La Herradura deposit is located in the Sonora state in northwestern Mexico, approximately 80 km northwest of the town of Caborca.

Gold rich veins are restricted to the Proterozoic rocks which consist of biotite-feldspar-quartz and quartz-feldspar gneisses of sedimentary and plutonic origin. The hydrothermal system is structurally controlled and the higher grade mineralization occurs in quartz-sulfide veins filling tensional fractures. Quartz-sericite-albite alteration is widespread in the core of the deposit and grades to propylitic in the outer parts where the gneisses are more biotite rich.

La Herradura is an open pit gold mine which developed by conventional truck and shovel method with preliminary drilling and blasting operations. Approximately 250 Cat haulage trucks are utilized for the haulage ore and waste. As of 2021 all of the Cat 785 fleet now is converted to the dual fuel system and the Cat 793 haulage trucks due to be converted in the near future.

La Herradura is an open pit gold mine with a heap leach pad, Merrill Crowe Plant, two pregnant solution ponds, three contingency ponds, and associated pipework.

The run-of-mine mineral from the open pit is sent directly to the heap leach pad. The mine has one heap leach pad, which has been sub divided into 12 phases. The leach pad was constructed with a composite liner of compacted clay and geomembrane. Once in the leach pad, a cyanide solution is applied by drip irrigation.

The pipelines between the leach pad and plant are contained within a geomembrane liner. The pump stations are constructed of concrete with leak detection sumps. There are two pregnant solution ponds and three contingency ponds (i.e., Contingency Pond 1, Contingency Pond 6, and the Megapond). The pregnant ponds are double lined (geomembrane) with leak detection, collection, and recovery systems. The contingency ponds are single lined (geomembrane).

The lixiviate (i.e., pregnant solut ........