Torex Gold To Implement BEVs At Its Morelos Complex

After announcing solid financial and operational results for1Q22, Torex Gold will acquire 66 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) fleet for its mining complex in Morelos as part of the company’s wider sustainability strategy.

The company’s recently published Technical Report presents a life plan for the El Limón Guajes mining complex and a Feasibility Study for the Media Luna project. The El Limón Guajes and the Media Luna projects are collectively known as the Morelos Complex. The useful life of the project is of 11,75 years, starting on April 1, 2022 and finishing in 4Q33 with an annual sale of 374,000oz of gold equivalent.

Torex Gold has been operating the El Limón Guajes mining complex since 2016. The project includes three independent open pits to extract minerals from gold-silver skarn deposits at Guajes and El Limón, which are grouped together with an underground mine to form the El Limón Guajes.

The Media Luna project is developing in six main mining zones, each of them with their own infrastructure. With a stable production level, it is expected that the underground mine delivers an average of 7,500t/d of mineral to Torex’s enhanced processing plant. It is also expected that the mine reaches its commercial production during 1Q25. The company expects that the Media Luna project will operate at 7.500t/d for 1Q27, which implies an increase of 3 years from the moment to the first ore is produced and 3.5 years since the first ore has been developed in 2Q24.

The company’s main access to the Media Luna deposit will be through the tunnel of Guajes, which is 7km long and will be equipped with a conveyor belt. “We have also started procurement for long-lead items including the Guajes Tunnel conveyor, process plant flotation circuits and regrind mills, and mine ventilation fans. Procurement for the combined diesel and battery electric underground mining fleet is set to begin over the coming weeks,” said the company in a press release.

Moreover, Torex emphasized it is betting on digitalization, exemplified by its focus on automatization, autonomous operation and purchase of BEVs. The first deliveries of this mobile fleet’s equipment are scheduled for the second semester of 2H23.

Media Luna’s fleet will be hybrid via the combination of diesel-powered vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs). In general, the development fleet will run on diesel, whereas the production and support team fleets will be electric.

During recent years, companies have adapted their operation to become more sustainable in the face of climate change’s threat. “We see the changes all around us, we hear about it everywhere we go, everywhere we shop, every television program we watch, where we live and where we work. The concern for our climate is global and leads many conversations today. Additionally, this is the topic that government leaders around the world are attending summits to discuss,” says David Wolfin, CEO, Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.

In addition, Wolfin mentioned that “miners will be focusing on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, moving to solar panels, looking for ways to use clean energy and decarbonizing. Some will shift to BEVs for their mine site vehicles, moving their fleets away from diesel.” Torex Gold is joining the efforts we are seeing around the world to reduce greenhouse gases by implementing a hybrid fleet of electric and diesel vehicles starting with the acquisition of 66 BEVs, having already signed the agreement to build a solar power plant at its Morelos complex.