First Majestic Silver Sets Production Record in 2018

First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR,NYSE:AG) had a record-setting 2018, increasing its full-year silver production by 37 percent from 2017.

The company released its Q4 and FY 2018 production results in a press release on Monday (January 14), stating that total production consisted of 11.7 million ounces of silver, 111,084 ounces of gold, 16.1 million pounds of lead and 5.7 million pounds of zinc.

“First Majestic had a record year in 2018 producing 22.2 million silver equivalent ounces following the successful acquisition and integration of the San Dimas silver/gold mine,” said Keith Neumeyer, president and CEO.

In the fourth quarter alone, San Dimas produced 3,127,871 silver equivalent ounces.

“The addition of San Dimas effectively doubled our production profile and total Mexican workforce overnight,” noted Neumeyer.

Despite the record year, the miner’s annual silver production was shy of the company’s guidance of 12.0 to 13.2 million ounces, primarily because of lower than expected silver production at La Encantada throughout last year.

Total production in the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled 6.5 million silver equivalent ounces consisting of 3.3 million ounces of silver, 34,487 ounces of gold, 3.3 million pounds of lead and 1.5 million pounds of zinc.

Moving forward, First Majestic is anticipating that in 2019 will produce between 24.7 million to 27.5 million silver equivalent ounces, including 14.2 million to 15.8 million ounces of pure silver.

“[W]e expect to reach another new production record of between 24.5 and 27.5 million silver equivalent ounces along with a much leaner cost profile primarily due to a full year of production from San Dimas, the start-up of the roaster at La Encantada and the installation of high-intensity grinding mills at the Santa Elena and La Encantada operations,” Neumeyer revealed.

Based on the midpoint of the guidance range, the company believes that it will incur a 28-percent increase in silver production and an 18-percent increase in total production when compared to 2018.

As of 3:11 p.m. EST, First Majestic was up 0.25 percent, trading at C$7.96.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.