They might be doing a little covering today, silver itself is up nicely for a change, plus Keith has found gold. I believe you've got your wish, he's going to spend a little money and upgrade, I highlighted were it's reported about the upgrade. GL, Happy NY, too
First Majestic Silver reports record production in 2021
(Kitco News) - First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR) reported today that its full year 2021 production reached a new company record of 26.9 million silver equivalent ounces, or a 32% increase over 2020.
The company said that silver production in 2021 reached 12.8 million ounces, compared to 11.6 million ounces in 2020, which slightly missed the lower end of the company's revised guidance range of producing between 13.0 to 13.8 million ounces of silver.
Importantly, the company's gold production in 2021 reached 192,353 ounces, compared to 100,081 in 2020, achieving the higher end of the company's revised guidance range of producing between 181,000 to 194,000 ounces.
"This strong performance was primarily due to the processing of Ermitaño ore at the Santa Elena plant and strong silver and gold grades at San Dimas in the fourth quarter," First Majestic said in a statement.
The company expects 2022 total production from its four operating mines to range between 32.2 to 35.8 million silver equivalent ounces consisting of 12.2 to 13.5 million ounces of silver and 258,000 to 288,000 ounces of gold. Based on the midpoint of the guidance range, the company expects silver equivalent ounces to increase 27% when compared to 2021.
First Majestic added that silver production is expected to remain consistent with 2021 rates whereas gold production is expected to increase by 42% year-over-year.
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The increase in gold production is primarily due to the ramp up of production at Ermitaño which is known to contain higher amounts of gold and a full year worth of production from Jerritt Canyon, the company noted.
"First Majestic ended the year with its strongest production quarter in the company's 20-year history," said President and CEO Keith Neumeyer. "During the fourth quarter, production at our San Dimas and Santa Elena mines exceeded expectations and reached new records due to a significant improvement in productivity and in silver and gold grades. Consolidated gold production also reached a new record of 192,353 ounces in 2021 due to the acquisition of the Jerritt Canyon mine and the start of production and first pour from the Ermitaño mine at Santa Elena in November."
He added that in 2022, total production is expected to increase between 20% to 33% compared to 2021 primarily due to higher production expected at San Dimas, Santa Elena and a full year of production at Jerritt Canyon.
In addition, he pointed out that the company is planning to invest significantly in exploration and underground development in 2022 in order to prepare a clear path to achieving the company's goal of producing over 40 million silver equivalent ounces by 2024.
First Majestic is a publicly traded mining company focused on silver and gold production in Mexico and the United States. The company presently owns and operates the San Dimas silver/gold mine, the Jerritt Canyon gold mine, the Santa Elena silver/gold mine and the La Encantada silver mine.
By Vladimir Basov
