FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP. (AG: NYSE; FR: TSX)
(the "Company" or “First Majestic”) is pleased to announce the
results from its 2019 exploration program at the Ermitaño project
located approximately four kilometres away from the Company’s
producing Santa Elena operation in Sonora, Mexico. The
program focused on infill drilling to upgrade a large existing
Inferred Resource into Indicated Resources to support detailed mine
design before construction.
“Today’s exploration results bring us another
step closer to ensuring a longer mine life for Santa Elena,” stated
Keith Neumeyer, President and CEO of First Majestic. “Not only has
this program increased our confidence in the resource but we also
encountered significant intercepts of high-grade gold which we
expect will improve the overall grade of the resource. Next month
we plan to announce an updated resource estimate for the Ermitaño
project which will include these high-grade drill results.”
DRILLING HIGHLIGHTS
The 2019 exploration program totalled 33,767
metres in 103 drill holes primarily consisting of infill holes
designed to increase the confidence and overall size of the
resource. Highlights from the program include the following
high-grade intercepts:
- EW-19-67 – 10.8 metres grading 1,106 g/t AgEq (12.84 g/t Au and
46 g/t Ag)
- EW-19-74 – 6.4 metres grading 1,164 g/t AgEq (9.46 g/t Au and
383 g/t Ag)
- EW-19-85 – 2.4 metres grading 3,068 g/t AgEq (31.63 g/t Au and
459 g/t Ag)
- EW-19-91 – 13.0 metres grading 1,003 g/t AgEq (11.61 g/t Au and
45 g/t Ag)
- EW-19-103 – 7.7 metres grading 1,462 g/t AgEq (16.37 g/t Au and
111 g/t Ag)
- EW-19-111 – 4.5 metres grading 1,562 g/t AgEq (17.98 g/t Au and
79 g/t Ag)
- EW-19-113 – 9.1 metres grading 1,302 g/t AgEq (14.22 g/t Au and
130 g/t Ag)
As previously disclosed in the Company’s Annual
Information Form (“AIF”) on March 31, 2019, the Ermitaño project
contains an Indicated Resource of 704,000 tonnes grading 389 g/t
AgEq (4.05 g/t Au and 65 g/t Ag) for 8.8 million AgEq ounces and an
Inferred Resource of 4,637,000 tonnes grading 329 g/t AgEq (3.36
g/t Au and 59 g/t Ag) for 49.0 million AgEq ounces.
Furthermore, the Company is expecting to release an updated AIF and
resource estimate for the Ermitaño project at the end of the first
quarter of 2020 which will include the 2019 drill results with
final assay cut-off’s as of December 31, 2019.
SUMMARY OF COMPOSITES
At the end of 2019, 157 holes were completed
totalling 55,719 metres on the property. The following table
summarizes the most significant drill intercepts of the 2019
exploration program:
Hole ID |
From |
To |
Length (m) |
Estimated True Length (m) |
Ag g/t |
Au g/t |
Ag Eq g/t |
EW-19-53 |
216.7 |
225.6 |
8.9 |
8.2 |
73 |
4.19 |
419 |
EW-19-55 |
99.7 |
114.1 |
14.4 |
9.6 |
57 |
8.20 |
734 |
including |
101.7 |
104.7 |
3.1 |
2.0 |
190 |
30.82 |
2,733 |
EW-19-57 |
456.8 |
457.7 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
287 |
8.91 |
1,022 |
EW-19-62 |
394.5 |
396.3 |
1.8 |
