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Peru

Bethania Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Zinc
  • Gold
  • Lead
  • Copper
Mining Method
  • Cut & Fill
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SnapshotThe Bethania Silver Project is comprised of the Bethania mine (historically known as Mina Santa Elena) that operated from 2010 to 2016, the Carmelitas, Tres Banderas and Chinita concessions and collectively covers approximately 4,981 hectares. The Company’s goal for the Bethania Silver Project is to build a new processing plant as contemplated in the Amended and Restated Preliminary Economic Assessment.

The PEA envisages an underground mine feeding a processing plant that would process mineralized material and also incorporates the potential to toll-mill mineralized material before the construction and commissioning of a new processing plant at site.

As of January 8, 2024, Kuya Silver has commenced an underground development and reconditioning program as an initial step to resume operations at the Bethania Silver Mine.

On May 21, 2024, Kuya Silver Corp. announced the commencement of production from the Bethania silver mine.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Kuya Silver Corp. 100 % Indirect
On 16 December 2020, Kuya Silver Corporation (from now on Kuya) announced it had acquired 100% of the Bethania Silver Project from S & L Andes Export SAC (“S&L”) and renamed S&L to Minera Toro del Plata S.A.C. (wholly owned Peruvian subsidiary of Kuya). Aerecura Materiales S.A.C., a current registered holder of some of the adjacent concessions that make up the Bethania Silver Project, was renamed Kuya Silver S.A.C. (a wholly owned Peruvian subsidiary of Kuya).

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Volcanic hosted
  • Epithermal
  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The Bethania silver deposit is a polymetallic (Ag-Pb-Zn-Cu-Au) hydrothermal deposit whose mineralogy, mineralization, textures, and associated alteration phases are consistent with the intermediate sulphidation (IS) epithermal geological model for volcanic-hosted precious metal deposits.

The Santa Elena mining concession covers Tertiary volcanic rocks that include andesite, dacite, and tuff. Outcrop exposure is best in areas of higher elevation (high cliffs, hill tops etc.) and along road or stream cuts, with much of the region covered by vegetation and Quaternary deposits (overburden).

All of the mineralized veins discovered to date are hosted by altered andesite and/or dacite with some anomalous mineralization hosted by siliceous bodies of stockwork quartz-breccia. The attention of past on-vein exploitation focused on the east-northeast trending veins but there are numerous north-northwest trending veins that have seen little if any exploration and testing.

The total lengths of the vein systems are not clear for all the veins and there is evidence that the northeast-trending veins (e.g., Española and Carolina) could extend several hundred meters along strike. In addition, many of the veins continue at depth as evidenced from underground mine development and the recently completed Phase diamond drilling program.

Ausenco (2017), noted that geochemical results indicate the potential for an igneous body of the copper porphyry type existing at depth, suggesting the possibility for deeper copper dominant mineralization. Work in the immediate area of the Santa Elena concession provides evidence for a porphyry system underlying the area including drilling by Minera IRL Limited. Furthermore, satellite imagery suggests that the Bethania Mine and Santa Elena mining concession vein system are almost central to what appears to be a wide zone of alteration sitting centrally within what appears to be an 11 km wide collapsed caldera, indicating a much bigger exploration target both laterally and at depth. There are similarities here with the 15 km wide collapsed caldera that surround the San Genaro and Reliquias mines 70 km to the south of the Project.

There are a number of high-angle, northeast-, northwest-, and north-south-trending fault systems on the Santa Elena concession. Principal veins of economic interest are oriented east-northeast (~60Az) and dip from approximately 70 degrees to the southeast to near vertical.

Hydrothermal alteration observed on the Property includes silicification, sericitization, chloritization, and tourmalization, with silicification immediately associated with economic vein mineralization. Argillic alteration (clay) occurs away from the veins and chloritic alteration more distal to the veins. Stein (2018), was of the opinion that geological controls, such as alteration, have not been studied in any great detail.

Given the lithological, structural, mineralogical and alteration characteristics observed at the Project and specifically in the Bethania Mine vein system, mineralization identified to date can be classified as volcanic-associated, polymetallic intermediate sulphidation epithermal (“ISE”), with significant accumulations of silver, lead, zinc, copper, and gold.

Dominated by silver, Bethania Mine’s polymetallic mineralization is fairly typical in its composition, containing appreciable amounts of lead, zinc, gold, and copper. On the basis of multi- element assays and production history, it is clear that dominant sulphide minerals include silver sulfosalts (e.g., Ag3AsS3, Ag3SbS3), galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2).

Mineralization of the major veins, Española and 12 de Mayo, can be more than 1.5 meters thick, but averages are about 0.6 meters; minor veins average about 0.3 meters in thickness.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnitsLOM (Projected)
Silver Metal in copper conc. koz 808
Silver Metal in lead concentrate koz 5,639
Silver Payable metal koz 6,101
Zinc Concentrate kt 21
Zinc Payable metal M lbs 20
Zinc Metal in zinc concentrate M lbs 24
Gold Metal in copper conc. koz 0.3
Gold Payable metal koz 1.5
Gold Metal in lead concentrate koz 1.6
Lead Concentrate kt 30
Lead Payable metal M lbs 38
Lead Metal in lead concentrate M lbs 40
Copper Concentrate kt 3.3
Copper Payable metal M lbs 1.4
Copper Metal in copper conc. M lbs 1.5
Silver Equivalent Payable metal M oz 8.7

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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EV - Electric

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 8, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 20, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 20, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 20, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 8, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 8, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 8, 2024

Total WorkforceYear
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Aerial view:

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