Mexico-focused First Majestic has reported a record of 6.7-million ounces of silver equivalent production in the three months ended September, on the back of a full quarter of output from the San Dimas mine, along with higher silver and gold grades at five of the company’s six mines.
Total production was 31% higher than the prior quarter and consisted of 3.5-million ounces of silver, 35 260 oz of gold, 4.4-million pounds of lead and 1.2-million pounds of zinc.
Consolidated silver grades in the third quarter averaged 152 g/t compared with 127 g/t in the previous quarter. The 19% increase was primarily the result of a full quarter of production at San Dimas, as well as higher grades at La Encantada, Santa Elena, Del Toro and San Martin.
Consolidated gold grades increased 35% in the quarter averaging 1.33 g/t compared with the prior quarter. The increase was primarily owing to higher production at San Dimas and higher gold grades at San Martin.
During the quarter, the San Dimas mine produced 1.45-million ounces of silver and 21 910 oz of gold for total production of 3.23-million silver equivalent ounces (SEOs), reflecting a 90% increase compared with the prior quarter.
Total silver production for the first three quarters of 2018 totalled 8.4-million ounces or 15.8-million SEOs, which is in line with the 2018 production guidance of between 12-million and 13.2-million ounces.
Despite the strong production performance, the company had to implement a cost reduction programme to counter the prolonged weakness in the silver price. The miner is targeting a 20% reduction in costs by the first quarter of 2019.
First Majestic closed at C$8.19 a share on Monday, a 2% increase on the previous closing price.