The Mexico-focused company announced the board had approved the extension under a normal course issuer bid in the open market through the TSX or alternative Canadian marketplaces over the next 12 months, proposing to repurchase up to 10 million shares, which represents 4.77% of the outstanding total as of March 13.

Under TSX rules, daily purchases on the market may not exceed 198,009 shares, or 25% of First Majestic's average daily trading volume of 792,037 shares for the six months prior to the date of acceptance of the original notice, subject to certain exemptions, First Majestic said.

Under its previous programme, First Majestic bought 275,000 shares for cancellation at a volume-weighted average price of C$8.56 as of March 17, the company said.

Under this prior normal course issuer bid that started on March 21, 2019 and expires on March 20, the company had approval to purchase up to five million shares.

First Majestic will pay the prevailing market price for shares at the time of the purchase.

First majestic said the motivation behind the move was underpinned by its belief that, from time to time, the market price of its common shares might not fully reflect the underlying value of the company's business and its future business prospects.

"The company believes that at such times, the purchase of common shares would be in the best interests of the company. Such purchases are expected to benefit all remaining shareholders by increasing their equity interest in the company."

The company's share price (AG:TSX) movement Wednesday was broadly in line with the S&P/TSX Composite Index dropping nearly 7% as coronavirus pandemic fears gripped North American markets. The stock was last trading at $7.82, down 12%, capitalising it at $1.64 billion (US$1.13 billion).