Produces New Quarterly Record of 8.6M Silver Eqv. Oz in Q4 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 18, 2022) - First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX: FR) (NYSE: AG) (FSE: FMV) ("First Majestic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce fourth quarter production reached a new quarterly record of 8.6 million silver equivalent ounces, consisting of 3.4 million silver ounces and 67,411 gold ounces, representing a 17% increase compared to the prior quarter. Additionally, full year 2021 production reached a new Company record of 26.9 million silver equivalent ounces, consisting of 12.8 million silver ounces and 192,353 gold ounces, or a 32% increase over 2020.
The Company is also pleased to announce its 2022 guidance of producing 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, with AISC cost guidance of between $16.79 to $18.06 per silver equivalent ounce.
Q4 2021 HIGHLIGHTS
- Total production reached 8.6 million silver equivalent ounces, representing a 17% increase over the prior quarter. Silver production reached 3.4 million ounces, representing a 2% increase over the prior quarter and the Company's third highest quarterly silver production. Gold production reached 67,411 ounces, representing a 24% increase from the prior quarter and the Company's highest quarterly gold production.
- San Dimas produced a record 4.0 million silver equivalent ounces, consisting of 2.2 million ounces of silver and 23,795 ounces of gold, representing a 17% increase in total production from the prior quarter and the highest quarterly production since acquiring the mine in 2018.
- In November, the Company began test batching surface stockpiles from Ermitao at the Santa Elena processing plant and in December declared initial production, ahead of schedule, which resulted in a new quarterly production record at Santa Elena. A total of 2.0 million silver equivalent ounces were produced in the quarter consisting of 426,870 ounces of silver and 19,810 ounces of gold. This represents a significant 84% increase in total production from the prior quarter and the highest quarterly production since acquiring the mine in 2015.
- At the end of the fourth quarter, 21 exploration drill rigs were active across the Company's mines consisting of seven rigs at San Dimas, nine rigs at Jerritt Canyon, three rigs at Santa Elena and two rigs at La Encantada.
FY 2021 HIGHLIGHTS
- 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.
- 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 Ermitao ore at the Santa Elena plant and strong silver and gold grades at San Dimas in the fourth quarter.
- Successfully completed the acquisition of the Jerritt Canyon Gold Mine in Nevada, USA adding a fourth operating mine to the Company's portfolio.
- After six years since its initial discovery, the Company successfully began underground ore production from the Ermitao mine near Santa Elena in the fourth quarter of 2021. This important new mine is expected to significantly increase production and reduce costs at Santa Elena as it ramps up throughout 2022.
- Successfully converted Santa Elena from diesel power to low-cost liquid natural gas ("LNG") with the construction of the new 12.4 MW LNG facility.
- Sold a record 349,278 ounces of silver bullion, or approximately 3% of the Company's silver production, on First Majestic's online bullion store at an average silver price of $31.21 per ounce for total proceeds of $10.9 million.
"First Majestic ended the year with its strongest production quarter in the Company's 20-year history," said Keith Neumeyer, President & CEO. "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 Ermitao mine at Santa Elena in November."
Mr. Neumeyer continues, "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, we are planning to invest significantly in exploration and underground development in 2022 in order to prepare a clear path to achieving our goal of producing over 40 million silver equivalent ounces by 2024."