1.3 |
65 |
7.23 |
662 |
EW-19-66 |
83.9 |
89.2 |
5.2 |
4.2 |
18 |
6.03 |
515 |
including |
87.6 |
89.2 |
1.6 |
1.3 |
53 |
20.23 |
1,722 |
EW-19-67 |
96.0 |
122.3 |
26.3 |
10.8 |
46 |
12.84 |
1,106 |
including |
102.5 |
103.5 |
1.0 |
0.4 |
86 |
41.47 |
3,508 |
including |
108.7 |
109.4 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
73 |
27.40 |
2,333 |
including |
112.9 |
113.9 |
1.0 |
0.4 |
85 |
29.12 |
2,487 |
including |
113.9 |
114.9 |
1.0 |
0.4 |
88 |
29.55 |
2,526 |
EW-19-72 |
173.2 |
179.8 |
6.6 |
4.1 |
38 |
5.99 |
532 |
including |
174.9 |
175.7 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
68 |
18.41 |
1,587 |
EW-19-74 |
360.1 |
369.3 |
9.2 |
6.4 |
383 |
9.46 |
1,164 |
including |
360.9 |
361.6 |
0.7 |
0.5 |
865 |
16.75 |
2,247 |
including |
361.6 |
362.4 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
982 |
21.03 |
2,717 |
including |
368.6 |
369.3 |
0.7 |
0.5 |
301 |
16.48 |
1,661 |
EW-19-75 |
304.3 |
305.3 |
1.1 |
0.9 |
100 |
10.17 |
939 |
EW-19-77 |
212.8 |
214.2 |
1.4 |
1.2 |
102 |
5.46 |
552 |
EW-19-78 |
236.2 |
244.1 |
7.9 |
5.1 |
200 |
2.76 |
428 |
EW-19-80 |
225.6 |
234.5 |
9.0 |
5.3 |
156 |
5.11 |
578 |
EW-19-85 |
232.2 |
236.1 |
3.9 |
2.4 |
459 |
31.63 |
3,068 |
including |
232.2 |
233.2 |
1.0 |
0.6 |
1,224 |
88.40 |
8,517 |
including |
233.2 |
233.7 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
584 |
33.51 |
3,349 |
EW-19-87 |
198.5 |
202.6 |
4.2 |
2.9 |
95 |
6.99 |
672 |
EW-19-91 |
113.8 |
138.0 |
24.3 |
13.0 |
45 |
11.61 |
1,003 |
including |
117.4 |
126.4 |
8.9 |
4.8 |
79 |
27.54 |
2,350 |
EW-19-92 |
124.6 |
132.8 |
8.3 |
4.6 |
69 |
7.72 |
706 |
including |
125.6 |
129.4 |
3.8 |
2.1 |
98 |
13.32 |
1,196 |
EW-19-93 |
168.2 |
173.1 |
4.9 |
3.7 |
84 |
4.50 |
456 |
EW-19-96 |
104.9 |
107.0 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
75 |
29.15 |
2,480 |
including |
104.9 |
106.2 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
83 |
41.92 |
3,542 |
EW-19-98 |
148.0 |
156.8 |
8.8 |
5.9 |
111 |
9.43 |
889 |
including |
150.3 |
150.9 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
245 |
35.81 |
3,199 |
EW-19-99 |
84.0 |
87.5 |
3.5 |
2.1 |
64 |
9.11 |
816 |
including |
85.0 |
86.6 |
1.6 |
1.0 |
103 |
18.67 |
1,643 |
including |
180.6 |
182.5 |
1.9 |
1.2 |
145 |
14.06 |
1,305 |
EW-19-102 |
226.1 |
235.1 |
9.0 |
5.0 |
115 |
4.50 |
487 |
EW-19-103 |
112.4 |
125.9 |
13.5 |
7.7 |
111 |
16.37 |
1,462 |
including |
114.5 |
114.9 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
90 |
33.49 |
2,853 |
EW-19-109 |
133.0 |
145.4 |
12.4 |
9.5 |
45 |
5.18 |
472 |
including |
134.6 |
135.5 |
0.9 |
0.7 |
53 |
11.57 |
1,008 |
including |
136.3 |
137.5 |
1.2 |
0.9 |
57 |
12.77 |
1,111 |
including |
142.4 |
143.0 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
81 |
11.17 |
1,003 |
EW-19-111 |
82.2 |
88.3 |
6.2 |
4.5 |
79 |
17.98 |
1,562 |
including |
82.7 |
83.5 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
182 |
32.32 |
2,848 |
including |
83.5 |
84.5 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
