Ciénega (incl. San Ramón satellite)
Ciénega is our most polymetallic mine, contributing almost 6.5% to total gold production and over 10.3% to total silver production. The mine generated 8.0% of total adjusted revenue during 2021.
Ownership: |
100% Fresnillo plc |
Location: |
Durango |
Commodity: |
Gold, Silver |
Operational since: |
1992 |
Facilities: |
Underground mine, flotation and leaching plant |
Workforce: |
561 employees, 961 contractors |
Milling Capacity: |
4,000 tpd / 1,340,000 tpy |
Mine Life: |
4.2 (2020 3.4) |
Quarterly Production
|
4Q22 |
3Q22 |
% change |
4Q21 |
Ore processed (t) |
256,928 |
294,210 |
(12.7) |
301,968 |
|
|
|
|
|
Production |
|
|
|
|
Gold (oz) |
9,122 |
9,437 |
(3.3) |
10,596 |
Silver (koz) |
982 |
1,242 |
(20.9) |
1,401 |
Lead (g/t) |
930 |
904 |
2.9 |
772 |
Zinc (g/t) |
1,372 |
1,419 |
(3.3) |
1,240 |
Ore grades |
|
|
|
|
Gold (g/t) |
1.20 |
1.09 |
10.1 |
1.18 |
Silver (g/t) |
139 |
152 |
(8.6) |
165.6 |
Lead % |
0.56 |
0.48 |
16.7 |
0.43 |
Zinc % |
0.94 |
0.87 |
8.0 |
0.75 |
History
1992
Construction commenced
1995
First full year of production, with 300,000 tpy capacity
Production
Gold
(oz)
48,819
(FY21)
% (23.8) Change
Silver
(koz)
5,447
(FY21)
% (5.5) Change
Lead
(t)
3,947
(FY21)
% (35.4) Change
Zinc
(t)
6,373
(FY21)
% (31.2) Change
Financial Highlights
Adjusted Revenue
(US$m, FY21)
227.8
% (8.3) Change
Segment Profit
(US$m, FY21)
106.5
% (17.8) Change
Captial Expenditure
(US$m, FY21)
45.4
% 29.3 Change
Exploration
(US$m, FY21)
8.2
% 26.2 Change
4Q22
-
Quarterly gold production was down 3.3% and 13.9% vs. 3Q22 and 4Q21 respectively, due to a lower volume of ore processed as a result of the non-scheduled minor technical stoppages at the SAG mill, and lower productivity from new personnel at the mine, mitigated by a higher ore grade.
-
Quarterly silver production decreased 20.9% and 29.9% vs. 3Q22 and 4Q21 respectively, due to a lower ore throughput for the reasons explained above, and a lower ore grade in line with the mine sequence.
-
Full year silver and gold production were down13.5% and 23.3% vs. FY21 respectively, due to the lower volumes of ore processed and a lower gold ore grade as a higher proportion of ore from the main Ciénega mine was processed, as opposed to processing ore from a satellite operation in the surrounding area with a higher average ore grade.
-
The gold and silver ore grades for 2023 are estimated to be in the ranges of 1.0-1.1 g/t and 150-160 g/t respectively.