Fresnillo hails successful further testing at Juanicipio in Mexico

(Alliance News) - Fresnillo PLC on Tuesday shared progress in electrifying its Juanicipio project, located in Mexico.

The Mexico City-based silver and gold miner said that the additional testing requested by Comision Federal de Electricidad, the Mexican state-owned power company, was successful at the Juanicipio.

Fresnillo confirmed the main substation which will provide power to the project passed inspection and is now approved for use.

The main transformer is now energised, and tests in preparation for the final tie-in to the national grid are progressing in line with requirements from CFE.

In September, CFE required the FTSE 100 company to conduct additional testing to verify the compatibility between new and updated substation equipment, prior to the final tie-in of the electrical grid.

Fresnillo said it is confident of meeting the requirements of the regulator, and of achieving a "rapid ramp-up" of operations once full load commissioning begins at Juanicipio.

"Mine development at Juanicipio is ongoing with a substantial stockpile built in anticipation of the commencement of milling operations, in the interim, ore will continue to be processed at our nearby Saucito and Fresnillo operations," the miner explained.

Consequently, Fresnillo said there will be no impact on 2022 production, or on its 2023 production expectations.

In late October, the company posted solid quarterly production figures and said it remained on track to meet annual guidance of 50.5 to 56.5 million ounces of attributable silver and silverstream, and 600 to 650,000 ounces of attributable gold.

Juanicipio project is a joint venture with Canadian exploration and development company MAG Silver. Fresnillo owns 56%, and MAG Silver holds the remaining 44%.

Shares were up 0.9% at 869.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

By Xindi Wei; [e-mail]

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