Overview -
The Huaron property consists of 252 concessions spanning over 63,822 ha and is located in the province of Pasco, one of three provinces forming the Pasco Department in the Central Highlands of Peru. It is situated 320 km northeast of Lima in the eastern flank of the Western Cordillera of the Andes at elevations of 4,250 m to 4,800 m above sea level.
Following the 1532 Spanish conquest of Peru many silver mines had been opened high in the Andes. Indian forced labor was mainly used for producing the much coveted metal which had financed all Spanish Crown's needs over a period that spanned centuries. Nowadays, Peru is still the world's largest silver producer and the Cerro Pasco district accounts for over half of the country's silver production.
Huaron is a primary silver mine that historically produced more than 220 million ounces of silver from 70 known veins since operations began in 1912. In April 1998, Huaron's production ceased after its underground workings were flooded due to an accident at a neighbouring mine.
Pan American acquired a majority interest in the Huaron mine in March 2000 and fast-tracked the project through feasibility, financing and construction to begin full-scale operation in April 2001 and subsequently acquired the remaining interest.
Huaron is an underground mine displaying both narrow and wide veins of silver-rich base metal sulphides, as well as replacement mineralization in conglomerate (mantos in limestones) and dissemination in sediments.
The mining method is overhand cut-and-fill using mill tailings as the backfill material.
The mill flowsheet consists of three-stage-crushing, ball mill grinding and selective flotation of the ore to concentrates, followed by thickening and filtering of the concentrates.
Based solely on proven and probable end of 2006 mineral reserves the mine life extends to 2019. The plan was based on providing average of 2,150 tpd of ore to the mill.
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