Name: Galena complex.

Location: The Galena complex is located in the Coeur d’Alene mining district in Shoshone County, in Idaho, in the US. 

Holding and Controlling Company: Americas Silver Corporation.

Brief Description: The Galena complex consists of the operating Galena mine, comprising the Galena and No 3 shafts; the Galena processing plant; the idle Coeur mine; the Coeur processing plant, currently on care and maintenance, and the Caladay exploration property, which has one shaft. 

Brief History: The modern history and mining at the Galena mine started in 1947, under the management of the American Smelting and Refining Company (Asarco).

From 1953 to 2013, the Galena mine primarily mined silver/copper ore with minor production of silver/lead ore. Silver/lead ore became the predominant ore type in 2014. 

The Coeur mine shaft was collared in 1963 by Coeur d'Alene Mines. The mine produced continuously from 1976 to 1991, and again from 1996 to 1997. The mine was put on care and maintenance from 1997 to 2007, when rehabilitation of the Coeur mine started at 3400 Level and later the Coeur shaft. The Coeur mill was re-started in September 2007 to process silver/lead ore from the Galena mine.

The Coeur mine underwent a further rehabilitation for mining in September 2012, but underground work ceased in 2014. 

The Caladay property was established in the mid-1960s as a joint venture (JV) involving Callahan Mining, Asarco and Day Mines. The JV was acquired by Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp in the 1980s. The Caladay shaft and workings are currently used as ventilation exhaust for the Galena workings. 

After the 1980s, no exploration was undertaken on the Caladay property until 2012, when US Silver & Gold Incorporated drilled several thousand feet and defined mineral resources. 

US Silver & Gold Incorporated merged with Scorpio Mining corporation in December 2014, continuing under the name Scorpio Mining Corporation. In May 2015, Scorpio Mining Corporation changed its name to Americas Silver Corporation to eliminate confusion and better align the company’s name to its identity as it focused efforts on silver production in the Americas. 

Products: Silver, copper, lead and zinc.

Geology/Mineralisation: The Galena complex and most other deposits of the Coeur d’Alene mining district are hosted by metamorphosed Precambrian sedimentary rocks, which form part of the Belt Supergroup. The strata comprise primarily of fine-grained quartz and clay; the clay has metamorphosed to fine-grained white mica, or sericite).

Three major rock types are generally recognized – vitreous quartzite, which is primarily metamorphosed fine-grained quartz sand; siltite-argillite, which is silt-sized quartz grains that are completely separated from each other by a large proportion of sericite; and sericitic quartzite, which contains intermediate proportions of quartz and sericite. 
Mineralisation at the Galena complex occurs in steeply dipping fissure filling veins and in wide disseminated zones, all occurring near four major fracture systems and three major faults. The veins generally strike east to west and north-east to south-west, and range in thickness from a few centremetres to more than 5 m. 

The vein mineralisation is of two distinct types – silver/copper mineralisation containing tetrahedrite and lesser chalcopyrite as the principal economic minerals; and silver/lead mineralisation dominated by argentiferous galena. Gangues in both types are mainly siderite, with varying amounts of pyrite and quartz. The silver/lead mineralisation occurs as well-defined, steeply dipping, relatively narrow veins, and as wider zones of disseminated and stringer mineralisation. The latter type occurs predominately in the eastern part of the property, in the Caladay zone, on and adjacent to the former Caladay property. 

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2015, were estimated at 5.22-million tonnes grading 185 g/t silver, 0.08% copper, 2.57% lead and 2.82% zinc.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2015, were estimated at 11.4-million tonnes grading 137 g/t silver, 0.15% copper, 1.27% lead and 1.18% zinc.
Mining Method: The current mining methods used at the Galena complex are conventional cut-and-fill and mechanised cut-and-fill. 

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Americas Silver has established necessary sources of water, power, waste disposal and tailings storage for current and planned operations.

The surface and underground infrastructure include:
• the Galena processing facility and the Galena and No 3 shafts equipped for hoisting,
• the Coeur shaft and processing facility equipped for hoisting,
• the Caladay shaft, which is used only for ventilation; 
• a tailings storage facility located near the town of Osburn;
• shops, offices, warehouse facilities and a mine dry; and 
• interconnected level development connecting the four shafts.

Prospects: The Galena mine is expected to continue operating as it did in 2016, with a continuing focus on mining silver/lead mineralisation on the 3200 and 4900 levels of the mine.

Contact: President and CEO Darren Blasutti.

Contact Details:
Americas Silver Corporation
Tel +1 416 848 9503
Email info@americassilvercorp.com  
Website http://www.americassilvercorp.com