Peñoles is a subsidiary company owned by Grupo BAL. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

and

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and the world leader in

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. ...

production. Peñoles is a company with active mines within Mexico and with some prospection projects in South America. Holdings includes the Fresnillo Silver Mine / Mina Proaño, the Met-Mex Peñoles metallurgical complex and Química del Rey; a Chemical facility; three operations. Peñoles produces about of silver and of gold annually. Other metals that the company produces are

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

bismuth Bismuth is a chemical element; it has symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth occurs nat ...

, and

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

. The main product of Peñoles is refined silver in the form of

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is Casting, cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedu ...

s and granulated silver which are 99.99% pure silver, this product is made in

Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Coahuila. The city's population is 720,848 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the state of Coahuila. Also Torreón is par ...

(

northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

) and from this location is exported all over the world. In 2012, the company was awarded with the Fray International Sustainability Award for its initiatives in sustainable development. They approach sustainability by achieving three dimensions: Economics, Ecology, and Ethics, and by consistently measuring and analyzing their environmental impact.

History

Peñoles' history begins in 1887, with the mining concession of certain mines located within the Sierra de Peñoles in the state of

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

and the foundation of the Compañía Minera de Peñoles under the regime of President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. From 1890 to 1960 the company suffered several mergers, fusions and acquisitions with others mining companies. During this time the company was owned by different shareholders, among them some from the United Kingdom, United States and Germany. During the decade of 1960 to 1970 the Mexican mining industry was "mexicanized" and therefore Mr. Raúl Bailleres acquired the majority of the company shares, after that the company received the name of Industrias Peñoles.

Divisions

Peñoles has three mining related divisions and a branch created for other business. They are located mainly in northern México. * Grupo Metalúrgico, located mainly in

* Grupo Minas-Químicos, scattered along northern Mexico * Grupo Exploración, with several geological prospects all over the country and in South America * Grupo Infraestructura, with a thermoelectric power facility and an important sharing in a drinking water service company. * The company is also the controlling shareholder of Linea Coahuila Durango.

Grupo Metalúrgico

* Met-Mex Peñoles, zinc

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

that uses an

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses Direct current, direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of c ...

process * Met-Mex Peñoles, lead-silver

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

* Met-Mex Peñoles, lead-silver

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...

and refinery * Fertirey, sulphuric acid processor * Met-Mex Peñoles, metallurgical specialities (Bermejillo, Durango) * Aleazin, production of special

alloys An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have properties ...

facility (

zamak ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly trademarked as MAZAK) is an eclectic family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium, and copper. Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished ...

)

Grupo Minas-Químicos

* Unidad Fresnillo, the world richest silver mine located in

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 ...

* Unidad Francisco I. Madero, a big zinc ore deposit also in Zacatecas * Unidad Sabinas, located near the town of Sombrerete, Zacatecas * Unidad La Ciénega, a gold mine located at the foothills of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

* Unidad La Herradura, a gold mine in association with the American mining company Newmont Mining Corporation and an

open pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ...

mine located in Sonora * Unidad Bismark, located near the Mexican–American border * Unidad Naica, a big lead ore deposit, located in the state of Chihuahua * Unidad Tizapa, a lead and zinc mine located in central Mexico (Zacazonapan, State of Mexico near Valle de Bravo recreational complex) * Química del Rey, production of

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...

and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion (anion bearing a net charge of −2) of oxygen, an O2− ion with oxygen in the oxidation st ...

. * Magnelec, production of special

magnesite Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula ( magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts. Occurrence Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic r ...

chemical compounds

Grupo Exploración

* Milpillas Project, underground copper mine, located in the State of Sonora and with a future production of copper

cathode A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device such as a lead-acid battery. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. Conventional curren ...

s (2006)

Grupo Infraestructura

* TEP / Termoeléctrica Peñoles, is a pet coke fired thermoelectric power plant, focused in the own generation of electricity and located near Tamuin, San Luis Potosí. The excedents of power generation are sells to CFE. * Drinking water service, a joint venture with the French company Ondeo which is concentrated in several Mexican urban sites like

Cancún Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...

and México City.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penoles Non-renewable resource companies established in 1887 1887 establishments in Mexico Companies based in Mexico City Mining companies of Mexico Gold mining companies of Mexico Silver mining companies of Mexico Companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange Metal companies of Mexico Companies in the Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones