TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Base metals miner Sierra Metals has doubled the milling capacity at its Bolivar copper/zinc/silver mine, located in the Piedras Verdes mining district, in Mexico, to 2 000 t/d after installing a leased 1 250 kVA generator.
The generator was leased to bypass delays in installing a power substation that would provide electricity through the company's newly constructed 10 km power line, that would power a new processing circuit.
TSX- and BVL-listed Sierra said the mill was now working on a combination of generator power and line power, and once the work on the substation were complete by the end of the year, the mill would operate off the national grid system.
The new circuit went on line on September 20. The second circuit is similar to the original 1 000 t/d circuit and would double the mill capacity.
Since September 20, the Piedras Verdes mill had increased daily throughput, as the new circuit was being tuned and adjusted, with throughput now over 1 700 t/d. Throughput would increase to 2 000 t/d during October.
"The increase to 2 000 t/d at the Piedras Verde plant is another important milestone achieved by the Mexico operating team. At this rate, we expect the production costs per pound of copper to be reduced significantly," president and CEO Daniel Tellechea said.
The company intended to operate the Piedras Verde mill at 2 000 t/d throughout 2014, and would evaluate a further increase to 3 000 t/d during 2015.
Sierra is also one of the largest property holders in the Cusihuiriachic mining district, in Chihuahua, with a land package of over 230 000 ha and also operates the Yauricocha copper/lead/zinc/silver/gold mine, in Yauyos province, Peru.