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La Parrilla Expansion to 1,600 tonnes
per day
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First Majestic Silver Corp. is pleased to announce the expansion of its
100% owned La Parrilla Silver Mine, located in
Durango, Mexico has
commenced. The extremely successful completion of the expansion of the
Company's La Encantada Silver Mine has allowed
management to focus its
efforts on the Company's next major expansion project with ground
breaking that started on December 1st, 2010.
During the past three years the La Parrilla mine has
undergone
extensive development to prepare the mine for higher production levels.
During the past six months this expansion plan has been assessed and
defined to optimize the La Parrilla operation into
the future. Once
this construction project is completed, the La Parrilla
mine will be
operating at twice current levels. This expansion will result in the
mill capacity reaching 1,600 tpd from the current 850
tpd and will
effectively double the current output of the La Parrilla
operation from
approximately 1.5 million ounces to 3.0 million ounces of silver
equivalent annually.
The following activities have been achieved to date:
- Engineering and design work has been completed for the expansion of
the processing plant including a new and larger crushing area, the
addition of a third ball mill and the increase of capacity of both the
flotation and cyanidation circuits. Each circuit's
capacity is
currently 425 tpd and once the expansion is
completed, each circuit
will continue to run in parallel but at the higher rate of 800 tpd for
a total capacity of 1,600 tpd.
- Engineering plans for the Rosarios/La Rosa, San
Marcos, Quebradillas
and Vacas mines have been defined and scheduled,
including the planning
of development and preparation of required production areas, planning
and scheduling the construction of a new production shaft for the
Rosarios mine, and all other required mine
infrastructure to achieve
the expanded production levels.
- All final documentation required for the Environmental Impact
Statement and the 'Change of use of Land' have been submitted to the
SEMARNAT (the government environmental authorities) office in Durango,
with final approvals expected prior to year end.
Timelines for the Construction Project:
- Land clearing and preparation activities commenced on December 1st,
2010
- Construction of the new crushing area will begin in January 2011. A
new third ball mill has already been purchased and is on site and is
expected to be ready for installation by June 2011.
- The expansion of the flotation circuit is planned for completion by
the end of July 2011. This new circuit will produce both a lead and
zinc concentrate. A full year of production at 800 tpd
is expected to
produce 5,673,096 pounds of lead and 5,236,704 pounds of zinc. In
flotation, the silver will report to the lead concentrate which is
expected to contain 1,429,991 ounces of silver annually.
- The expansion of the cyanidation circuit will
follow in the second
half of 2011 with the replacement and expansion of eight leach tanks
and the construction of four additional leach tanks. Several new
technologies will also be utilized; similar to those adopted in the
Company's recently completed La Encantada operation.
These items will
include; new clarification filters, new induction furnaces and new
filter presses for the tailings in order to recover and re-use solution
and to save on water consumption. In addition, the plan includes new
systems for automation of feeding processes for chemicals and reagents.
- Inauguration of this newly expanded cyanidation
circuit is expected
to take place early in the first quarter of 2012. Once completed, this
larger 800 tpd cyanidation
circuit will produce an additional 899,792
ounces of silver in the form of silver Dor� bars
annually.
The total capital budget for this expansion is US$27.3 million,
consisting of: US$17.5 million for plant equipment and construction
costs; US$2.8 million for additions to the underground fleet; US$8.1
million for underground mine development and US$4.0 million for
infrastructure including a new power line and substation. All required
capital for this expansion project will be funded internally from cash
flows.
The internal rate of return (IRR) on this investment is expected to be
126% considering a price of silver of US$20.00 per ounce and lead and
zinc prices of US$1.00 per pound.
Once in full operation at the newly expanded rate of 1,600 tpd,
the La
Parrilla Silver Mine will produce 3.0 million silver
equivalent ounces
annually consisting of 2.3 million ounces silver and 0.7 million ounces
of silver equivalents in the form of lead and zinc. The expected Total
Cash Costs are anticipated to be US$5.50 per ounce of silver.
First Majestic is a producing silver company focused in Mexico and is
aggressively pursuing its business plan to become a senior silver
producer through the development of its existing assets and the pursuit
through acquisition of additional assets that contribute to achieving
its corporate growth objectives.
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
This press release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements"
within
the meaning of section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, included herein, including without limitation,
statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration
results and future plans and objectives of First Majestic Silver Corp.
are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements.