First Majestic owns 100% of three producing silver mines in Mexico; the San Dimas Silver & Gold Mine, the Santa Elena Silver & Gold Mine, and the La Encantada Silver Mine.
The Company's first mine, the La Parrilla Silver Mine was acquired in 2004. Located approximately 65 kilometres southeast of the city of Durango in Durango State, México, is a complex of producing underground operations consisting of the Rosarios, La Blanca and San Marcos mines which are interconnected through underground workings, and the Vacas and Quebradillas mines which are connected via above-ground gravel roads. The total mining concessions consist of 69,478 hectares. The Company owns 60 hectares and leases an additional 107 hectares of surface rights, for a total of 167 hectares of surface rights. La Parrilla includes a 2,000 tpd dual-circuit processing plant consisting of a 1,000 tpd cyanidation circuit and a 1,000 tpd flotation circuit, a central laboratory, buildings, offices and associated infrastructure.
First Majestic next acquired the La Encantada Silver Mine in 2006. The La Encantada Silver Mine is an underground mine located in the northern México State of Coahuila, 708 kilometres northeast of Torreon. La Encantada has 4,076 hectares of mineral rights and surface land ownership of 1,343 hectares. La Encantada also has a 4,000 tpd cyanidation plant, a village with 180 houses as well as administrative offices, laboratory, general store, hospital, airstrip and the infrastructure required for such an operation. The mine is accessible via a 1.5-hour flight from Torreon, Coahuila to the mine’s private airstrip or via a mostly paved road from the closest town, Muzquiz, which is 225 kilometres away.
First Majestic’s third operating mine, the San Martin Silver Mine, was also acquired in 2006. The underground mine located near the town of San Martin de Bolaños in the Bolaños River valley, in the northern portion of the State of Jalisco, México. San Martin has 33 contiguous mining concessions in the San Martin de Bolaños mining district covering mineral rights for 37,902 hectares, including the application to acquire a new mining concession covering 24,723 hectares. In addition, the mine owns 160 hectares of surface land where the processing plant, camp, office facilities, maintenance shops, and tailings dams are located, and an additional 640 hectares of surface rights. The 1,300 tpd mill and processing plant consists of crushing, grinding and conventional cyanidation by agitation in tanks and a Merrill-Crowe doré production system. The mine can be accessed via small plane, 150 kilometres by air from Durango or 250 kilometres by paved road north of Guadalajara, Jalisco.
The Del Toro Silver Mine began operations in the first quarter of 2013. The mine is located 60 kilometres to the southeast of the Company’s La Parrilla mine and consists of 2,132 hectares of mining claims and 219 hectares of surface rights. The Del Toro operation represents the consolidation of three historical silver mines, the Perseverancia, San Juan and Dolores mines, which are approximately one and three kilometres apart, respectively. Del Toro includes a 2,000 tpd flotation circuit and a 2,000 tpd cyanidation circuit which is currently in care and maintenance.
In 2015 the company announced the acquisition of the Santa Elena Silver and Gold Mine. The mine is located approximately 150 kilometres northeast of the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and owns mining concessions over a total of 102,244 hectares. The operating plan for Santa Elena involves the processing of ore in the 3,000 tpd cyanidation circuit from a combination of underground reserves and spent ore from the previous heap leach pad. In 2021, the Company expects to begin feeding fresh ore from the Ermitano project which is located only 4km away from the mill.
In 2018, the San Dimas Silver and Gold Mine was acquired through the friendly acquisition of Primero Mining Corp. The mine is located approximately 130 km northwest of Durango, Durango State, Mexico and contains 71,867 hectares of mining claims. San Dimas is one of the country’s most prominent silver and gold mines as well as the largest producing underground mine in the state of Durango, with initial mining dating to the 1750’s. The San Dimas operation involves processing ore from an underground mine with a 2,500 tpd capacity milling operation. The mine is accessible via a 40-minute flight from Durango to the mine’s airstrip.
Management feels strongly that investors will continue to witness another dramatic bull market in precious metals over the coming years. For this reason, a focus to continue to develop and increase production at its core assets will continue. In addition, management is determined to expand First Majestic's asset base and thus continues to investigate other interesting advanced stage silver projects in Mexico. With a Management team comprised of proven company and mine builders, shareholders are poised to capitalize on First Majestic's rapid evolution into a world class silver producer.