TIDMFRES
RNS Number : 8141W
Fresnillo PLC
29 December 2021
Fresnillo plc MAG Silver Corp.
21 Upper Brook Street Suite 770
London W1K 7PY 800 West Pender Street
United Kingdom Vancouver, BC V6C 2V6
www.fresnilloplc.com www.magsilver.com
December 27, 2021
FRESNILLO AND MAG SILVER
PROVIDE JUANICIPIO COMMISSIONING UPDATE
Fresnillo plc ("Fresnillo") and MAG Silver Corp. ("MAG Silver")
today provide a commissioning update on the Juanicipio Project (56%
/ 44% Fresnillo and MAG Silver, respectively).
The Juanicipio P roject team delivered the P roject for plant
commissioning on schedule despite the recent changes to labour
contracting legislation and having successfully mitigated most
COVID- 19 related issues over the past two years, a testament to
the dedication of the operational and development teams on the
ground.
However, the 'Comisión Federal de Electricidad' ("CFE"), the
state-owned electrical company, has just notified Fresnillo, the
Juanicipio Project operator , that approval to complete the tie-in
to the national power grid cannot yet be granted and the mill
commissioning timeline will therefore be extended by approximately
six months. This is directly related to knock-on effects of the
pandemic on the CFE's operations, predominantly related to a lack
of CFE staff which limits its ability to oversee three key tasks
to: review the existing installation; supervise physical connection
to the active power grid; and approve required blackout prevention
devices.
As operator, Fresnillo will continue to engage closely with the
CFE and 'El Centro Nacional de Control de Energía' ("CENACE") to do
all that it can to expedite these necessary approvals. Although
there remains uncertainty regarding the timing for connecting the
Juanicipio Project to the power grid, the current estimate, which
continues to be subject to potential COVID- 19 related realities,
is that full load commissioning activities will be approved
sometime after the first week of May 2022.
Stoping and mineralized mine development at Juanicipio will
continue. In order to minimize any potential adverse effect,
Fresnillo will make available any unused plant capacity at its
Minera Fresnillo and Minera Saucito operations to process
mineralized material produced at Juanicipio during this period, and
if possible matching commissioning and ramp up tonnages that were
previously expected. The effect on cashflow generation from
Juanicipio therefore will also be mitigated while CFE approvals are
pending.
"As an industry, we continue to manage the ongoing impact of the
pandemic and while frustrating for all concerned, we recognize this
situation is beyond the control of all parties," said Octavio
Alvidrez, Chief Executive of Fresnillo plc. "The health and safety
of our people and all our partners remains our priority. We thank
the CFE for their engagement and will continue to work closely with
them to accelerate grid connection as quickly as we can. Meanwhile,
we will continue to process mineralized development material by
using any excess capacity available at the Minera Fresnillo and
Minera Saucito plants, minimizing any impact on future cashflow
generation."
"We are very fortunate to be able to process mineralized
material from Juanicipio through the excess capacity available at
the Minera Fresnillo and Minera Saucito plants , which should
minimize the economic impact of the electrical connection timing ,
" said George Paspalas, President and CEO of MAG Silver. "The
Juanicipio Project team has managed through stringent COVID-19
protocols to make the process plant effectively ready for start-up.
However, approvals for the electrical connection for the Project
have been affected by governmental COVID-19 restrictions that have
severely limited the CFE in carrying out their reviews and final
sign-off. We look forward to the CFE resuming normal activities, so
we can flip the switch on our plant!"
About Fresnillo plc
Fresnillo plc is the world's largest primary silver producer and
Mexico's largest gold producer, listed on the London and Mexican
Stock Exchanges under the symbol FRES.
Fresnillo plc has seven operating mines, all of them in Mexico -
Fresnillo, Saucito, Ciénega (including the San Ramón satellite
mine, Las Casas Rosario & Cluster Cebollitas), Herradura,
Soledad-Dipolos1, Noche Buena and San Julián (Veins and
Disseminated Ore Body), three development projects - the Pyrites
Plant at Fresnillo, the optimisation of the beneficiation plant
also at Fresnillo and Juanicipio, and three advanced exploration
projects - Rodeo, Orisyvo and Guanajuato, as well as a number of
other long term exploration prospects.
Fresnillo plc has mining concessions and exploration projects in
Mexico, Peru and Chile.
