MAG Silver produces 203,421 oz silver at Juanicipio, Mexico, in Q1
MAG Silver Corp. [MAG-TSX, NYSE American] reported results of 2021 first quarter production of underground development material from the Juanicipio Project in Zacatecas, Mexico, a 56%/44% joint venture between Fresnillo PLC and Mag Silver.
As reported to MAG by the project operator Fresnillo, 36,395 tonnes of development material were processed during the quarter ended March 31, 2021. On a 100% basis, total production for the quarter based on provisional estimates before liquidation adjustments from the prior quarter, totaled 462,321 silver ounces and 697 gold ounces (attributable to MAG: 203,421 ounces of silver and 307 ounces of gold). The associated lead and zinc production will be reported with MAG’s first quarter filings.
The development material is being processed through the nearby 100%-owned Fresnillo processing plant with the lead (silver-rich) and zinc concentrates treated at market terms under off-take agreements with Met-Mex Penoles, S.A. de C.V. in Torreon, Mexico. The revenue from this production, net of processing and treatment charges, will be used by the joint venture to offset initial project capital cash requirements.
“We’ve now successfully milled approximately 108,000 tonnes of development material at the Fresnillo plant since early August of 2020 generating cash-flow to help offset capex, gaining valuable metallurgical understanding, and providing confidence for the high stope grades expected once full scale mining production commences,” said George Paspalas, MAG Silver’s President and CEO. “We’ll continue to see these benefits through to Q4 2021 when we transition to the Juanicipio processing facility.”
Project development and construction of the Juanicipio processing plant is making good progress at site, with the plant still expected to commence commissioning in Q4-2021 according to Fresnillo, the operator. Mineralized material from development will continue to be batch processed on commercial terms at a targeted rate of 16,000 tonnes per month at the Fresnillo plant until the Juanicipio plant is commissioned. Construction photos are available at https://magsilver.com/projects/photo-gallery/#photo-gallery.
The Joint Venture is currently developing an underground mine and constructing a 4,000 tonnes per day processing plant which is expected to commence commissioning in Q4-2021. Underground mine production of development material commenced in Q3-2020, and an expanded exploration program is in place targeting multiple highly prospective targets both at Juanicipio by the Joint Venture and by MAG at the Deer Trail 100% earn-in project in Utah.