Name: La Encantada mine.
Location: The La Encantada mine is located in northern Mexico, 708 km north-east of Torreon, Coahuila.
Controlling Company: The mine is owned and operated by Minera La Encantada, a wholly owned Mexican subsidiary of First Majestic Silver (FMS).
Brief History: The La Encantada mine was operated by Peñoles for about 25 years, until June 2002. Desmín leased the property from Peñoles and operated the mine and processing plant from July 1, 2004, until November 1, 2006, when Desmín was acquired by FMS. The property has since become the company’s largest operation.
Brief Description: La Encantada mining district comprises two main silver/lead underground mines, the La Encantada and the El Plomo mines. Both of these mine areas have been consolidated into one operation, which is now owned and operated by FMS. La Encantada encompasses 4 076 ha of mining rights and 1 343 ha of surface rights.
Geology/Mineralisation: The mineralogy of the deposits at La Encantada is predominantly iron oxides, carbonates and lead sulphates with high concentrations of silver (argentite and native silver) values, resulting from an oxidation process and enrichment in a known vertical range of more than 400 m. Beneath the elevation at 1 600 m, there is a presence of sulphides of lead/ silver/zinc in the south-west part of the mine (La Morena orebodies).
Reserves: Total proven and probable oxide reserves as at December 31, 2013, were 7.36-million tonnes grading 157 g/t of silver, 1.2% lead and 0.5% zinc.
Resources: Total measured and indicated oxide resources as at December 31, 2013, were 3.19-million tonnes grading 213 g/t of silver, 1.6% lead and 4.4% zinc. Inferred oxide and sulphide resources were 4.35-million tonnes grading 156 g/t of silver, 1.1% lead and 1.5% zinc.
Products: Silver/lead/zinc.
Mining Method: The principal mining method employed at La Encantada is overhand mechanised cut-and-fill, using development waste for fill.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The mine includes a 4 000 t/d cyanidation mill. Running at full capacity, the mill produces about 4.2-million to 4.5-million ounces of silver a year in the form of silver doré bars.
A fully functional 1 000 t/d flotation mill is also located at the mine. However, the mill is currently on care-and-maintenance, following the suspension of lead concentrate through the flotation circuit in June 2010.
Prospects: In 2014, FMS is planning to upgrade and expand the crushing and grinding areas to allow the underground extraction of fresh mine ore to be increased in the second half of 2014, including the installation of a new 24" × 14" ball mill. In addition, in January, the reprocessing of old tailings had been eliminated from the mill feed, owing to the low metal price environment. This modification is expected to improve silver recoveries and the head grade at the mill.
Contact Person: Investor relations, Todd Anthony.
Contact Details:
First Majestic Silver Corp,
tel +1 604 688 3033,
fax +1 604 639 8873,
email info@firstmajestic.com, and
website http://www.firstmajestic.com.