Fresnillo plc has a strong and long tradition of exploring,
mining, a proven track record of mine development, reserve
replacement, and production costs in the lowest quartile of the
cost curve for silver.
Fresnillo plc's goal is to maintain the Group's position as the
world's largest primary silver company and Mexico's largest gold
producer.
(1) Operations at Soledad-Dipolos are currently suspended.
For further information, please visit our website:
www.fresnilloplc.com or contact:
Fresnillo plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7399 2470
London Office
Gabriela Mayor, Head of Investor
Relations
Patrick Chambers
Mexico City Office Tel: +52 55 52 79 3206
Ana Belem Zárate
Powerscourt Tel: +44 (0)20 7549 0997
Peter Ogden
About MAG Silver Corp.
MAG Silver Corp. is a Canadian development and exploration
company focused on becoming a top-tier primary silver mining
company by exploring and advancing high-grade, district scale,
silver-dominant projects in the Americas. Its principal focus and
asset is the Juanicipio Project (44%), being developed with
Fresnillo Plc (56%), the operator. The Project is located in the
Fresnillo Silver Trend in Mexico, the world's premier silver mining
camp, where the operator is currently developing an underground
mine and constructing a 4,000 tonnes per day processing plant.
Underground mine production of mineralized development material
commenced in Q3 2020, and an expanded exploration program is in
place targeting multiple highly prospective targets at Juanicipio.
MAG is also executing a multi-phase exploration program at the Deer
Trail 100% earn-in project in Utah.
For further information on behalf of MAG Silver Corp.
Contact Michael J. Curlook, VP Investor Relations and
Communications
Phone: (604) 630-1399 Website: www.magsilver.com
Toll Free: (866) 630-1399 Email: info@magsilver.com
Fresnillo plc Forward Looking Statements
Information contained in this announcement may include
'forward-looking statements'. All statements other than statements
of historical facts included herein, including, without limitation,
those regarding the Fresnillo Group's intentions, beliefs or
current expectations concerning, amongst other things, the
Fresnillo Group's results of operations, financial position,
liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the silver and gold
industries are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking
statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to
future events and circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and the actual results of the
Fresnillo Group's operations, financial position and liquidity, and
the development of the markets and the industry in which the
Fresnillo Group operates, may differ materially from those
described in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements
contained in this document. In addition, even if the results of
operations, financial position and liquidity, and the development
of the markets and the industry in which the Fresnillo Group
operates are consistent with the forward-looking statements
contained in this document, those results or developments may not
be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. A
number of factors could cause results and developments to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements including, without limitation, general economic and
business conditions, industry trends, competition, commodity
prices, changes in regulation, currency fluctuations (including the
US dollar and Mexican Peso exchanges rates), the Fresnillo Group's
ability to recover its reserves or develop new reserves, including
its ability to convert its resources into reserves and its mineral
potential into resources or reserves, changes in its business
strategy and political and economic uncertainty.
LEI: 549300JXWH1UV5J0XV81
MAG Silver Corp. Forward Looking Statements
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the NYSE American has
reviewed or accepted responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of
this press release, which has been prepared by management.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to
be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the US
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in
this release, other than statements of historical facts are forward
looking statements, including statements that address our
expectations with respect to the timing and success of plant
pre-commissioning and commissioning activities, processing rates of
development materials, future mineral production, and events or
developments. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always,
identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate",
"plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project",
"predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might",
"should", "believe" and similar expressions. These statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from
those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Although MAG
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, impacts (both direct and indirect)
of COVID-19, timing of receipt of required permits, changes in
applicable laws, changes in commodities prices, changes in mineral
production performance, exploitation and exploration successes,
continued availability of capital and financing, and general
economic, market or business conditions, political risk, currency
risk and capital cost inflation. In addition, forward-looking
statements are subject to various risks, including that data is
incomplete and considerable additional work will be required to
complete further evaluation, including but not limited to drilling,
engineering and socio-economic studies and investment. The reader
is referred to the MAG Silver's filings with the SEC and Canadian
securities regulators for disclosure regarding these and other risk
factors. There is no certainty that any forward-looking statement
will come to pass, and investors should not place undue reliance
upon forward-looking statements.
Please Note: Investors are urged to consider closely the
disclosures in MAG's annual and quarterly reports and other public
filings, accessible through the Internet at www.sedar.com and
www.sec.gov
LEI: 254900LGL904N7F3EL14
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END
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