First Majestic Silver Output Fell 11% In Third Quarter, With A 12-Day San Dimas Labour Dispute Blamed
Silver output reached 72% of the revised guidance midpoint, and the company renewed its buyback for up to 10,000,000 shares.
First Majestic Silver produced 3,440,447 ounces of silver in the third quarter of 2026, down 11% from a year earlier, the company said Thursday in a release furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. It blamed a labour dispute at its San Dimas mine that disrupted operations for 12 days.
What the release says
The silver total equals 72% of the midpoint of the company's revised 2026 guidance. Gold output was 29,552 ounces, down 17% year over year, which the company described as aligned with its revised guidance.
San Dimas bore the hit: silver output fell 41% to 859,869 ounces and gold fell 26% to 10,386 ounces. The release attributes the drop mainly to lower grades, saying the ongoing dispute slowed the flow of fresh ore.
La Encantada went the other way. Silver output rose 68% to 967,067 ounces, which the company tied to a 32% rise in silver grades and a 27% rise in ore processed.
Santa Elena produced 368,333 ounces of silver, down 11%, and 18,489 ounces of gold, down 12%. Los Gatos, reported on a 70% basis, produced 1,245,178 ounces of silver. Zinc fell 4% to 13,277,264 pounds, while lead rose 2% to 7,839,182 pounds.
Compared with the second quarter, silver production fell 9% and gold fell 15%. The company sold 3.5 million silver ounces and 31,934 gold ounces in the quarter.
What it changes: a higher bar and a renewed buyback
The company had raised its 2026 silver guidance to 14.6-15.5 million ounces from 13-14.4 million ounces, according to Yahoo Finance. The 72% reading is measured against that higher range.
CEO Keith Neumeyer said the team is "working diligently to resolve the situation and return to normal operations as quickly as possible." He said the Santa Elena and Los Gatos expansion projects are on schedule, and that the Jerritt Canyon restart is ahead of plan in several areas.
On buybacks, the Toronto Stock Exchange accepted the company's notice for a normal course issuer bid. From October 14, 2026 through October 13, 2027, the company may buy up to 10,000,000 common shares, about 2% of its 493,080,912 issued shares.
AG closed at $16.65 on Wednesday, down 5.07%, before this release. The shares were $16.51 in Thursday pre-market trading, and the market value is $8.2 billion (market data).
Exploration and what to watch
The company completed about 78,475 metres of drilling across its Mexican mines and Jerritt Canyon in Nevada, with up to 33 rigs active. It says Jerritt Canyon remains on track to begin production in the second half of 2027.
Third-quarter financial results and the dividend details are due before markets open on November 5. A conference call follows at 11:00 a.m. ET that day.
The next hard numbers arrive November 5, when the company reports third-quarter financials and sets its dividend.
Sources
- Form 6-K — New York — SEC EDGAR
- Can First Majestic Meet Its Upbeat 2026 Production Guidance? — Yahoo Finance
