Mina Proaño, an
underground silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
mine located in central
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, is one of the world's largest and most profitable silver mines. The mine is located just outside the city of
Fresnillo,
Zacatecas
Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
; and is also known as Mina Fresnillo and Fresnillo Silver Mine. The mining operation is run by
Peñoles
Peñoles is a subsidiary company owned by Grupo BAL. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of gold, zinc and lead and the world leader in silver production. Peñoles is a company with active mines wi ...
, which has been controlled by
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
-based
Grupo BAL since 1967. In 2004, Mina Proaño produced almost 32 million
troy ounce
Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in the Kingdom of England in the 15th century and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 p ...
s (995,000 kg) of silver.
Silver mining activity in the Fresnillo area can be traced back to 1550.
As is quite common with long-running large-scale mining operations, especially silver mining, which uses large quantities of
cyanide
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
, there have been allegations of mine-related pollution including contamination of water sources, increased illness rates amongst cattle and people, and increased air pollution. This particular mine has obtained
ISO 14000
The ISO 14000 family is a set of international standards for environment management systems. It was developed in March 1996 by International Organization for Standardization. The goal of these standards is to help organizations (a) minimize how t ...
certification of its environmental management processes and equipment, and has received a "Clean Industry Registration" from Mexican authorities. The mining company has also established an "ecological park", which is basically a sanctuary for over a hundred species of mammals, birds and reptiles. This park, established in 2004, was designed as a public area (''Parque los Jales'') and includes lakes, paths and open areas for physical exercise and relaxation. The park was established on land formerly occupied by a
tailings
In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...
pond
A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...
.
References
External links
Industrias Peñoles Official Site
Silver mines in Mexico
Underground mines in Mexico
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