Gatos Silver Reports 2024 Production at the Top End of Guidance

Core Viewpoint - Gatos Silver, Inc. reported strong production results for the Cerro Los Gatos mine in 2024, exceeding revised guidance for silver and silver equivalent production, indicating operational efficiency and growth potential in the context of a proposed merger with First Majestic Silver Corp. [1][2][17] Production Results - Silver production for 2024 was 9.68 million ounces, slightly above the revised guidance range of 9.2 to 9.7 million ounces [5] - Silver equivalent production reached 15.57 million ounces, exceeding the high end of the revised guidance of 15.5 million ounces [5] - Zinc production totaled 69.7 million pounds, lead production was 46.4 million pounds, and gold production was 5.53 thousand ounces, all slightly above the revised guidance [5] Operational Efficiency - The CLG mine achieved an average mill throughput of 3,324 tonnes per day in Q4 2024, a 10% increase from Q4 2023, and 3,255 tonnes per day for the entire year, an 11% increase compared to 2023 [8][10] - The mine's operational improvements were attributed to debottlenecking and optimization efforts, enhancing mining rates and productivity [10] Year-over-Year Comparison - Overall metal production in 2024 increased compared to 2023, with silver production up by 5%, zinc production up by 22%, lead production up by 20%, and gold production up by 5% [9] - The average feed grades for silver, zinc, lead, and gold showed slight variations, with silver grades at 284 g/t for the year [6][9] Merger Context - Gatos Silver is in the process of merging with First Majestic Silver, which aims to consolidate three significant silver mining districts in Mexico, potentially creating a leading intermediate primary silver producer [17]