Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Underground |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
- Bench & Fill
- Cut & Fill
- Backfill
|
Production Start | ...  |
Mine Life | 4.8 years (as of Jan 1, 2022) |
Fresnillo is one of the world’s oldest continuously operating mines. In operation since 1554. |
Source:
p. 38,287
Fresnillo plc is the owner, with 100% ownership.
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.
Mining Methods
- Bench & Fill
- Cut & Fill
- Backfill
Summary:
Fresnillo one of the world’s oldest continuously operated underground mines. There are three types of veins Wide (> 3 mts), Medium (2-3 mts) and Narrow (< 2 mts) in Fresnillo. Bench & FIll and Cut & Fill methods are used for mining operations.
Flow Sheet:
Summary:

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Production:
Commodity | Product | Units | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Silver
|
Metal in concentrate
|
oz
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | 15,117,156 | 16,511,937 | 15,864,614 |
Gold
|
Metal in concentrate
|
oz
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
Lead
|
Metal in concentrate
|
t
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
Lead
|
Concentrate
|
kt
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
Zinc
|
Metal in concentrate
|
t
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
Zinc
|
Concentrate
|
kt
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
Silver Equivalent
|
Metal in concentrate
|
M oz
| ......  | ......  | | | | | |
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Operational Metrics:
Metrics | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Daily milling rate
| ......  | ......  | 6,976 t | 7,349 t | 7,292 t | |
Daily milling capacity
| ......  | ......  | 8 kt | 8 kt | 8 kt | 8 kt |
Annual milling capacity
| ......  | ......  | 2,640 kt | 2,640 kt | 2,640 kt | 2,640 kt |
Tonnes processed
| ......  | ......  | 2,336,943 t | 2,461,785 t | 2,443,440 t | 2,447,394 t |
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Reserves at May 31, 2022:
Mineral reserve cut-off grade is 298 g/t AgEq.
Mineral resource cut-off grade is 203 g/t AgEq.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Probable
|
11,779 kt
|
Silver
|
242 g/t
|
91,608 koz
|
Probable
|
11,779 kt
|
Gold
|
0.77 g/t
|
291 koz
|
Probable
|
11,779 kt
|
Lead
|
1.22 %
|
143 kt
|
Probable
|
11,779 kt
|
Zinc
|
3.51 %
|
413 kt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
27,617 kt
|
Silver
|
408 g/t
|
361,915 koz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
27,617 kt
|
Gold
|
0.94 g/t
|
836 koz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
27,617 kt
|
Lead
|
1.36 %
|
374 kt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
27,617 kt
|
Zinc
|
3.45 %
|
952 kt
|
Inferred
|
31,359 kt
|
Silver
|
342 g/t
|
344,827 koz
|
Inferred
|
31,359 kt
|
Gold
|
0.79 g/t
|
795 koz
|
Inferred
|
31,359 kt
|
Lead
|
1.19 %
|
373 kt
|
Inferred
|
31,359 kt
|
Zinc
|
2.54 %
|
797 kt
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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