that money isn't being used for other things, like new exploration.

🧠 The Analogy

Think of Avino as a homeowner who believes their house is worth more than the market currently shows. Instead of waiting for a buyer to offer a higher price, they buy back a portion of the house themselves (the shares), reducing the number of co-owners. This means future gains from the property's value (company profits) are shared among fewer people, making each remaining co-owner's slice more valuable.

🧩 Final Takeaway

Avino is using its strong financial position and positive outlook on silver prices to launch a share buyback program. This move is less about immediate financial engineering and more about management declaring they see long-term value in their own stock and have the cash flow to act on that belief.