La Caridad Mine is a large open-pit
copper mine
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...
in
Nacozari,
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It is operated by Mexicana de Cobre, S.A., which is a part of
Grupo Mexico, the largest copper producer in Mexico. The mine lies approximately east of
Nacozari de Garcia.
Although the mine was worked in the 1800s, it was closed about 1948, and did not reopen until 1979.
In 1985 the mine was producing over 72,000 metric tons of ore per day. In addition to copper, it produced
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
as a byproduct, in 1995 that amounted to over 77 tons of silver. The mine was repurchased by investors from the Mexican government in 1988. The mine employed approximately 3,000 workers in 2000. In 2006 the mine was shut down due to labor strikes.
See also
*
Buenavista mine
The Buenavista mine, historically known as the Cananea copper mine, is a large open pit copper mine located in the north-west of Mexico in Cananea, Sonora. It lies south of the international border near Nogales, Arizona. Buenavista mine represe ...
References
External links
La Caridad Mineat
Mindat.org
Mindat.org is a non-commercial online database, claiming to be the largest mineral database and mineralogy, mineralogical reference website on the Internet. It is used by professional mineralogists, geologists, and amateur mineral collecting, mi ...
Copper mines in Mexico
Surface mines in Mexico
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