By 2009 , La Negra was milling 1,000 tonnes per day . It has since expanded to 2,500 tonnes per day by 2012 and to 3,000 tonnes per day by 2013 .
In August 2012 , Aurcana released a new NI 43-101 report , identifying 115 million ounces of measured and indicated silver underground . This gives the mine an expected lifespan of another 30 years .
In fact , La Negra ’ s 3,000-tonnes-perday mill has a three-stage crushing plant and three 8-foot by 10-foot ball mills . The mills produce zinc , copper and lead concentrates . La Negra has 13 known large ore bodies . All are accessible by existing workings and amenable to low-cost longhole , open-slope mining methods .
The exploration potential is strong because there are many zones open at depth .
Infrastructure is already in place and includes power provided by existing power lines , company-owned housing and access to available water . In addition , all permits and agreements are in place and there is strong local support for the project .
Aurcana then announced the results of a 2012 surface-mapping program at La Negra . The program sought to map and sample the upward projection of the known mineralized zones within the mine .
In addition , the program focused on identifying new , untested exploration targets related to promising northwest and northeast mine trends . About 420 hectares were mapped at 1:2000 scale and 1,117 samples were collected from skarn and intrusive outcrops .
The exploration program at La Negra has defined six exploration targets . Each of the targets show some presence of gold and are associated with strong silver , lead and zinc values . Each is within skarn comparable to areas that are currently being mined . Some have encouraging metal groupings , including copper , lead , zinc , silver and gold .
Although gold production has not been a major revenue source at La Negra historically , the exploration results are encouraging . Overall , Aurcana is excited about the exploration results and new discoveries at La Negra , which included the presence of gold associated with strong silver , zinc and lead values in new areas tested .
Large capacity
La Negra is not the only property that Aurcana believes it can rely on . The company ’ s other mine is the Shafter Mine in Texas .
Aurcana owns 100 percent of the Shafter silver mine , which is located in Presidio County in the southwest part of the state .
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