First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp was founded in 2002 by Keith Neumeyer, who previously co-founded First Quantum Minerals. The Vancouver-based company is structured as a traditional mining operator, not a single-family office, with its primary assets concentrated in Mexico's prolific silver belts. Neumeyer took a contrarian path by avoiding the heavy debt and streaming agreements common among junior miners, instead self-funding growth through equity and operating cash flow. First Majestic's strategy centers on acquiring, developing, and operating silver mines, with current production coming from the San Dimas, Santa Elena, and La Encantada mines in Mexico. Unlike streaming companies that finance other miners in exchange for future silver at a fixed price, First Majestic is an owner-operator, retaining full exposure to silver price upside. In 2021, the company acquired the Jerritt Canyon gold mine in Nevada as a diversification step, though the core remains silver-dominant. The firm also operates its own minting facility, selling silver bars and coins directly to retail and institutional buyers, which provides an alternative sales channel and brand presence. The company employed roughly 4,600 people across its operations and holds a portfolio of exploration projects, including the Del Toro and La Parrilla properties. In May 2024, the company sold its La Encantada silver mine to private Mexican buyers for roughly $19 million, streamlining its portfolio to focus on longer-life assets. Adjacent structures include First Mining Gold, a separate public vehicle Neumeyer chairs that holds a portfolio of development-stage gold assets in Canada. The direct-to-investor minting business differentiates First Majestic from nearly all other public silver miners, which typically sell unprocessed doré to refiners. The structural differentiator is First Majestic's status as one of the last pure-play, mid-tier silver miners without a diversified base-metal revenue stream — gold by-product at Santa Elena notwithstanding. This single-commodity focus means the company trades as a leveraged proxy for silver, amplified by its small treasury of physical metal. The governance model is tightly held: Keith Neumeyer serves as President, CEO, and a director, giving the company a founder-led decision architecture uncommon among Vancouver-listed resource companies of its size.