• Data Access
  • Your Email  
  • Your Email  
Keep me signed in.
Forgot your password?
Close
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Enter the email you signed up with and we'll email it to you.
  • Your Email  
Close
Back
MDO
Mining Data Solutions
  • Home
  • Database
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
Mexico
Del Toro Mine

This page is not tailored to
devices with screen width under 750 px.
 Location:
2 km E from Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, Mexico

  Regional Office:
Fanny Anitúa No. 2700, Colonia Los Ángeles
Durango
Durango, Mexico
34076
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax1-(618)-827-9070
EmailEmail
WebsiteWeb
Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors
Drill results over 30 g/t Au
Stay on top of recent discoveries.
Search drill results by commodity and grade.
Largest mines in the Americas
Mining and mill throughput capaciites.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Deepest underground mines
Shaft depth and mill throughput data.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Heavy mobile equipment
HME type, model, size and quantity.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Permitting and construction projects
Projects at the permitting or construction stage. Full profiles of select projects.
Mines with remote camps
Camp size, mine location and contacts.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Mines & projects in Mexico
A list of country's mines and projects.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

Thank you for browsing through mine profiles compiled by the Mining Data Online team.

Would you like to subcribe or schedule a Demo?
  • Name:
     
  • Company:
     
  • Position:
     
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • Message:

Overview

StatusTemporary Suspension
Mine TypeUnderground
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Lead
  • Zinc
Mining Method
  • Cut & Fill
  • Drift & Fill
  • Longhole stoping
  • Shrinkage stoping
  • Cemented backfill
Processing
  • Filter press plant
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Flotation
Mine Life6 years (as of Jan 1, 2016)
On January 21, 2020, the Company announced that the Del Toro operations were being temporarily suspended in 2020 in order to improve the Company’s cash flow and profit margins.

Project generation exploration continues, with an emphasis on brownfield and greenfield targets within the property mineral concessions.


Owners

Source: p. 226
CompanyInterestOwnership
First Majestic Silver Corp. 100 % Indirect
The Del Toro Silver Mine is wholly-owned and operated by First Majestic Del Toro, S.A. de C.V., a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of First Majestic Silver Corp.

Deposit Type

  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Manto
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork
  • Intrusion related
  • Hydrothermal


Summary:

Mineral deposits at Del Toro occur in veins, chimneys, breccias and mantos. The deposits are associated with a quartz monzonite–granodiorite intrusion and are hosted by Cretaceous limestone and shale that has been altered to marble, hornfels, skarnoid and skarn.

Because of their spatial relation with intrusions and metamorphic/motasomatic rocks, the deposits are proposed to be of the intrusion-related hydrothermal type. Potassic alteration observed at depth in the San Juan mine suggests high-temperature alteration at depth. Although fluid inclusion- microthermometry studies have not been carried out for the Del Toro deposits, the association intrusions and skarn suggests they could be of the mesothermal to epithermal type. The occurrence of distal quartz– calcite veins containing fluorite in the Dolores mine is suggestive of an epithermal environment.

Mineralization to the south at San Nicolas and San Juan seems to be more mesothermal whereas the mineralization to the north in Dolores seems to be epithermal. No attempt was made to fit Del Toro deposits to the settings of the well-studied porphyries or epithermal deposits described by Sillitoe or Hedenquist elsewhere, since the geologic features observed suggest that Del Toro sits in between these end-member environments.

Mineral deposits at Del Toro occur in veins, chimneys, breccias and mantos. It is interpreted that some of the mineralization is skarn-related mesothermal in style, similar to that of San Martin Sombrerete. Some epithermal features, such as quartz–calcite veins containing fluorite, occur at Dolores and the Navidad claims north of Dolores. Veins at Del Toro can be of two types, open space filling or fault vein.

The open space filling type can be massive sulphide veins containing galena, sphalerite and pyrite, quartz– carbonate veins containing pyrite, sphalerite and galena, and massive carbonate veins consisting of calcite, siderite and manganiferous calcite.

The second type of vein, fault-vein, consists of breccia or gouge with disseminated sulphides and oxides. Open space filling veins can transition into fault veins, and vice versa, along a structure. Most veins were likely open or partially open faults that were flooded with hydrothermal fluids carrying metals, and some of these were reactivated by later faulting events. Good examples of massive open space filling veins that transition into fault veins are Lupita, Santa Teresa and San Nicolas. Cuerpo 1 and Cuerpo 2 in the San Juan mine are good examples of vein-faults. Veins typically range in width from a few centimetres to up to five metres.

