First Majestic Silver with record silver production in Q4

The mine closings in the first half of 2020 appear to have had no material impact on First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) production as the company ended the year on a strong note and hit the high end of its production forecast. In a statement on Wednesday, the major silver producer said production totaled 5.5 million ounces of silver equivalent in the fourth quarter, up 5% from the previous quarter. At the same time, silver production reached 3.5 million ounces, an increase of 9% over the previous quarter and the second-best quarterly result in the company's history. The company also announced that gold production reached 26,343 ounces, up 2% from the previous quarter. For the year, First Majestic said it produced 11.6 million ounces of silver, which was the high end of the company's revised forecast of between 11.0 and 11.7 million ounces of silver. "The strong silver production from La Encantada and San Dimas in the second half of 2020 helped offset some of the production losses caused by the national COVID-19 shutdowns in the second quarter of 2020," the company said. Based on healthy manufacturing, the company said it ended 2020 with a record $ 238.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. "First Majestic had another strong year in 2020 despite the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the two-month national shutdown in Mexico," said Keith Neumeyer, President & CEO of the silver producer. "In 2021, we expect consolidated silver production to increase by up to 20% at the three operating mines. In addition, our investment in underground development of the Ermitaño project near Santa Elena will continue to expand to expand the area to prepare to start production in early 2022. Together with a number of other projects that are currently in progress, we now have a clear path to meet our goal of producing 30 million ounces of silver equivalent by 2023. "