The Santa Elena Mine is located in northern Mexico approximately 150 km northeast of Hermosillo in Sonora State. The mineralization at Santa Elena is classified as a low sulphidation epithermal system and mining and exploration has been focused on a single wide vein. The mine began operating in 2011 as an open pit, heap leach operation and transitioned to an underground mine and mill in early 2014.
Ore is processed into gold-silver doré bars through a processing facility with capacity of 3,350 tpd. A dual-circuit concept with additional leach tank, CCD thickener and filter press is currently being implemented to further improve the metallurgical performance and unlock the full potential of the processing facility.
The Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves as of December 31, 2023, were 3.8 Mt at 85 g/t silver and 2.5 g/t gold for contained ounces of 10.5 Moz of silver and 307 koz of gold. Santa Elena’s Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources include 5.0 Mt at 101 g/t silver and 2.7 g/t gold for 16.3 Moz of silver and 435 koz of gold. The Mineral Resource Estimates were based on NSR cut-off values of $90/t for cut and fill mining, and $80/t for long hole stoping, and $12/t for heap leach resources. Resources are inclusive of reserves. Detailed information on the Santa Elena Mineral Reserves and Resources is available at www.firstmajestic.com.