Breccia pipes and chimneys also occur in the district. Sulphide-rich (galena and sphalerite) chimneys were mined in the Perseverancia mine (Perseverancia and San Nicolas chimneys) where they occur at the intersection of northwest trending structures and north-trending structures. Cuerpo 3 is a sub-vertical pipe like structure located on the eastern footwall of the Cuerpo 1 vein-fault system. It extends from 2,200 masl to at least 1,955 masl, varies in width from 40 to 80 m and forms where the Cuerpo 1 and Cuerpo 2 bodies intersect with one another. It contains sulphide and oxide mineralization in cross-cutting structures and disseminations.

Manto-type structures are more common in the Cotorras and Magistral areas, although some manto development has also been observed in the San Juan mine associated with the Lupita vein. The mantos may vary in thickness from 20 cm at Las Cotorras to 1.5 m at Magistral.


Mining Methods

  • Cut & Fill
  • Drift & Fill
  • Longhole stoping
  • Shrinkage stoping
  • Cemented backfill


Summary:

Current production is sourced from three different underground mining areas (San Juan, Perseverancia, and Dolores).

In mineralisation that exhibits fair to good geotechnical conditions, Del Toro uses cut-and fill (resue) and shrinkage stoping. Both methods have been successfully employed and recover the mineralisation with limited ore loss and dilution, albeit at a low productivity. A recent trade-off study indicated that where mineralisation was greater than 1.0 m in width, longhole stoping with fill could be more productive and cost effective than the current methods. Overhand drift-and fill is planned for the Cuerpo 3 deposit.

Stope designs assumed:

• Dolores: a minimum mining width of 1.5 m was designed for longhole stopes and 1.0 m for cutand-fill zones; additional waste was included to meet the minimum mining width for access, therefore waste was designed and scheduled on either side of the mineralisation. Sills mined for longhole stoping areas were proposed to be 3.0 m wide, 4.0 m high, and suitable for modern drilling equipment. Production stopes were designed with a minimum width of 1.5 m and a vertical distance of 9.5 m. Stope panels were designed at 20 m long (9.5 m high). A ramp mined with an arched profile will be excavated to a width of 3.5 m and a height of 3.5 m, and will incorporate a minimum stand-off distance of 20 m to locate the ramp away from mineralisation. Planned development includes: access drifts, sills (development on mineralisation), operating waste development (sills mining material below cut-off), sumps, escapeways and accesses to the escapeways, return airways and accesses to the return airways, stockpiles, and ore passes and access to the ore passes, where required.

• San Juan: There is limited opportunity to optimise the mining methods that can be applied to Cuerpo 1, Cuerpo 2 and the minor veins, as they are well-established and nearing completion. Shrinkage stoping, using a minimum mining width of 1.0 m, was designed for additional stoping areas. For cut-and-fill stoping, a minimum mining width of 1.0 m was used for design (resue portion), with a final width of 2.5 m for excavated width (1.5 m of waste blasting). Additional waste was included to meet the minimum mining width for access, therefore waste was designed and scheduled on either side of the mineralisation. Generally, the ramps have been moved from ore into waste to reduce the potential for sterilisation and to increase productivity. The drift-and-fill method proposed for Cuerpo 3 used 3.0 m square profiles for development. The whole drift, once inside the mineralisation, was interrogated to meet the cut-off analysis. The access ramp designs for Cuerpo 3 are 60 m from the orebody. This stand-off distance will allow sufficient space between the ramp and the orebody for the excavation of the level accesses, stockpiles and sumps. The main ramp has a profile of 3.5 m by 3.5 m. The production levels will be spaced vertically every 18 m. Planned development includes: ore drifts, sumps, escapeways and accesses to the escapeways, return airways and accesses to the return airways, stockpiles, and ore passes and the access to the ore passes, where required.

• Perseverancia: The production areas in the Perseverancia mine were designed to a minimum mining width of 1.0 m, after ore dilution and loss were considered. Additional waste was included to meet the minimum mining width for access, therefore waste was designed and scheduled on either side of the mineralisation. A ramp mined with an arched profile will be excavated to a width of 3.5 m and a height of 3.5 m; ramps will be located away from mineralization. Planned development includes: access drifts, sills (development on mineralisation), operating waste development (sills mining material below cut-off), sumps, escapeways and accesses to the escapeways, return airways and accesses to the return airways, stockpiles, and ore passes and the access to the ore passes, where required.

There are three main portals to access each of the mines: the San Juan mine portal, the Dolores portal and the Perseverancia portal.


