Mining Intelligence and News
Bolivia

San Bartolomé Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeTailings
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
SnapshotMining activities at San Bartolomé were suspended in Q3 2023.

Prior to suspension of mining activities, the Andean extracted material and process mineralized Pallacos from the Santa Rita, Huacajchi and Antuco sectors.

The Andean anticipates no further mining of Pallacos, as the Andean has completed the transition from mining nearly depleted, Pallacos to processing fines disposal facility (FDF) material and third-party purchases.

On August 1, 2024, production from the tailings Fines Disposal Facility ("FDF") at the San Bartolomé Silver Mine was started.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Empresa Minera Manquiri S.A. (operator) 100 % Direct
Andean Precious Metals Corp. 100 % Indirect
Empresa Minera Manquiri S.A., a fully owned subsidiary of Andean Precious Metals Corp., is the exclusive operator of the San Bartolomé.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Tailings
  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Epithermal
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork

Summary:

The silver-bearing mineral deposits are alluvial and colluvial, unconsolidated sediments (the pallacos flanking Cerro Rico), high sulfidation deposits (Tollojchi) and intermediate sulfidation deposits (Alta Vista and Paca). The pallacos also contain tin. Cerro Rico is a prominent +4,700 meter (m) elevation mountain.

San Bartolomé
The mineral deposits at Cerro Rico are the source of the San Bartolomé pallacos and were formed by erosion and downslope accumulation of the in situ high sulfidation, epithermal deposits at Cerro Rico, composed of veins, stockworks, hydrothermal breccias and irregular bodies, hosted in a very altered resurgent dome of dacitic- to rhyodacitic-composition porphyritic intrusion emplaced in Middle Miocene time (approx. 14 mya). These deposits consist of an unsorted mixture of cobbles and boulders in a sandy clay matrix, accumulated down slope by colluvial and alluvial processes, filling depressions, gullies and low-gradient areas. The deposits have been grouped into three areas named Antuco, Huacajchi and Santa Rita. As of 1 December 2023, the pallacos had been nearly depleted.

Alta Vista
Mineralization at Alta Vista is hosted in epithermal veins of intermediate sulfidation character. Mineralization is controlled by multiple, epithermal veins with the main, Veta Rica vein. Gangue mineralization at Alta Vista consists largely of quartz and Fe-Mn oxides with lesser amounts of alunite and other alteration minerals.

Tollojchi
Silver mineralization in Tollojchi is hosted in veins, breccias and disseminated zones and is strongly associated with the presence of several NE-SW trending lithocaps. Tollojchi mineralization is high sulfidation in character, with pyrophyllite and vuggy silica present, typical of this geologic environment (Sillitoe, 1998).

Paca
Paca mineralization is intermediate sulfidation in character, occurring as disseminations, and consists in oxidized and sulfidic material, hosted within igneous and sedimentary rocks. In conglomerate, mineralization is mainly in matrix, which was replaced by barite-tetrahedrite; in andesite, minerals observed are disseminated and cavity fillings. The contact between both units is the main control of mineralization. On surface, Ag contents are dominant, while base metals increase at depth.

Development and Operations
Manquiri has developed and produced from pallacos at San Bartolomé from commencement of commercial production in 2008 until September 2023. During 2023, pallaco mineralization was largely depleted.

Fines Disposal Facility (FDF)
FDF is an impoundment of fine (-2.4-millimeter (mm), 8 mesh#) material that has been screened out of the pallacos at the plant crusher station and then stored since the operation started. The material in the FDF has been explored primarily through barge-supported sonic drilling. Extensive drilling has been implemented to characterize the geochemical and geotechnical characteristics of the FDF. Deposition of fines to the FDF was finalized in 2023, and no additional material has been added after December 2023. No additional exploration activities are planned for the FDF in 2024.

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

At Cachi Laguna, Andean has a contract with RALP, a privately held Bolivian company, to purchase and transport a fixed number of tonnes of gold and silver bearing material to the San Bartolomé plant for processing. This production material is expected to be fully depleted during Q2 2023.
CommodityUnits202320222021202020192018201720162015
Silver koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,4282,6374,2705,4695,436
Silver Equivalent koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Gold oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe3,5372,922
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Daily milling rate  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,110,353 t1,137,868 t1,509,708 tons1,666,787 tons1,713,079 tons
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Production Costs

CommodityUnits202320222021202020192017
Total cash costs (sold) Silver USD 17.4 / oz  
Total cash costs (sold) Silver Equivalent USD
Total cash costs Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total cash costs (sold) Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total cash costs (sold) Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 14 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 16.2 / oz **  
All-in costs Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All-in costs Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 16.3 / oz **  
Operating margin Silver Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency2023
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units2024202320222021202020192017
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ....  Subscribe
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe
Growth Capital M USD  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 3.6  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 88.7   73.1  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -3.1  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -12.8   -12.2  
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 4.6  
Operating Cash Flow M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 11.1  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 24, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 1, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 24, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 24, 2024

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required 2017
...... Subscription required 2016

Aerial view:

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