Mining Intelligence and News
Mexico

Media Luna Mine

Click for more information

Categories

Summary

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Copper
Mining Method
  • Mechanized Cut & Fill
  • Longitudinal retreat
  • Transverse stoping
  • Longhole stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotMedia Luna mine is part of the Morelos Complex, which also includes and the El Limón Guajes Mine Complex (ELG Mine Complex).

Ore mined from the Media Luna is processed at the existing ELG processing plant, which was upgraded as part of the Media Luna Project.

On April 26, 2025, commercial production was achieved at the Media Luna mine, concluding the development phase of the Media Luna Project. The project team is now focused on ramping up the underground mine to the design level by mid-2026. With underground development ahead of schedule and close to a year of stopes now drilled off, mining rates will steadily increase upon successful completion and commissioning of the paste plant and paste distribution system later in the first quarter of 2025.

Production is expected to pick up during the second quarter through the early stages of ramp up and increase further through the back half of the year, with annual guidance being maintained.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Torex Gold Resources Inc. 100 % Indirect
Torex Gold Resources Inc. 100% owns Morelos Property, which includes the Media Luna Project through Minera Media Luna, S.A. de C.V.

Contractors

Lock

- subscription is required.

Deposit type

  • Skarn

Summary:

The Media Luna deposit is located on the south side of the Balsas River, ~7 km south south-west of the ELG Mine Complex.

Systematic drilling has identified a gold-copper-silver mineralized skarn with approximate dimensions of 1.4 km x 1.2 km and ranging from 4 m to greater than 70 m in thickness. The mineralization occurs in most parts around 500 m below surface but crops out at surface at the north side of the Media Luna ridge. Skarn alteration and associated mineralization is open on the east, southeast, southwest, and northwest margins of the area.

The surface geology of the Media Luna area is dominated by Morelos Formation limestone, which is intruded by numerous porphyry dykes and sills. The contact between the Morelos Formation and the El Limón granodiorite stock is exposed in the northern sector of the area, and Mezcala Formation sediments are present in the southern portion of the area. Morelos Formation limestone is typically converted to grey to white marble along with the intrusive contacts, often accompanied by clay and iron-oxide. The Mezcala Formation is locally converted to biotite–hornfels where cut by dykes and sills. The mineralization hosting skarn occurs at the contact of the El Limón granodiorite with the Morelos limestone. The skarn, like the wall rocks, is intruded by numerous porphyritic dykes and sills.

Media Luna is a magnesian skarn and has formed where rocks are more dolomitic, whereas ELG is a calcic skarn. Reflecting the protolith, a calcic skarn contains garnet, pyroxene, and pyrrhotite, whereas a magnesian skarn contains Mg-rich minerals like olivine, periclase, chondrodite, phlogopite, ludwigite, vesuvianite, talc, serpentine, and magnetite. This difference in mineralogy has several important implications. First, the magnesian protolith enables the formation of Mg-rich minerals and forces the iron that would have gone into garnet and pyroxene in a calcic skarn system, to precipitate as magnetite. In a calcic skarn, the excess iron will precipitate as pyrrhotite in a reduced system or pyrite in a more oxidized system. Second, precipitation of magnetite at relatively high temperature means that the available sulfur that would have gone into pyrrhotite formation can precipitate Cu as chalcopyrite from fluids that are present in the skarn environment. This explains why, although the gold contents of ELG and Media Luna are similar, Media Luna has significant Cu, whereas ELG does not.

Across the entire Media Luna deposit, gold is geochemically strongly correlated with bismuth and tellurium. Gold commonly occurs as native Au as well as gold-rich electrum. Chalcopyrite is the principal Cu mineral in the deposit. The Zn–Fe–S system is represented by sphalerite, sulfosalt, galena and Ag-Fe–S rich minerals, such as argentopyrite.

Sulphide minerals including pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite, as well as native metals and bismuth minerals, are intergrown with retrograde amphibole and are thought to have formed shortly after or at the same time as amphibole. There are areas of early pyrrhotite that have patches of ragged and porous-looking pyrite; some even show lamellae of marcasite forming in pyrrhotite. Late pyrite appears to be associated with darker colored chlorite, typically yellowbrown to brownish-green. Chlorite commonly occurs along with garnet or pyroxene grain boundaries or as cross-cutting veinlets with calcite. Late pyrrhotite and pyrite appear to have formed under a reduced state of oxidation.

In general, elevated gold grades (Au-As, Au-Bi) are found in the hanging wall of the skarn package, and copper mineralization dominates along the footwall. These domains commonly overlap near the major dykes. This zonation is more evident on the central-south portion of the deposit. Zn rich domains are constrained to the northern edge of ML and associated with dykes. These dykes are currently interpreted as the main feeders of the mineralization at the deposit scale.

Generally, the skarn contacts are very sharp, with a transition zone of only a few centimeters. Minerals at these locations are very fine-grained and almost impossible to identify in hand samples. Moving across the contact from veined marble to skarn, the mineralogy is dominated by phlogopite and magnetite for 2 to 10 cm before visible pyroxene and garnet appear.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.

EV - Electric

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Commodity Production

Effective April 26, 2025, Media Luna reached the production stage, and commercial production was declared.
CommodityProductUnitsDailyLOM (Projected)
Copper Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe
 * Projected daily production according to 2022 company report.

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 16, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 16, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 16, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 4, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 4, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 4, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 4, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 4, 2025

Workforce

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.