107 |
40.48 |
3,447 |
EW-19-113 |
104.4 |
121.5 |
17.1 |
9.1 |
130 |
14.22 |
1,302 |
including |
109.9 |
110.4 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
1,030 |
150.72 |
13,465 |
including |
113.0 |
118.9 |
5.9 |
3.1 |
187 |
23.17 |
2,099 |
EW-19-114 |
109.5 |
128.5 |
19.0 |
8.0 |
71 |
5.85 |
554 |
including |
111.4 |
112.1 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
81 |
10.67 |
961 |
EW-19-115 |
254.6 |
265.7 |
11.2 |
7.4 |
103 |
7.45 |
717 |
including |
254.6 |
255.6 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
294 |
25.75 |
2,418 |
including |
260.5 |
262.3 |
1.8 |
1.2 |
104 |
17.28 |
1,529 |
EW-19-116 |
233.4 |
239.4 |
6.0 |
3.9 |
232 |
4.32 |
589 |
including |
236.7 |
237.4 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
152 |
11.42 |
1,094 |
EW-19-117 |
257.8 |
262.7 |
5.0 |
3.2 |
337 |
4.99 |
749 |
EW-19-119A |
226.8 |
233.8 |
7.0 |
5.4 |
70 |
10.81 |
962 |
including |
227.2 |
228.0 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
180 |
47.66 |
4,111 |
including |
229.1 |
230.1 |
1.0 |
0.8 |
65 |
14.09 |
1,227 |
EW-19-120 |
135.8 |
148.7 |
13.0 |
8.0 |
109 |
7.64 |
739 |
including |
136.5 |
141.9 |
5.3 |
3.3 |
176 |
16.88 |
1,569 |
EW-19-123 |
212.0 |
221.3 |
9.4 |
4.6 |
144 |
6.60 |
689 |
including |
213.4 |
216.0 |
2.5 |
1.2 |
198 |
13.24 |
1,290 |
including |
220.5 |
221.3 |
0.9 |
0.4 |
205 |
16.20 |
1,541 |
EW-19-124 |
270.5 |
279.0 |
8.5 |
3.0 |
266 |
7.10 |
852 |
including |
272.3 |
274.2 |
1.8 |
0.7 |
967 |
25.81 |
3,097 |
EW-19-127 |
273.3 |
284.3 |
11.0 |
7.2 |
209 |
7.93 |
863 |
including |
282.9 |
283.7 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
597 |
25.36 |
2,689 |
EW-19-129 |
345.0 |
349.5 |
4.5 |
2.6 |
177 |
5.12 |
600 |
including |
456.8 |
457.2 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
139 |
28.97 |
2,529 |
including |
362.1 |
362.9 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
753 |
25.50 |
2,856 |
ESTW-19-04 |
392.8 |
409.3 |
16.5 |
9.7 |
53 |
5.32 |
492 |
including |
397.5 |
398.5 |
1.0 |
0.6 |
63 |
12.65 |
1,106 |
ESTW-19-05 |
483.0 |
506.0 |
23.0 |
11.0 |
86 |
6.21 |
599 |
including |
501.9 |
504.2 |
2.3 |
1.1 |
213 |
35.69 |
3,157 |
Silver equivalent (AgEq) is calculated using a
gold to silver ratio of 1:82.5 and takes into consideration metal
prices and metallurgical recoveries.
After detailed geological logging, all drill
core samples were cut in half on site by diamond saw. One half of
the core was submitted to SGS Laboratories in Hermosillo, Mexico
for sample preparation and SGS Laboratories in Durango, Mexico for
sample analysis. The remaining half core is retained on-site for
verification and reference purposes.
PREPARING FOR DETAILED MINE DESIGN AND
INITIAL PRODUCTION
In 2020, the Company is planning to drill
approximately 15,000 metres in 50 drill holes. This drilling will
focus on infill of the main resource area, including resource
expansion in the eastern Ermitaño vein area, the Aitana vein, and
several nearby newly identified targets.