Crushing and Grinding
Flow Sheet: Source
Crusher / Mill TypeModelSizePowerQuantity
Ball mill 10.5' x 14' 1

Summary:

Blended crushed ore is stored in a bin before being fed to the grinding circuit. Grinding takes place in a 10.5’ x 14’ ball mill operating in closed circuit with two cyclones(one of which is normally in standby). The grinding circuit has ample capacity (900 hp mill motor) and flexibility (two cyclone feed pumps, one in standby) to regularly achieve its grinding production targets: 82-84 µm (P80) and 920 t/d throughput. The mill grinding media consists of 3-inch steel balls.


Processing

  • Filter press plant
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Flotation

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The metallurgical process flowsheet at Del Toro has experienced some modifications from its original design. Initially, the flowsheet was designed to process two ore types: oxides in a cyanide leaching circuit designed to produce doré, and sulphides via flotation to produce silver-rich lead and zinc concentrates.

During commissioning of the leaching circuit in 2014, however, a series of tests showed that processing lead-oxide ore in the flotation circuit produced higher revenue from silver and lead contents when compared to processing the oxide ore in the cyanidation circuit (which mainly produced silver). As a result, the decision was made to put the cyanidation circuit into care-and-maintenance.

The sulphide flotation circuit has also undergone considerable changes. Originally, the sulphide circuit was designed to produce two concentrates: lead and zinc, with the former containing most of the floatable silver values. The circuit was operated in this configurati ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter201920182017201620152014
Silver Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required6980817469
Silver Head Grade, g/t  ......  Subscription required132158171172193
Lead Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required5668
Lead Head Grade, %  ......  Subscription required2.94.3

Production:

CommodityProductUnits201920182017201620152014
Silver Payable metal oz  ......  Subscription required744,7441,066,5431,422,5232,142,1052,596,120
Silver Metal in concentrate oz  ......  Subscription required785,1541,124,9921,500,9512,261,6332,690,717
Lead Metal in concentrate lbs  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Silver Equivalent Metal in concentrate oz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Gold Metal in concentrate oz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Zinc Metal in concentrate lbs  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics201920182017201620152014
Tonnes milled 106,083 t267,170 t278,204 t337,020 t555,564 t629,493 t
Daily milling rate 1,000 t1,000 t
Daily milling capacity 2,000 t2,000 t2,000 t2,000 t2,000 t

Reserves at December 31, 2021:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Indicated 592 kt Silver 201 g/t 3,830 koz
Indicated 592 kt Gold 0.43 g/t 8.1 koz
Indicated 592 kt Lead 3.9 % 50.9 M lbs
Indicated 592 kt Zinc 4.27 % 55.7 M lbs
Indicated 592 kt Silver Equivalent 398 g/t 7,580 koz
Inferred 1,186 kt Silver 183 g/t 6,980 koz
Inferred 1,186 kt Gold 0.15 g/t 5.5 koz
Inferred 1,186 kt Lead 3.46 % 90.5 M lbs
Inferred 1,186 kt Zinc 1.14 % 29.8 M lbs
Inferred 1,186 kt Silver Equivalent 293 g/t 11,180 koz

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits201920182017201620152014
Credits (by-product) Silver USD -16.33 / oz -13.13 / oz -11.71 / oz -6.29 / oz
Cash costs Silver USD 16.2 / oz 12.2 / oz 11.9 / oz 15.2 / oz
Total cash costs Silver USD  ......  Subscription required 28.5 / oz 21.8 / oz 18.9 / oz 17.9 / oz 19.3 / oz
Total cash costs Silver USD  ......  Subscription required† 17.1 / oz† 5.49 / oz† 5.73 / oz† 6.19 / oz† 13 / oz†
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Silver USD  ......  Subscription required† 27.5 / oz† 11.9 / oz† 8.62 / oz† 8.63 / oz† 18.8 / oz†
† Net of By-Product.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operating Costs:

Units201920182017201620152014
UG mining costs ($/t milled) USD 22.62318.822.5
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Financials:

Units20192018201720162015
Sustaining costs M USD  ......  Subscription required7.2   6.4  
Capital expenditures M USD  ......  Subscription required11.6   8.6   11.5   12.7  
Revenue M USD  ......  Subscription required17.9   30.1   35   47.6  
Operating Income M USD  ......  Subscription required-9.9   -2.1   1.3   8.1  


Heavy Mobile Equipment as of December 31, 2016:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantity
Drill jumbo (single boom) ....................... Subscription required
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Truck (haul) 30 t ....................... Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 16, 2022
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Annual Information Form 2018
Annual Report 2018
Corporate Presentation 2018
Press Release 2018
Form 40-F 2017
Annual Report 2016
Corporate Presentation 2016
Financial Review 2016
Form 40-F 2016
Technical Report 2016
Form 40-F 2015
Technical Report 2012
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Aerial view:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2017-2022 MDO Data Online Inc.