Despite the delays, Juanicipio, a 56:44 joint venture between Fresnillo and MAG Silver, is producing silver with development material being processed in the nearby Fresnillo processing plant. Until the Juanicipio plant is commissioned, Fresnillo continues to expect it will process 16,000 tonnes per month of mineralised material from the JV. Revenue from this production will offset initial project capital cash requirements.

In the December quarter of 2020, Fresnillo processed 30,397 tonnes of development material for production of 230,000 ounces of silver and 443oz of gold.

"We've now successfully milled close to 73,000t of development material at the Fresnillo plant since early August of 2020 generating cash-flow to help offset capex and gaining valuable metallurgical understanding at the same time. This processing will continue through the end of 2021 and will further de-risk the project as it heads into commercial production," said MAG Silver president and CEO said George Paspalas.

The US$395 million Juanicipio development is expected to produce 11.7Moz/y silver and 43,500oz/y gold over a 12-year mine life.

Shares in MAG Silver are trading at C$23.65, valuing the company at $2.2 billion.