La Negra mine is a silver mine in the Mexican state of Querétaro, owned by Excellon Resources.

La Negra mine
Location
La Negra mine is located in Mexico
La Negra mine
La Negra mine
Location in Mexico
La Negra mine is located in Querétaro
La Negra mine
La Negra mine
La Negra mine (Querétaro)
StateQuerétaro
CountryMexico
Coordinates20°50′07″N 99°31′21″W / 20.835173°N 99.522369°W / 20.835173; -99.522369
Production
ProductsSilver
History
Opened1970
Owner
CompanyOrion Resource Partners

Description

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La Negra is a silver mine in Querétaro, Mexico.[1] The mine has thirteen known ore bodies, overwhelmingly of silver, but also with smaller quantities of gold, zinc and lead.[2]

The mine has a processing mill that can process 3,000 tons-per-day.[3] Tailings from the mine are held behind five tailings dams.[1] The dams are located upstream of the Maconí River which, which after five kilometers reaches the Moctuzuma River.[1]

When active, it produced up to three-million ounces of silver-equivalent per year.[3]

In 2023, the mine had 15.1 million ounces of silver in reserves.[3]

History

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The mine started operating in 1970 and was owned by Industriales Peñoles S.A. de C.V. at the time.[2] Production stopped in 2000.[2]

Aurcana Corporation became the primary owner of the mine in 2006,[4] expanding its share of ownership to over 99% in 2012.[5] In 2009, production of ore was 1,000 tonnes per day, increasing in 2012 to 2,500 tonnes per day and 3,000 tonnes per day in 2013.[2] In 2014, Aurcana[2] increased quarterly production to 997,530 ounces, and facing reducing global silver prices, improved efficiency by reducing the workforce size.[6]

The 2013 study Influencia de Jales Mineros Sobre El Río Maconí, Queretaro, y Evaluación Del Proceso de Atenuación Natural Por Dispersión (English: Influence of mining tailings on the Maconí River, Queretaro, and evaluation of the natural attenuation process by dispersion), published in Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana (the journal of the Mexican Geological Society) reported that "concentration in the water-soluble fraction exceeds 0.5 mg/L (permissible level indicated in NOM-147)"[note 1] downstream of tailings dam number three.[1]

In 2023, the mine was purchased from Dalu S. à r. l. by Excellon Resources for $50 million.[3]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ See External Links

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Santos Jallath, José E. (2013). "Influencia de jales mineros sobre el río Maconí, Queretaro, y evaluación del proceso de atenuación natural por dispersión" (PDF). Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana. 65 (3): 645–660. doi:10.18268/BSGM2013v65n3a15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-09. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e Iain (2013-08-05). "Aurcana Corp. - La Negra Mine". Energy, Oil & Gas magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  3. ^ a b c d Rani, Archana (2023-01-10). "Excellon to acquire La Negra Mine in Mexico for $50m". Mining Technology. Archived from the original on 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  4. ^ "Overview | Aurcana Corp". aurcana.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  5. ^ "Aurcana Increases Ownership of La Negra Mine to 99.86%; Shares Up Almost 10%". NASDAQ. February 21, 2012.
  6. ^ "Aurcana improves operations at La Negra". The Northern Miner. 17 December 2004. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
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