Guanajuato
Spotlight - Mon, 10/21/2013 - 13:40

Guanajuato

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Mon, 10/21/2013 - 13:40
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BOLAÑITOS, ENDEAVOUR SILVER

Bolañitos is an underground silver-gold mine located 10km northwest of the city of Guanajuato. It consists of 2,470 hectares encompassing three operating silver and gold mines, located in two areas approximately 5km apart. The mining complex is located at a classic low sulphidation epithermal vein system. Mineralization consists of disseminations and fracture-fillings of pyrite, pyrargygrite, polybasite and, electrum in quartz-calcite veins ranging from 200m deep, and 1 to 10m thick. When Bolañitos was acquired in 2007, the operation was producing 300,000oz of silver a year. After Endeavour Silver’s investments, production costs were reduced and production more than doubled to 800,000oz of silver per year. In 2012 Bolañitos produced 1.7 million ounces of silver, an increase of 59% over the previous year, and produced 25,920oz of gold, an increase of 73%. Bolañitos mine and plant facilities were significantly upgraded in 2012, boosting production from 1,000 to 1,600 t/d. The operation employs around 500 people and engages 630 contractors, most of them from surrounding communities.

GUANAJUATO, GREAT PANTHER SILVER

The Guanajuato Mine Complex is Great Panther Silver’s flagship operation, and consists of 32 claims totaling 2,621 hectares. The main claim block covers 4.2km of the Veta Madre vein structure, and extends for a known strike of 25km. The most important phase of mineralization in the Guanajuato district comprises epithermal silver-gold veins contained within northwest-trending, Cenozoic age faults. Economic mineralization is contained within tabular veins, vein stockworks, and breccias. The ore shoots typically range from 1m to 15m wide and from 50 to 400m long strike. The ore is processed to produce high quality, precious metal-rich concentrate, which is transported to smelters in Mexico and Europe. The processing plant consists of a three-stage crushing section, producing a fine ore mill feed, a grinding section consisting of three ball mills operated in parallel, and a conventional flotation circuit with a total capacity of 1,200 t/d.

EL CUBO, ENDEAVOUR SILVER

El Cubo is a silver-gold underground mine located 6km southeast from the city of Guanajuato. The property consists of 61 mineral concessions covering 8,146 hectares in the second largest historic silver mining district in Mexico. The processing plant at the mine has existed for at least 150 years, and was the first mill site permitted to use cyanide in Mexico. The complex is based on low-sulphidation epithermal veins which are typically thousands of meters long, 400m deep, and 1 to 3m thick. Following the acquisition of the project in July 2012 Endeavour Silver launched a US$67 million, 18-month capital investment program. El Cubo produced 300,000oz of silver and 4,893oz of gold from July to December of 2012. Three mines feed a flotation plant that produces mineral concentrates, which feed a 400 t/d leach plant to produce doré bars. The mine has 965 employees and 202 contractors, making it one of the most emblematic mines of the state.

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