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Bolivia

San Bartolome Mine

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Summary

Mine TypeTailings
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Dredging
  • Hydraulic mining
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Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotSan Bartolomé is the largest oxide processing plant in Bolivia.

Andean now describes San Bartolomé primarily as a processing facility rather than a conventional mining operation. Since the transition completed in 2023, the asset has been reported through processing- and margin-based measures, consistent with its current role as a silver oxide processing facility supported by contracted and spot ore supply.

On July 31, 2024, Andean announced the commissioning of the FDF at San Bartolomé. In 2025, the Company continued to expand the operation’s ore supply strategy through new purchase agreements with local communities and COMIBOL, with first deliveries under the long-term COMIBOL arrangement expected by the end of 2026. In 2026, San Bartolomé is expected to remain focused on processing improvements, including automation initiatives and the construction of an additional thickener, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
Latest NewsAndean Precious Metals Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2025 Production Results and Provides 2026 Production and Cost Guidance     February 26, 2026

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Empresa Minera Manquiri S.A. (operator) 100 % Direct
Andean Precious Metals Corp. 100 % Indirect
The Andean Precious Metals Corp. owns a 100% interest in Empresa Minera Manquiri S.A. which is the operator of the San Bartolomé processing facility.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Tailings
  • Epithermal
  • Placer

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.

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.

On October 16, 2025, the Company provided an update on its 2025 exploration San Bartolome (Bolivia).

The main areas that provide oxidized material to San Bartolomé are Mantos, Rosario and Platera, which reach up to900 m of longitudinal continuity, and at least 200 m at depth and form the basis for the mineral resources and reserves cited.

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.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Water usage

Parameter2022
Total water 769,662 m3

Commodity 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.
CommodityUnits20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Silver koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2,428  2,637  4,270  5,469  5,436 
Gold koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 3.5  2.9 
Gold Equivalent koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Silver Equivalent koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré. ^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Daily milling rate  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Annual milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1,110,353 t 1,137,868 t 1,509,708 tons 1,666,787 tons 1,713,079 tons
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20252024202320222021202020192017
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  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
^ Guidance / Forecast.
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

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

Mine Financials

Units20252024202320222021202020192017
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD
Growth Capital M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 3.6  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 88.7   73.1  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -3.1  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
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  

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 8, 2026
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 8, 2026
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 8, 2026
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 8, 2026

Workforce

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2024
...... 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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