Saucito
Including the Saucito II expansion, Saucito is one of the Group’s most important assets; Saucito contributed 32% to total silver production in 2018 and generated 21.9% of total adjusted revenue.
| Ownership: |
100% Fresnillo plc |
| Location: |
Zacatecas 8km SW of the Fresnillo mine |
| Commodity: |
Silver, Gold |
| Operational since: |
2011 |
| Facilities: |
Underground mine and flotation plant |
| Workforce: |
836 employees, 2,452 contractors |
| Milling Capacity : |
7,800 tpd/2,600,000 tpy |
| Average ore grade in reserves: |
261 g/t Silver, 1.39 g/t Gold |
| Mine Life: |
5.3 years (2017: 5.8) |
Quarterly Production
| |
3Q19
|
2Q19
|
% change
|
3Q18
|
|
Ore processed (t)
|
703,002
|
662,023
|
6.2
|
713,441
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Production
|
|
|
|
|
|
Silver (koz)
|
4,040
|
4,507
|
-10.4
|
4,897
|
|
Gold (oz)
|
21,096
|
17,987
|
17.3
|
23,558
|
|
Lead (t)
|
4,906
|
4,562
|
7.5
|
5,791
|
|
Zinc (t)
|
6,655
|
5,941
|
12.0
|
7,909
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Ore grades
|
|
|
|
|
|
Silver (g/t)
|
207
|
242
|
-14.7
|
250
|
|
Gold (g/t)
|
1.22
|
1.15
|
6.1
|
1.34
|
|
Lead %
|
0.84
|
0.83
|
1.6
|
0.95
|
|
Zinc %
|
1.38
|
1.33
|
3.2
|
1.61
|
Annual Silver Production
History
2009
Construction commenced
2011
Commercial production 1H11
Production
Silver
(koz)
19,781
(FY18)
% (6.8) Change
Gold
(oz)
86,092
(FY18)
% 23.1 Change
Lead
(t)
22,662
(FY18)
% 27.9 Change
Zinc
(t)
29,506
(FY18)
% 45.0 Change
Financial Highlights
Adjusted Revenue
(US$m, FY18)
492.0
% (2.4) Change
Segment Profit
(US$m, FY18)
274.5
% (12.9) Change
Captial Expenditure
(US$m, FY18)
148.4
% 11.0 Change
Exploration
(US$m, FY18)
36.6
% 40.2 Change
1H19
-
Silver grade of 243 g/t.
-
Infill drilling programme advanced – update with full year results.
-
Development rates have increased more than 10% vs. average 2018.
-
Jarillas shaft deepening continued.
3Q19
-
Quarterly silver production decreased 10.4% vs. 2Q19, driven by the expected lower ore grade in line with the gradual depletion of higher grade areas and increased dilution, resulting from a decrease in the Jarillas vein width. This was mitigated by a higher volume of ore processed.
-
In line with our expectations, quarterly and year to date silver production decreased 17.5% and 13.5% vs. 3Q18 and YTD18 respectively due to a lower ore grade and to a lesser extent, lower volume of ore processed. The lower ore grade is a result of the gradual depletion of higher ore grade areas.
-
The infill drilling programme to increase the certainty of the geological model continues. In addition, further actions such as adjusting the blasting patterns are being taken to reduce dilution.
-
The silver ore grade for 2019 continues to be in the range of 230-240 g/t, while gold ore grade is estimated to remain around the 1.1 g/t mark.
-
Quarterly by-product gold production increased 17.3% vs. 2Q19 due to a higher volume of ore processed, recovery rate and ore grade. Quarterly and year to date by-product gold production decreased 10.5% and 8.5% vs 3Q18 and YTD18 respectively driven by lower grades and to a lesser extent, lower volume of ore processed.
2H19 Priorities
- Continue infill drilling programme to increase the geological certainty in the short term.
- Continue to see gradual improvements in development rates.
- Continue deepening of the Jarillas shaft.
- Improvement in contractor performance.
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