The new 1,000 tpd flotation circuit has been operating since 1 September 2011 at an average rate of 787 tpd, bringing the total mill throughput to 1,254 tpd.
The company earlier made a decision to expand the La Parrilla operation to 2,000 tpd from the previous throughput of 850 tpd due to the significant increases in reserves.
This expansion, which started in December last year, was originally planned to reach 1,600 tpd, but it is now planned to reach 2,000 tpd by year end.
According to the company, the new flotation circuit is still in the start-up phase and will be ramped up to the end of October.
The flotation circuit is planned to reach its capacity of 1,000 tpd commencing in November, bringing the total throughput up to 1,425 tpd.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the cyanidation circuit is continuing well with progress now reaching about 60% completion, First Majestic said.
Once fully operational, the current 425 tpd cyanidation circuit is expected to reach 1,000 tpd by year end.
The new dual processing plant will have a total capacity of 2,000 tpd (1,000 tpd in flotation and 1,000 tpd in cyanidation) and is expected to be running at capacity by the end of December 2011.
Once completed, production is estimated at over three million ounces of pure silver, six million pounds of lead and 4.3 million pounds of zinc, the company said.
