Mining Intelligence and News
Mexico

Fresnillo Mine

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Categories

Summary

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Lead
  • Zinc
Mining Method
  • Bench & Fill
  • Cut & Fill
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotFresnillo is one of the world’s oldest continuously operating mines. In operation since 1554.

At the Fresnillo mine, the MD5000 tunnel boring machine resumed operations in the second half of 2024, enabling to continue of developing the main haulage level at the western end of the mine.

In addition, the San Carlos shaft is now operational, reducing haulage distances and cutting costs. The shaft is scheduled to operate for the whole of 2025.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Industrias Peñoles SAB de CV 74.99 % Indirect
Fresnillo plc is the owner of Fresnillo mine, with 100% ownership.

Fresnillo plc is 75% owned subsidiary of Industrias Peñoles SAB de CV.

Fresnillo plc is listed independently on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), and has its own management team, administrative structure, and governing bodies.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Manto
  • Sediment-hosted
  • Volcanic hosted

Summary:

The Fresnillo mine ore deposits consist of replacement chimney and manto bodies, disseminated sulfide bodies, and vein deposits hosted mainly in Cretaceous marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks.

The base metal-silver deposits are zoned to the southeast away from a small quartz monzonite stock, with increasing silver content and decreasing base metal values with distance from the stock. Wall rocks adjacent to the stock exhibit silicification and calc-silicate alteration that has been partially replaced by the sulfide minerals. Vein wall rocks exhibit potassic, phyllic, argillic, and propylitic alteration with increasing distance from the veins.Chimney and manto bodies contain pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, tetrahedrite, marcasite, arsenopyrite, and silver minerals. Chimney and manto bodies predate or are contemporaneous with base metal veins containing a similar mineralogy. Younger silver-rich veins consist primarily of pyrargyrite with lesser acanthite, proustite, miargyrite, polybasite, tetrahedrite, galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. Individual veins exhibit increasing silver and decreasing base metal concentrations with increasing elevation.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Commodity Production

CommodityProductUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Silver Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe13,007,22715,117,15616,511,93715,864,61415,612,175
Gold Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe52,25942,29038,78442,42134,120
Lead Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe21,47219,61920,51421,32616,248
Lead Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe5954595951
Zinc Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe31,53031,09430,02125,89819,029
Zinc Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe6260585137

Operational metrics

Metrics2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe8 kt8 kt8 kt8 kt8 kt
Annual milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,640 kt2,640 kt2,640 kt2,640 kt2,640 kt
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,461,785 t2,443,440 t2,447,394 t2,373,092 t2,410,033 t
Daily milling rate  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7,349 t7,292 t

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20242023202220212020201920182017
Cash costs (sold) Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe
Cash costs (sold) Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2.3 / oz **   0.5 / oz **   0.7 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 13.5 / oz **   8.92 / oz **   8.2 / oz **  
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency202420232022202120202019201820172016
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Mine Financials

Units20242023202220212020201920182017
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 172.8   121.1   111.7  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 361.7   378.3   421.3  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 164.6   211.5   252.2  
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 11, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 11, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 11, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 27, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2020
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2019
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2018
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2017
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2016
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2015

Aerial view:

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