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Cusi mine, Mexico

19th February 2021

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Name: Cusi mine.

Location: Cusi Mine is located in Chihuahua state, in Mexico.

Mine Owner/s: Sierra Metals.

Brief History: Gold and silver were discovered in the Cusi area in 1687. Initial production of precious metals in the Cusi district has been recorded from 1821. From 1881 to 1890, Don Enrique Mining Co conducted mining operations. From 1896 to 1911, the Helena Mining Company acquired and conducted mining operations.

From the 1920s to 1937, concessions of the Cusi project area were acquired by The Cusi Mining Company of American Capital.

From 1937 to the 1970s, mining from the Cusi property was reportedly dormant. In the 1970s, mining occurred in several mines in the Cusi project area. During the 1980s, Minera Cusi conducted minimal mining.

Commercial production was declared in 2014.

Brief Description: Cusi is an active mine and Sierra Metals’ smallest operation, but an expanding producer in Mexico.

Primary Metals/Minerals: Silver.

Secondary Metals/Minerals: Lead, zinc and gold.

Geology/Mineralisation: The property is situated within a possible caldera, which contains a prominent rhyolite body interpreted as a resurgent dome. The rhyolite dome trends north-west to south-east, with an exposure of about 7 km × 3 km and hosts mineralization. It is bounded (cut) on the east side by strands of the north-west trending Cusi fault and on the west by the Border fault. The Cusi fault has normal and right-lateral strike-slip senses of shear. Strands of the Cusi fault are intersected by north-east-trending faults, some of which indicate left-lateral strike-slip shear. North-east-trending veins associated with these faults dip steeply either north-west or south-east. High-grade and wide alteration and mineralisation zones exist in the areas of intersection of north-west and north-east structures.

Reserves: None stated.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources as at August 31, 2020, were estimated at 5.36-million grading 182 g/t silver, 0.49% lead, 0.58% zinc and 0.12 g/t gold. Inferred resources were estimated at 4.89-million tonnes grading 146 g/t silver, 0.43% lead, 0.69% zinc and 0.18 g/t gold.

Mining Method: The primary underground mining method is overhand cut-and-fill, which represents 93% of production, with the remaining 7% of production conducted using shrinkage stoping. Sierra intends to adjust the mining methods to a combined cut-and-fill operation using longhole stoping, thereby eliminating the less productive shrinkage mining method.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The mine has fully developed infrastructure, including access roads, an exploration camp, administrative offices, a processing plant and associated facilities, a tailings storage facility, a core logging shed, a water storage reservoir and water tanks.

Cusi’s Mal Paso processing facility includes two interconnected process plants containing conventional ball mill and flotation plants fed from a crushing circuit. The flotation circuit has the ability to produce lead and zinc concentrates.

Ore is delivered from the mine to the plant in 20 t trucks.

The site has electric power from the Mexican power grid, backup diesel generators, and heating from site propane tanks.

Prospects: In December 2020, Sierra Metals reported the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the doubling of the output at its Cusi mine. The PEA study compared the value of the current operations at Cusi at 1 200 t/d against several output expansion alternatives from 2 400 t/d to 3 500 t/d, and identified 2 400 t/d as the optimum production level, based on the mine’s current mineral resource base. 

Contact Details:
Sierra Metals
Tel +1 416 366 7777
Email info@sierrametals.com
Website https://www.sierrametals.com

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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