Great Panther Silver (AMEX:GPL) announced Wednesday evening a series of changes to its senior management structure, most notably splitting the formerly joint role of CEO and president.

The dual roles had been held by Robert Archer, who will now retain the role of just CEO, allowing him to focus on corporate strategy, business development opportunities and marketing.

The silver mining and exploration company said the role of president has been appointed to Martin Carsky, who will focus on day-to-day operations and financial oversight.

Carsky has worked as Great Panther’s executive VP and CFO since June 2011 and also served for two years as a board member and chairman of the Audit Committee. Prior to his time at Great Panther, Carsky was the CEO and a director of Con-Space Communications.

“With the growth in size and complexity of our business over the past several years, we recognized the need and the advantages that would come from building a more diverse team to allow us to effectively execute on the company’s strategy of advancing the operations and to take advantage of strategic opportunities,” said Archer.

“I believe that this management restructuring will enable us to move more quickly towards our goal of becoming a mid-tier primary silver producer.”

Other changes to the company’s management structure include the appointment of Jim Zadra to the role of chief financial officer. Zadra has been Great Panther’s VP of finance since September 2011.

Graham Parsons has been promoted to the newly created role of VP of operations based in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Prior to this, Parsons was the GM of the Guanajuato Mine Complex, and will continue to oversee the mine’s operations until a replacement is found.

Charles Brown has also been appointed a newly created role, as senior VP of corporate development. Brown previously held the position of COO – a position that Great Panther has now eliminated.

In his new role, the company said Brown will work closely with Archer on new business opportunities that will expand the company throughout Latin America.

“As Archer suggests, we believe that this management reorganization will enable us to accelerate our business development opportunities while maintaining a focus on our existing operations,” commented Carsky.

Great Panther Silver is a primary silver mining and exploration company focused on its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico, Guanajuato and Topia.

Last week, the company reported that second-quarter gold production was up 22 per cent to 2,353 ounces while silver production was down three per cent to 374,723 ounces.

Overall, total metals production was down one per cent to 555,721 silver equivalent ounces as total ore processed at its Guanajuato and Topia operations fell seven per cent to 52,956 tonnes.

The company said that at Guanajuato, ore grades of 189 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 1.82 g/t gold, or 298 g/t silver equivalent, were up eight per cent. Guanajuato achieved record metallurgical recoveries of 91.1 per cent and 92.3 per cent for silver and gold respectively.

At Guanajuato, the mine is now operating on a seven-day-week schedule to allow for increased equipment utilization and production.

The company’s processing plant, which is already achieving record metallurgical recoveries, will be further improved with the recent installation of a new double-deck crushing screen that became operational in June, and a new tertiary crusher scheduled to be operational later in Q3.

Meanwhile, drilling at Guanajuatito is expanding a new discovery approximately 100 metres to the northwest from current workings between the 160 and 200 metre levels. This new zone is open both up and down dip and to the northwest.

At Topia, the rainy season is well underway and processing capacity increased from 160 to 220 tonnes per day in June. Mined ore has been stockpiled and mining rates are increasing with additional mobile equipment acquired, the company said.