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Bolivia

San Vicente Mine

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San Vicente Mine

Location: 102 km SE from Uyuni, Bolivia

Regional Office:

Ave. Fuerza Naval No. 500 Esq. Calle 20 de Calacoto Casilla No. 13745
La Paz
Bolivia
13745

Contacts:

Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors

Categories

Summary

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Copper
  • Lead
  • Zinc
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Shrinkage stoping
  • Longhole stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
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SnapshotSan Vicente produces silver-zinc and silver-lead concentrates through standard floatation processes.

Mechanization efforts, enhanced mine dilution controls and improvements in site infrastructure are underway to lower production costs.

Decreases in silver production relative to 2024 are forecasted at San Vicente due to mine sequencing into lower silver-grade ores and lower throughput as a result of essential plant maintenance planned for 2025.

In 2024, successful exploration has extended mine life.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Corporación Minera de Bolivia (COMIBOL) 5 % Indirect
Pan American Silver Corp. 95 % Indirect
Pan American Silver has a joint venture agreement with COMIBOL (the "COMIBOL Joint Venture"), a Bolivian state mining company, relating to the San Vicente mine.

Pan American Silver Corp. owns the 95% interest of the San Vicente mine through its Bolivian subsidiary, Pan American Silver Bolivia S.A.

Contractors

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SourceSource

Deposit type

  • Hydrothermal
  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The San Vicente Property is located 2.5 kilometres west of the prominent north-south striking San Vicente thrust fault, which forms the eastern limit of the intermountain Bolivian Altiplano basin. Mineralization at the mine site is hosted by conglomerates of Late Oligocene age. The clastic sediments are over-thrusted by a turbidite sequence of Ordovician age which outcrop on the east side of the mine. Mid-Miocene age volcanic rocks are also present on site.

An important lithology in the Property area is the fanglomerates of the San Vicente Formation which are in contact with Ordovician age shales along the strike of the San Vicente fault. The fanglomerates consist of poorly sorted conglomerate with fragments of Palaeozoic sediments cross cut by younger quartz veins. The matrix is red in colour and consists of iron-bearing sandstone.

Igneous activity is present in the form of pre- and post-mineralization porphyritic dacite dikes. The structural environment of the mine area consists of a series of moderately to steeply dipping pre-mineral faults striking west-northwest.

The polymetallic mineralization at the San Vicente Property is present as vertically continuous fault hosted veins, replacements of brecciated faults, and mineralization in dacitic dikes. The mineralized structures are on the order of one to five metres wide, dip moderately to steeply, and trend generally towards the northwest.

The San Vicente Property contains a polymetallic deposit formed by hydrothermal systems associated with repeated calc-alkaline intrusions and their extrusive products forming vein type and disseminated polymetallic deposits. Mineralization in the district is known to cover an area of three by four kilometres to a depth of 300 metres. It consists of replacement veins filling preexisting faults, replacements in brecciated conglomerates in the San Vicente fault, and mineralization in dacitic dikes. Wide veins form in the west-northwest trending structures, with widths of between two and six metres, while veins present in the northwest structures are thinner and shorter. The widest and highest grade veins form in northeast trending faults.

The minerals of economic importance are sphalerite, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, and galena. Cassiterite, covellite, and bornite are found in some veins. The primary gangue minerals are quartz, pyrite, marcasite, and barite.

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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Commodity Production

CommodityUnits20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Silver koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe3,714 3,731 3,800 4,666 4,335 
Copper M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe22.41.51.3
Lead M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe11.81.11.41.9
Zinc M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1417101215,827
Gold koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe0.50.50.5
All production numbers are expressed as metal in concentrate. ^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Daily mining capacity  ....  Subscribe
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe750 t750 t750 t
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe368,105 t350,421 t345,368 t356,842 t348,210 t
Waste  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Daily milling rate  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe950 t

Production Costs

CommodityUnits202520242023202220212020201920182017
Total cash costs (sold) Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 11.8 / oz **   10.1 / oz **   11.9 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Silver USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 13.1 / oz **   12.2 / oz **   14.4 / oz **  
^ Guidance / Forecast.
** Net of By-Product.

Mine Financials

Units202520242023202220212020201920182017
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 5  
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 5   6.9   8.1  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 77   60.5   68.5  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 9.7   10.9  
Pre-tax Income M USD 10.4   14.6  
After-tax Income M USD 6.7   9.3  

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 2, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 2, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 2, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2024
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2021

Aerial view:

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