La Caridad is emplaced in a metallogenic province that is notable for Cu, Mo, gold (Au), silver (Ag), and platinum (Pt) Resources (Titley, 1995). It contains more than 50 deposits, some of which are considered giant ore deposits. Porphyries are Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene in age and often exhibit supergene enrichment, which forms during exhumation of the hydrothermalized rocks towards the surface.

The largest mineralized districts in northwest Mexico occur in two main intervals, one at 59–63 Ma (Cananea), and the other at 53–55 Ma (La Caridad District), where associated magmatism overlaps in space and time. La Caridad porphyry intruded the thick-skinned Laramide orogen and is the southernmost giant porphyry Cu deposit belonging to the cluster of Arizona-Sonora Cu porphyries.

The deposit occurs exclusively in felsic to intermediate intrusive igneous rocks and associated breccias. The host rocks include diorite and granodiorite intruded by a quartz-monzonite porphyry stock and by numerous breccia masses that contain fragments of all the older rock types.

The main mineralization at La Caridad occurs in the Quartz-monzonite porphyry and hydrothermal breccias. The host rocks at La Caridad are andesites, with the oldest rocks corresponding to the Laramide volcanic rocks, which are regionally correlated with the Tarahumara Formation. These consist of lavas and tuffs of intermediate composition with aphanitic to porphyritic texture, including aggl ........

The ore at La Caridad is recovered using open-pit conventional truck and shovel mining methods due to the proximity of the ore to the surface and the physical characteristics of the deposit. The current operation is expanding into an area called Bella Union which is south of the existing pit. The ore from the main pit and the expansion area is hauled to the primary crusher located near the maintenance facility or to the Guadalupe leach pads. Waste is hauled to valley OSFs located to the west of the pit.

La Caridad is an established operation that currently mines at a rate of about 98 million tonnes per year of total material. The operation currently runs 6 electric shovels, 1 hydraulic shovel, 6 loaders, and 36 trucks of varying size and models.

The mining operation begins with the drilling process; drill samples are sent to an assay laboratory for analysis. The assay results are used to mark out zones of ore, leach, and waste rock, which are mined separately. Currently the site uses 5 electric drills and 1 diesel blasthole drill to meet production requirements.

After the blasting is completed, ore, leach, and waste are mined by excavators loading onto trucks. The fleet consists of 6 electric shovels, 1 hydraulic shovel, 6 front end loaders, and 36 mining trucks. Overburden and waste loads can be used for fixing roads, building ramps, or simply placed on the OSFs.

The mine design criteria are listed below:
1. Surface mining ap ........

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The La Caridad complex includes an open-pit mine, concentrator, smelter, copper refinery, precious metals refinery, rod plant,SX-EW plant, lime plant and two sulfuric acid plants.

Copper Concentrator
The current mineral processing facility is comprised of crushing and milling circuits to achieve liberation of copper mineralization. Copper contained in primary and secondary copper minerals is recovered via flotation into a copper concentrate. The concentrate is shipped to their own smelter located approximately 20 km from the beneficiation plant.

The Concentrator includes the following equipment and processes:
- Fine ore storage (309,000 wet tonnes capacity).
- Primary grinding mills (Twelve 16.5-ft diameter by 24 ft long).
- Rougher Flotation (100 cells – 1350 cubic feet [ft3] per cell; 40 cells – 1,000 ft3 per cell).
- Regrind mills (Four 10.5-ft diameter by 23 ft long).
- Scavenger flotation (48 cells – 500 ft3 per cell).
- Fir ........