BajaNomad

San Felipe Gold Mine

PaulW - 2-26-2023 at 10:13 AM

Anybody have real info?
I think the mine is history.
As of this month the Gold mine seems to be shut down permanently. One cannot run a mine without lots of water. Rumor has it that the wells have failed.
There are 3 wells at the end of the road at/in Arroyo Grande. They are now in the process of removing the 12" steel water lines, power lines, and power poles. The road west from K105?, just S of La Ventana is great these days due to the grading needed for the heavy trucks hauling pipe.
There are at least two more wells east of Arroyo Grande that use large plastic pipe and they are still in place with no construction activity.

Hard to believe because the mill is huge and if the mine is defunct then it will be salvaged for all the structure and tech stuff.

David K - 2-26-2023 at 11:28 AM

Must be more to it... These rains now will recharge the water table... but maybe too late? Price of gold was near 2,000/ oz. If that dropped or maybe the price of fuel shot up... or if there was a labor strike???

bajaric - 2-26-2023 at 12:22 PM

A year or so the entrance road was blocked, and a local group had people stationed at the entrance under a canopy with a banner protesting something. I could not understand what the banner said, might have been a dispute over property rights with the local ejido. Or a labor dispute, or water rights.

The concern with big cyanide extraction mines, environmentally, is that they use a lot of water. Pumping out too much groundwater can cause the water level of the aquifer to drop and dry up springs that provide water to the local flora and fauna such as bighorn sheep, and to local people.

It could be that the ore deposit played out and the mine owners decided it was not worth working the mine anymore, because old Carlos Slim already made a fortune off of it. That mine, La Fortuna, had been abandoned. Slim reopened it turned it into a bonanza. Goes to show the old timers did not get it all.

Marty Mateo - 2-26-2023 at 12:55 PM

Is this the same mine?
https://thebajapost.com/2021/02/09/san-felipe-gold-mine-clos...

PaulW - 2-26-2023 at 03:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Marty Mateo  
Is this the same mine?
https://thebajapost.com/2021/02/09/san-felipe-gold-mine-clos...

Yes that exact mine

PaulW - 2-26-2023 at 04:04 PM

The dispute over land rent probably triggered the main company finance folks took a hard look at expenses and profit. No we are seeing the result.
The local ejido owns all the Pinta land (south of KM87) except for the small gold mine on the west side which was a properly registered claim. That claim was the only mine that was purchased for cash.
There were literally dozens of mines on the west side that apparently never registered and they al fell in the ejido ownership. One can drive up western the main canyon and view the mine digs and slag.

Yes the mine was using the cyanide heap leach process. It is not a good thing to abandon the site.

mtgoat666 - 2-27-2023 at 11:53 AM

The articles I read said that Minera Frisco got in a dispute with local ejido, and late last year the mine laid off staff, and "closed."

When I drove by the site last month, I saw no evidence they were closing the site or removing equipment. In fact, looked like no visible change from when they were operating.

Since there were no articles saying the mine had exhausted viable resource, I suspect the "closure" is temporary while they fix problems with ejido and labor, and they will get back to business.

mtgoat666 - 2-27-2023 at 12:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by PaulW  
Yes the mine was using the cyanide heap leach process. It is not a good thing to abandon the site.

Probably a great thing for the company, if they can thereby avoid all responsibility for mitigation of damage to the ecosystem.

Dunno much about gold mining, but I'm surprised it's still legal to use that process.


heap leach is fine process if done properly. minera frisco is a large outfit, I suspect they operate appropriately. have not heard that they are bad actor on other mines; has anyone heard such?

AKgringo - 2-27-2023 at 12:26 PM

The Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks is a heap leach mine that has successfully and safely processed gold ore for over 25 years.

RFClark - 2-27-2023 at 01:46 PM

We went by yesterday. Some of the cement utility poles leading off to the wells were down from high winds. Let’s see if the fix them. There were no signs of any activity yeterday.