TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canada's second-biggest gold-miner, Goldcorp, has produced the first lead and zinc concentrates from its new Penasquito mine, in Mexico, the firm announced on Tuesday.

Initial concentrates have been produced as a by-product of the commissioning process and currently total about 450 t of lead concentrate and 50 t of zinc concentrate.

The zinc circuit was started later than the lead circuit, Goldcorp said.

Both lead and zinc concentrates will be produced throughout the life of the Penasquito mine, and most of the gold and silver production will come from the lead concentrates.

Ongoing concentrate production is planned during the remaining commissioning phase, which is expected to last for the remainder of this year.

The first shipments to smelters are planned for later in the year as saleable quantities are accumulated.

“Assays of the initial material indicate that the concentrate grades, recoveries and concentrate quality are well within expected ranges,” Goldcorp said.

All components of the Penasquito operation - from the mine to the crusher, to the grinding mills, flotation cells, concentrate filters and on to the tailings facilities - have now been operated and commissioning and initial ramp-up is proceeding as expected.

Overall, progress at the mine remains on track for completion of commissioning for the Line 1 processing circuit by year-end.

The construction of Line 2 is proceeding well and also remains on schedule, COO Steve Reid said in a statement.

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