In addition, the Company is currently working on
several engineering studies, including geotechnical and
geohydrological investigations, a detailed metallurgical testing
and a series of trade-offs analysis to define the materials
handling infrastructure. These studies will support a
pre-feasibility study expected to be released in the fourth quarter
of 2020.
Furthermore, the Company is expected to complete
3,800 metres of underground development in 2020. This development
program, which began in late 2019, is designed to complete the main
access ramp to reach the mineralized area and prepare five
production levels (shown above in Figure 2) with all associated
mining infrastructure. Production from Ermitaño is expected to
displace the current feed from the old heap pads which is currently
making up approximately 40% of the feed to the mill.
Mr. Ramon Mendoza Reyes, Vice President of
Operations and Technical Services for First Majestic, is a
"qualified person" as such term is defined under NI 43-101, and has
reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this
news release.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
First Majestic is a mining company focused on
silver production in Mexico and is aggressively pursuing the
development of its existing mineral property assets. The Company
presently owns and operates the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine, the
Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine and the La Encantada Silver Mine.
Production from these mines are projected to be between 11.8 to
13.2 million silver ounces or 21.5 to 24.0 million silver
equivalent ounces in 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact
info@firstmajestic.com, visit our website
at www.firstmajestic.com or call our toll-free number
1.866.529.2807.
FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP.
“signed”
Keith Neumeyer, President & CEO
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward
Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward‐looking
information” and "forward-looking statements” under applicable
Canadian and U.S. securities laws (collectively, “forward‐looking
statements”). These statements relate to future events or the
Company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities
that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts
not yet determinable and assumptions of management made in light of
management's experience and perception of historical trends,
current conditions and expected future developments.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements with respect to: the Company’s business strategy; future
planning processes; commercial mining operations; cash flow;
budgets; the timing and amount of estimated future production;
recovery rates; mine plans and mine life; the future price of
silver and other metals; costs of production; costs and timing of
the development of new deposits; capital projects and exploration
activities and the possible results thereof. Assumptions may
prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from
those anticipated. Consequently, guidance cannot be guaranteed. As
such, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon
guidance and forward-looking statements as there can be no
assurance that the plans, assumptions or expectations upon which
they are placed will occur. All statements other than statements of
historical fact may be forward‐looking statements. Statements
concerning proven and probable mineral reserves and mineral
resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward‐looking
statements to the extent that they involve estimates of the
mineralization that will be encountered as and if the property is
developed, and in the case of measured and indicated mineral
resources or proven and probable mineral reserves, such statements
reflect the conclusion based on certain assumptions that the
mineral deposit can be economically exploited. Any statements that
express or involve discussions with respect to predictions,
expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future
events or performance (often, but not always, using words or
phrases such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”,
“estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “predict”,
“forecast”, “potential”, “target”, “intend”, “could”, “might”,
“should”, “believe” and similar expressions) are not statements of
historical fact and may be “forward‐looking statements”.
Actual results may vary from forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to:
risks related to the integration of acquisitions; actual results of
exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations;
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined;
commodity prices; variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery
rates; actual performance of plant, equipment or processes relative
to specifications and expectations; accidents; labour relations;
relations with local communities; changes in national or local
governments; changes in applicable legislation or application
thereof; delays in obtaining approvals or financing or in the
completion of development or construction activities; exchange rate
fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government
regulation; environmental risks; reclamation expenses; outcomes of
pending litigation; limitations on insurance coverage as well as
those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the
Business - Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual
Information Form, available on www.sedar.com, and Form 40-F on file
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in
Washington, D.C. Although First Majestic has attempted
to identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be
as anticipated, estimated or intended.
The Company believes that the expectations
reflected in these forward‐looking statements are reasonable, but
no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be
correct and such forward‐looking statements included herein should
not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the
date hereof. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any
obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as
required by applicable laws.
Figure 1: Map of Santa Elena’s complex
of land holdings is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4fc55862-dab9-4615-a393-91a625ddb900
Figure 2: Ermitaño Splay Grade x
Thickness Long Section is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/989a8065-70e5-4d1c-9c9a-11926682a58e
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