Gold and Silver Mine Projects Still Shiny in Mexico

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Mining firms plan $322 million worth of gold and silver project starts in Mexico during the fourth quarter this year, ranging from a pyrite treatment plant to a dewatering system addition.

Industrial Info is tracking eight active Mexico gold and silver projects, valued at $297 million, which are in the engineering phases; and one project, valued at $25 million, which is in the planning phase.

Located 16 kilometers southwest of Fresnillo, Zacatecas, the pyrite treatment center (leaching plant) project the Saucito underground gold and silver mine by Industrias Penoles SAB de CV (Mexico City) carries the biggest price tag at $89.7 million. Minera Fresnillo SA de CV (Zacatecas), which is 77% owned by Industrias Penoles, is performing detailed engineering for the 2,000 ton-per-year leaching plant, which will process pyrite concentrates from tailings. Upon completion in second-quarter 2017, the project will increase silver and gold recovery to 4 million ounces per year of silver and 18,000 ounces per year of gold.

Construction is also expected to start in the fourth quarter on a 5,600 ton-per-day pulp agglomeration plant at the Dolores above-ground gold and silver mine, located 250 kilometers west of Chihuahua City. The project by Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ:PAAS) (Vancouver, Canada) and its subsidiary, Compania Minera Dolores SA de CV, will assure heap leach pad stability and support a future underground mine addition, increasing the processing rate to 20,000 tons per day from 16,500 tons per day. Completion of the $73 million project is set for fourth-quarter 2016.

Meanwhile, construction of a dewatering system addition, valued at $9 million, is expected to begin next quarter at the La Platosa silver, zinc and lead mine, located at Bermejillo, Durango, roughly 50 kilometers northwest of Torreon. The dewatering system is aimed at improving mine efficiency. Optimization at the mine, which is owned by Excellon Resources Incorporated (Toronto, Ontario), will increase silver production by 1.6 million ounces per year.

In all, Industrial Info is tracking 177 mine projects worth $20 billion in Mexico.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.