penaquito
Operator: Newmont
Location: Mexico
Term of Stream: Life of Mine
Stream Parameters: 25% of silver production
Upfront Consideration: US$485M
Cost Quartile: 1st
Stream: Silver
Primary Metal: Gold

Project Overview

Peñasquito is Mexico's largest gold mine and second largest silver mine as well as one of the country's largest producers of zinc and lead. The site consists of two sulphide processing lines and a high-pressure grinding roll circuit with a combined capacity of 130,000 tonnes per day. The sulphide ore is processed through a conventional crushing, milling and flotation facility that produces zinc and lead concentrates. In addition, oxide ore is processed by heap leaching and doré containing silver is produced. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Pyrite Leach Plant (“PLP”) completed construction and achieved first gold and commercial production as of December 31, 2018. The PLP leaches a pyrite concentrate from the zinc flotation circuit tails to recover gold and silver.

Two diatreme pipes, Peñasco and Brecha Azul, are the principal hosts for gold–silver–zinc–lead mineralization at Peñasquito. The pipes flare upward and are filled with breccia clasts in a milled matrix of similar lithological composition. The diatremes are surrounded by coalesced halos of lower grade, disseminated sphalerite, galena, and sulphosalts containing gold and silver. Garnet skarn hosted polymetallic mineralization has been identified at depth between the Peñasco and Brecha Azul diatremes. The skarn has horizontal dimensions of approximately 1,000 metres by 1,200 metres and is open at depth.

In December 2019, Newmont announced that Penasquito and the nearby San Juan de Cedros community in Zacatecas, Mexico mutually agreed to an infrastructure solution securing sustainable water availability for the community’s domestic and agricultural uses. This 30-year water agreement represents a significant milestone and important step in community relations.

More Information

Click here to view a Virtual Mine Tour of Peñasquito.  
For more information about Peñasquito including cost quartile, please visit Newmont's website at www.newmontgoldcorp.com.

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