First Majestic Reports Q1 Silver Equivalent Production of 3,905,270 Ounces

First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX:FR,NYSE:AG) announced that total Q1 production at its five operating mines in Mexico came to 3,905,270 silver equivalent ounces. That’s an 8-percent rise from the the year-ago period.

As quoted in the press release:

Total silver production for the quarter consisted of 2,776,855 ounces of silver, representing a 4% decrease compared to the same quarter in 2014. In addition, 11,286,880 pounds of lead and 6,349,692 pounds of zinc were produced, representing an increase of 31% and 136%, respectively, compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Also, 2,970 ounces of gold were produced, representing a 12% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2014.

Keith Neumeyer, president and CEO of First Majestic, commented:

First quarter production of 3.9 million silver equivalent ounces was in-line with our annual guidance projections even though production was slightly behind our record fourth quarter numbers. Unusually high mill maintenance was required at three of our operations which negatively impacted the quarter. In addition, reduced underground development has restricted the operations. With the irregular maintenance now behind us, we are expecting to see an improvement in production in the second quarter. Also, with the recently announced $30 million financing, we will be increasing development at both the La Encantada and La Guitarra mines in order to improve those operations in time for the second half of the year. We also witnessed the best metallurgical recoveries during the quarter of 74% representing the highest consolidated recovery rate over the past 24 quarters – a testament to our teams focus in this area.

Click here to read the full First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX:FR,NYSE:AG) press release.